According to NBA on Prime's Chris Haynes, Utah Jazz big man Jaren Jackson Jr. will miss the rest of the season to undergo surgery on his left knee.
Utah acquired Jackson from the Memphis Grizzlies before this year's trade deadline, and he has already made a big impact. In three games with the Jazz, the 26-year-old averaged 22.3 points, 4.3 rebounds, 2.7 assists, and 2 steals while shooting 49% from the field and 33% from deep. He also led the Jazz to a 2-1 record in those games.
With Jackson now out for the season, the Jazz are in a much better position to tank and secure a high draft pick. And given that this has direct implications for the Indiana Pacers, who are in the running for a top pick, this development could spell doom for them.
The Pacers' quest to the No. 1 pick just got a lot harder
If there was ever one year for Indiana to take a step back and play for the lottery, it's this one.
Many are expecting this year's draft class to be among the best in recent history, and it's largely because of the top of the board. Darryn Peterson, Cam Boozer, AJ Dybantsa, and Caleb Wilson all have the potential to be franchise players in the league, and they are each worthy of being drafted first overall.
If the Pacers could land any of them to pair alongside Tyrese Haliburton, that would put them in a fantastic position moving forward. However, their outlook is much worse now than it was even just one week ago, and that's less than ideal.
The Pacers traded this year's first-round pick to the Los Angeles Clippers as part of the Ivica Zubac deal, though it's heavily protected. If the pick ends up being between picks 1-4 or 10-30, it stays with Indiana. But if it falls between 5-9, it goes to the Clippers.
According to Tankathon.com, the Pacers, who won each of their last two games and are 15-40 on the season, have a 48.1% chance of securing a top-four pick. The Jazz, for some context, are just three games ahead of Indiana in the standings and have a 37.2% chance. But given Jackson's injury, it's fair to assume that their odds are just going to climb up, which isn't great news for the Pacers.
There is still a lot of basketball left to be played, and Indiana will certainly lose a lot more games moving forward. But things are not going their way from a tank perspective, and that could be a growing problem.