Pacers Notes: Brown, Siakam, Haliburton, Carr, Zubac
Along with acquiring Ivica Zubac from the Clippers earlier this month, the Pacers added guard Kobe Brown in the deal. Brown was only averaging 8.7 minutes per game in L.A. but his playing time has skyrocketed with his new team.
Brown has appeared in five games, including one start, and is averaging 10.2 points and 6.8 rebounds in 26.4 minutes per contest. The 26-year-old had a season-high 15 points and seven rebounds in 19 minutes against Dallas on Sunday.
“This is a great chance for us to figure out as much as we can about him,” Pacers coach Rick Carlisle said, per Dustin Dopirak of the Indianapolis Star. “I like the things he’s doing. … When you get an opportunity like this, this is where you can really show what you can do.”
It’s a de facto audition for Brown, who will be an unrestricted free agent after the season. The Clippers declined their option on his 2026/27 contract prior to this season.
“For him he’s got to understand what we want him to do and where we need him to be,” forward Pascal Siakam said. “But I think he’s doing a great job of playing within whatever’s happening and not thinking about it. When you’re open, shoot it. Other than that, just play as hard as you can.”
Here’s more on the Pacers:
- Siakam scored 30 points on 12-of-19 shooting, including 2-of-3 from three-point range, for his 11th 30-plus point performance of the season during the loss to the Mavs. He also notched eight rebounds and three assists and the Pacers were +7 in his 29 minutes, Dopirak notes. Siakam is dealing with a left hamstring issue but doesn’t want to be shut down, despite the team’s record and the franchise’s desire to get the best lottery odds possible. “Anyone that knows me knows that I want to play,” Siakam said. “I don’t want to sit around.”
- As if Tyrese Haliburton didn’t have enough to deal with as he worked his way back from an Achilles tendon tear, the star guard has been diagnosed with shingles, according to an ESPN report. He will be away from the team for a few weeks. “It’s a very painful thing,” Carlisle said. “… He will make a full recovery, but this happened over the last few days. He was meeting us in D.C. and had some odd symptoms, and he came back here. That’s what’s happening with him. We certainly wish him a speedy recovery. It’s a unique case and a unique situation, but I talked to him a few times, and he’s always in a good mood, so he’ll get through it.”
- Senior vice president of player personnel Ryan Carr is joining Darian DeVries‘ staff at Indiana University as executive director of basketball, according to Jeff Rabjohns of 247Sports.com. Carr, who will report directly to DeVries, has been with the Pacers organization for 25 years. He has managed the team’s pre-draft preparation for more than a decade as well as its evaluations of all draft prospects. He’s a former IU manager.
- How will Zubac fit in with the Pacers? In a Forbes article, Tony East takes a closer look at Zubac’s potential impact, including his defensive prowess and willingness to set hard screens. Zubac has yet to make his Pacers debut due to an ankle injury.
Injury Notes: Giddey, Zubac, Toppin, Porzingis, Young
Bulls point guard Josh Giddey has been out since January 28 with a left hamstring strain, but he went through a full practice on Wednesday and expects to make his return on Thursday vs. Toronto, tweets K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Sports Network.
It will be Giddey’s first game since Chicago overhauled its backcourt by trading Coby White, Ayo Dosunmu, and Dalen Terry and waiving Jevon Carter while bringing in Anfernee Simons, Collin Sexton, Jaden Ivey, and Rob Dillingham.
We have more injury updates from around the NBA:
- Pacers center Ivica Zubac was a limited participant in Tuesday’s practice and both he and forward Obi Toppin (foot surgery) are making “steady” progress in their injury recoveries, head coach Rick Carlisle said on Tuesday. However, neither player is all that close to seeing the floor. As Dustin Dopirak of The Indianapolis Star writes, Carlisle said “it’s gonna be a while” before either Zubac or Toppin returns.
- Kristaps Porzingis practiced with the Warriors on Tuesday and “looked good,” according to head coach Steve Kerr, who said on decision on the big man’s availability for Thursday’s matchup with Boston will be made after Wednesday’s scrimmage (Twitter link via Nick Friedell of The Athletic).
- Point guard Trae Young, who has yet to make his Wizards debut after being traded to Washington over a month ago, didn’t practice on Wednesday and still hasn’t been cleared for contact, per head coach Brian Keefe (Twitter link via Josh Robbins of The Athletic). Young has been listed on the injury report as recovering from a right MCL sprain and a quad contusion.
Central Notes: Cunningham, Bickerstaff, Siakam, Bulls
Pistons guard Cade Cunningham will make his second straight All-Star appearance on Sunday. He tells Marc J. Spears of Andscape that being selected to the 2026 exhibition was one of his long-term goals, as the mini-tournament is being held at the Intuit Dome, where the men’s basketball competition will take place at the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles.
“The L.A. All-Star Game was part of that plan,” Cunningham said. “I wanted to make sure I’m in there. And then win a championship and be an Olympic point guard. It’s all part of the long-term plan, for sure.”
