A couple of months after making the trade, the jury is still out on whether the Indiana Pacers made the right call by trading Bennedict Mathurin, Isaiah Jackson, and their 2026 first-round pick (with projections) to the Los Angeles Clippers for Ivica Zubac and Kobe Brown.
Zubac only played five games for the Pacers this season due to injuries, whereas Mathurin has mostly looked like a fantastic addition for the Clippers. Plus, introducing the possibility of Indiana losing its pick in a draft class that many consider to be the most stacked one the league has seen in some time still doesn't really sit right with the fanbase.
There is a lot to like about Zubac and his elite paint presence and rebounding skills. But trading a legitimate asset in Mathurin (even if he is set to hit restricted free agency) while also giving up their pick might have been too much for the Pacers to give up.
Ultimately, only time will tell whether this trade was worth it for Indiana. But one reality remains: even though it was a risky move for the Pacers to make, it needed to happen.
The Pacers needed to trade for Ivica Zubac
Even as someone who was a massive Mathurin fan and thought the Pacers might benefit from keeping him around past this season, it was completely understandable why they traded him.
For starters, in order to get something, you have to give something. And that's just the reality of the situation. Zubac is a top-10 center in the NBA, and the Pacers weren't going to be able to get him for scrubs and a few picks, especially since there were reports that the Clippers didn't even want to move on from him to begin with.
And as for Mathurin specifically, there were legitimate concerns about his long-term role and fit with the team, and it would have been hard to justify paying him potentially $25 million a year when you don't even know whether he's going to be a starter or not moving forward.
Plus, the Pacers have legitimate championship dreams for next season and beyond. Once Tyrese Haliburton comes back, they're going to be ready to re-enter the title picture and make some noise in the East. Could you imagine them making it back to the playoffs, maybe even winning a series or two, and going up against a team like the Boston Celtics, or (if they're lucky) the Oklahoma City Thunder or San Antonio Spurs with Jay Huff as their center?
Huff provides value and has been solid in Indiana all season long. But he's not a starting center on a championship-caliber team. Not many of those were on the open market, and of them, Zubac was far and away the best option.
The Pacers potentially losing their pick for this year hurts, but they do get it back if it falls in the 1-4 range, which is ultimately what matters anyway. There's a lot of talent from No. 5 down, but if the Pacers can't draft AJ Dybantsa, Cameron Boozer, Darryn Peterson, or Caleb Wilson, then they aren't going to miss out on much regardless.
Indiana needed to trade for a center, and while fans haven't gotten a great look at him yet, Zubac is that guy. And he's going to be a big part of the team's success moving forward.