When Tyrese Haliburton went out with a ruptured Achilles in game seven of last year’s Finals, everyone knew it would be a down year for Indiana this season, so they decided to take a gap year and tank, hoping their patience would pay off next year when Haliburton returns.Â
But that patience didn’t last, as the Pacers got antsy and gave up a protected first-round pick in this draft for center Ivica Zubac, trying to have their cake and eat it too, as they hoped to get the center they need for next year while also keeping their top-4 draft pick to add on top of it. Â
The only way this wouldn’t work is if the Pacers slipped out of the top four. Oops.Â
The worst-case scenario happened for the Pacers, who dropped to 5th, meaning they had to send their pick to the Clippers and walk away from this draft with nothing. It’s not looking good to the point that their team president Kevin Pritchard actually apologized to fans.Â
I was happy the Pacers traded for Zubac, as it would mean one less suitor for Jalen Duren this summer, but now that this has blown up in their faces, the rest of the Central Division has to be smiling.Â
The Pacers made a rare errorÂ
The Pacers rarely make these types of trades, but giving up Bennedict Mathurin, the 5th pick in the 2026 draft and an unprotected 2029 pick for Zubac is a MASSIVE overpay, and the kind of trade the Pistons need to avoid.Â
Zubac is a good player, but the Pacers let their need for a center overwhelm their common sense, as there is no way he’s worth a top five pick, not to mention another unprotected pick in 2029 and a former #6 pick in Mathurin.Â
The Pistons have to avoid overpaying this summer to fill a need, as they will certainly have a few but can’t overpay out of desperation like the Pacers did. Â
There is a solid argument that the Pacers should have just paid Myles Turner, who was off a Finals run, wanted to stay there and played in 71 games this season while Zubac played in just 48 total between Indiana and LA.Â
Turner is making a bit more but wouldn’t have cost the Pacers two first-round picks and their best bench scorer to get.Â
None of this will matter if the Pacers regain form next season and get back to challenging for the Eastern Conference as everyone expects. Zubac is a good player, so It's not like they walked away with nothing, but they tried to get cute, got greedy and just had to kiss a top five pick goodbye, which I am certain was not in the plans after throwing away their season.
As a Pistons fan, I’d rather they have Zubac than that pick, and definitely more than Zubac AND the pick, so this draft worked out well for the Pacers’ rivals in the Central.Â
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