Cunningham is having an excellent all-around season for Detroit, averaging 25.3 points, 9.6 assists, 5.6 rebounds and 1.5 steals on .462/.330/.802 shooting through 46 games (34.9 minutes per game). Head coach J.B. Bickerstaff made sure to point out that Cunningham excels on both ends of the court for the top-seeded Pistons.
“He is a [6-foot-6] point guard who dominates all areas of the offensive end of the floor,” Bickerstaff told Andscape. “But what I don’t think people talk about enough is his defense, his willingness to guard the other team’s best players.
“The impact that he has on that end of the floor – to me, he’s one of the top five two-way players in our league. There may be some guys that they talk about offensively, but his impact is on both ends of the floor. There’s not many guys in this league that are that way.”
Here’s more from around the Central:
- In an interview with Steve Bulpett of Heavy.com, Bickerstaff said he didn’t expect to be hired by the Pistons in the 2024 offseason after being let go by the Cavaliers. “I didn’t think I was going to get a job,” Bickerstaff told Heavy Sports. “There weren’t jobs available at that point. So I was just sitting at home and hanging out with my family back in Cleveland trying to figure out what was next. We were going to move to San Clemente, California. There’s a soccer academy there, and we were going to go there and let the kids go to the academy and train.” Bickerstaff has spearheaded a dramatic turnaround in Detroit, and he says he was able to grow from the experience of being fired by the Cavaliers. “That month that I had off gave me an opportunity to, like, evaluate myself and think about what I was going to be at the next opportunity and just understanding that the focus should always be on the process and not just focused on the results,” he said. “In my last year in Cleveland, I let that get the best of me, where it was like results, results, results. And we skipped some of the process stuff.”
- Pacers star Pascal Siakam recently spoke to Mark Medina of EssentiallySports at the Basketball Without Borders All-Star camp at the Lakers’ practice facility. Siakam was introduced to the NBA world when he attended a BWB camp in Africa in 2012. “I saw Luol Deng. I saw Serge Ibaka. I saw NBA players at that time. I thought, ‘This is cool.’ I saw NBA coaches. I had never been exposed to the NBA beforehand. I think that was my first time,” Siakam said. “I think I will always remember those memories and see how excited we were to get the opportunity. After that, my love for the game grew. We’re here now.” The All-Star forward also discussed his growth as a vocal leader, Tyrese Haliburton‘s impact on the team as he recovers from a torn Achilles tendon, and his excitement about playing with new starting center Ivica Zubac, among other topics.
- Joe Cowley of The Chicago Sun-Times grades the Bulls‘ trade deadline moves, giving the front office a D-plus because the series of transactions “came at least a season too late.”
Los Angeles Notes: James, Doncic, Niederhauser, Dunn
LeBron James knew early in his career that the only thing that could stop him from being one of the game’s all-time greats was a lack of preparation. The 41-year-old James discussed his training regimen and dietary habits with Broderick Turner of the Los Angeles Times.
“Obviously I didn’t know it would be 23 years. I didn’t know that, but I know I didn’t want to have no six- or seven-year career. I can’t become legendary in six or seven years,” he said. “I always had a mission. When I knew I could play this game at a high level, like, going to Chicago and playing with MJ (Michael Jordan) and all those guys when I was a sophomore (in high school). And then when I went up to Cleveland and played against the Cavs when I was a junior and I was like, ‘Oh … I belong. I belong.’
“I knew I still had to learn and I still had to continue to get my body right, continue to learn the game and nuances. But I was playing against NBA guys for a long time and I was like, ‘If I get the opportunity to crack the league, if I get the opportunity to showcase what I’m able to do, the only thing that can stop me is if I don’t take care of my body. The only thing that can stop me from being the greatest or one of the greatest to ever play this game is if I do not take care of myself.’ I did take care of my body. That’s it.”
Mavericks coach Jason Kidd, a former Lakers assistant, marvels at James’ motivation to play at a high level for so long. James became the oldest player in NBA history to record a triple-double this week.
“Physically, LeBron, he’s had some injuries, but he’s taken care of his body, he’s always prepared himself for the marathon,” Kidd said. “But I think it’s the mental side. I think that’s the hardest part is to wake up and say, ‘Do I need to go play against a 20-year-old or a 19-year-old?’ He’s won championships, he’s been MVP, he’s been the face of the league. He’s a billion-dollar company. So, it’s the mental side. Understanding that he loves competition and he loves the game of basketball. So I think for him to do it at 41 is incredible.”
Here’s more on the Los Angeles teams:
- Luka Doncic has been dealing with a hamstring issue but he’s still planning to participate in the All-Star contest on Sunday, Marc Stein of The Stein Line tweets. The Lakers guard will play for a limited number of minutes. He’s part of the World Team in the three-team event.
