The Indiana Pacers gave up the fifth overall pick in the 2026 NBA Draft to get Ivica Zubac, and the trade is looking even worse after the LA Clippers were stripped of the five first-round picks by the NBA in the Kawhi Leonard investigation. One of those selections was the Pacers’ 2029 unprotected first from the Zubac deal. Fans know Indy buying back their 2026 first-rounder led to getting Zubac. Any plans of doing it again are dashed as the 2029 pick is forfeited.
The Pacers have already felt significant pain from this trade. They were tanking last season as they agreed to trade their 2026 first with a top-four protection. The lottery sent them back to fifth and allowed the Clippers to draft Keaton Wagler. The trade already looked bad, and it just got even worse.
The Pacers still have to give up a 2028 second-round pick that was originally from the Dallas Mavericks and their 2029 first. LA forfeiting the selection means there will only be 29 first-rounders in 2029, and Indiana’s pick will not be made. The Pacers plan to contend, but fans just saw how even the best ideas can turn south quickly.
Ivica Zubac trade keeps getting worse for the Pacers
Zubac is a top ten center in the NBA, but he’s never been an All-Star or All-NBA selection. He was second-team All-Defense in 2025 and continues to improve. The Pacers needed a center after Myles Turner departed in free agency and made a bold trade to acquire his replacement while still tanking.
They want to contend with Tyrese Haliburton back in the lineup. Prices on the center market have skyrocketed as Victor Wembanyama has broken out. It was always going to be expensive to acquire a difference-making big man, but giving up a top-five pick plus two more draft choices is a bit excessive. Here are the full details of the trade as it stands.
Pacers received: Ivica Zubac and Kobe Brown
Clippers acquired: Bennedict Mathurin, Isaiah Jackson, Keaton Wagler, 2028 2nd-round pick, 2029 1st-round pick
The 2029 first-round pick is still part of the deal, but the Clippers won’t actually get it. Indiana is still parting ways with the selection no matter where it lands, and now it is impossible to acquire it back. The NBA holds the selection, and it will just not be made.
The Clippers dumped Mathurin this summer. He went to the Pelicans after just 26 games with LA. The former Pacers lottery pick is a talented scorer still searching for the right opportunity.
The Clippers gave up five first-round picks, had three executives suspended, and were assessed a $30 million fine for circumventing the salary cap to pay Kawhi Leonard. They have to give up a first-rounder every year from 2029 to 2033. LA is just starting a rebuild, and things won’t be easy with virtually no draft capital.
Pacers need Ivica Zubac to help them get back to the top of the East
This trade deserves plenty of heat. Indiana shouldn’t have put a potential top-five pick on the table for Zubac, especially after the measures they used to tank. The Pacers were just in the NBA Finals, and may have been NBA champions in 2025 if Haliburton hadn’t torn his Achilles in Game 7. They were this close to adding a premier young talent and shouldn’t have risked that pick to land Zubac.
The Clippers being forced to forfeit the 2029 first will take this trade out of the spotlight a bit, but more pain is coming. Fans won’t forget when LA takes someone in the second round in 2028 or sees where Indy would have picked in 2029. Keaton Wagler could also make Pacers fans regret this pick by becoming a star.
The Pacers need Zubac to be a difference-making center. He has to be a significant upgrade over Myles Turner and help the franchise make a deep playoff run this season. The East is loaded, so it won’t be easy. Things will only get worse if Zubac struggles.
The Indiana Pacers keep looking worse for the Ivica Zubac trade. No team will pick with their first-rounder in 2029 after the Clippers were forced to forfeit it for circumventing the salary cap. Indy still has to give it up, and now it is impossible to buy it back if they are struggling. The pick is just gone, which makes this bad trade that much worse.
Add us as a preferred source on Google