The Indiana Pacers currently have a 52.1% chance of landing a top-four pick in this year's draft, according to Tankathon.com. But if that doesn't come to fruition and the pick falls between the 5-9 range, it will go to the Los Angeles Clippers instead, meaning Indiana would lose out on a potential game-changing prospect.
And in FanSided's latest 2026 NBA Mock Draft, this is exactly what happened.
In the mock draft, the Pacers' pick falls to No. 5 and goes to Los Angeles, where they take UNC forward Caleb Wilson. Wilson is widely considered to be the fourth-best player in this year's draft, and he would likely go No. 1 overall if it weren't for the three guys ahead of him (AJ Dybantsa, Darryn Peterson, and Cam Boozer).
If Indiana doesn't have their own pick for this year's draft, it wouldn't be the end of the world. They still have a very talented roster and should be able to re-enter the title picture next season. But this would also not just be a huge missed opportunity to reshape their roster and extend their championship window, but it would give the Clippers a chance to greatly bolster their roster and potentially create a new title contender.
The Pacers better hope they keep their first-round pick
The only reason the Pacers traded their 2026 first-round pick (with protections) was because of how desperate they were to land a new starting center, which in this case turned out to be Ivica Zubac.
Indiana didn't have a real replacement for Myles Turner after he joined the Milwaukee Bucks last summer. And even though the team tried to find it with players like Jay Huff and Isaiah Jackson, it was clear that they still had some work to do (and given that they are looking to re-establish themselves as title contenders as soon as next season, it needed to happen soon).
To get something, you have to give something (though some could argue that Bennedict Mathurin may have been enough). And the Clippers knew exactly how desperate the Pacers were to make a deal happen.
Now, Indiana is forced to deal with whatever happens next.
If the pick lands in the 1-4 spot, they will have a chance to draft an elite prospect who could legitimately turn them into a juggernaut. But if it doesn't, then they can kiss this opportunity goodbye and hope that the addition of Zubac will be enough to get them back to the NBA Finals and finish what they started last year.