- Clippers rookie center Yanic Konan Niederhauser, who scored 11 points in Friday’s Rising Stars competition at All-Star weekend, credits Ivica Zubac, who was dealt to Indiana last week, and Brook Lopez for facilitating his development. “Having this guidance from these vets, man, they’ll be helping me and knowing they got my back, knowing that they will teach me every day gives me a lot of confidence,” Niederhauser told Janis Carr of the Orange County Register. The 30th pick of the draft out of Penn State, Niederhauser has appeared in 34 games this season, averaging 3.7 points and 2.3 rebounds in 9.0 minutes off the bench.
- It’s been a chaotic season for the Clippers, including an ongoing league investigation, a horrible start and a roster makeover at the trade deadline. Kris Dunn admitted to Greg Beacham of the Los Angeles Times that it’s been a roller coaster ride. “We’ve dealt with a lot this year,” he said. “Our whole mentality throughout the year has just been to try to find a way. It’s been tough.”
Pacers Notes: Zubac, Jackson, Toppin, Roster
After losing Myles Turner in free agency last summer, the Pacers experimented this season with players like Isaiah Jackson and Jay Huff in the starting center role. However, the team felt that acquiring a veteran five was a priority, according to general manager Chad Buchanan, who tells Tony East of Forbes that Ivica Zubac emerged as Indiana’s “number one clear target” ahead of the trade deadline due to his fit, age, production, and character.
The Pacers are lottery-bound this season and could’ve waited until the summer to address their center spot, but Buchanan and the front office felt like it made more sense to come up with a solution now rather than wait to see what options were available in a few months.
“You just never know if you wait, is the opportunity still there? There could be other opportunities. There could be no opportunities. You just don’t know,” Buchanan said. “Other teams may have a need this summer and now you have more competition for a player. I kind of equate it as if there’s a race taking place for a championship – some teams are in the race, some teams are preparing for the race, some teams are watching the race. And we wanted to be in the race, not standing on the sidelines watching.”
The package that the Pacers sent the Clippers for Zubac includes a 2026 first-round pick that will stay in Indiana if it lands in the top four or outside the top nine, with L.A. receiving it if it’s between No. 5 and No. 9. There’s a possibility the Pacers will end up surrendering the fifth or sixth overall pick in a strong draft, but Buchanan said the team was happy not to have to sacrifice the upside at the very top of the draft and recognized giving up assets of real value was necessary to land a player like Zubac.
“Ideally, you don’t have to give up anything, but hey, to get a good player, you’ve got to give up something too. There’s a little pain on both sides in any trade,” Buchanan said. “The pain for us is giving up two players that we drafted and developed and had a lot of good experiences together (Bennedict Mathurin and Jackson). And obviously the picks. On their end, they’re giving up a player who was a big part of who their organization was. Had a lot of longevity there, a lot of attachment emotionally to what he’d done for that team. So there’s always a little pain on both sides.”
Here’s more on the Pacers:
- Indiana has an open spot on its 15-man roster after its deadline moves and Buchanan acknowledged to East that promoting Quenton Jackson from his two-way contract is a “real possibility” to fill that opening. The Pacers’ GM referred to Jackson as “a big part of our culture in our locker room” and lauded his energy, toughness, and positive attitude. Jackson still has 18 games of eligibility remaining on his two-way deal, so if he’s going to fill that 15th roster spot, there’s no real urgency for the Pacers – who are operating less than $900K from the tax line – to convert him right away.
- Zubac has yet to make his Pacers debut due to an ankle issue while forward Obi Toppin has been out since October as he recovers from foot surgery. However, Buchanan tell East that he expects to see both players back on the court this season.
- Asked by East what the Pacers’ roster still needs now that it has a new starting center, Buchanan joked that it’d be great to add a top-four pick in this year’s draft. The GM went on to say that the team will use the final two months of the season as an evaluation period before making additional roster decisions in the summer. “Depending on if we have the pick or don’t have the pick determines some of what we do roster-wise, what we have flexibility-wise with the cap,” he said. “But we’re going to be aggressive to try to put ourselves in a position to compete and contend for a championship next year. And whatever that means, we’re going to try and do it.”
- Zubac has made just 1-of-12 three-pointers since entering the NBA in 2016, but he said this week that he and head coach Rick Carlisle have already talked about him spending more time in the corner and having more opportunities to shoot from beyond the arc. “I always thought I could shoot that shot,” Zubac said, per Dustin Dopirak of The Indianapolis Star (subscription required). “I obviously didn’t get a lot of chances to do it with the Clippers, but I always worked on it and wanted to shoot it but never had a chance. We’ll see how open he will be for that. If that’s what they want me to do, I have the rest of the season and the whole summer to work on it and be ready for next year.”
More On Pacers’ Trade For Ivica Zubac
The Clippers were resistant for most of the season to the idea of trading Ivica Zubac, according to Jake Fischer of The Stein Line (Substack link), who says that even after last week’s James Harden deal with Cleveland, there was a sense that L.A. wouldn’t change its stance on its starting center.
However, the Pacers were “more determined than anyone realized” to find a long-term answer at the five, Fischer writes, noting that the team also called the Cavaliers about Jarrett Allen and thought highly of Hawks big man Onyeka Okongwu, whose team-friendly deal (two years and $33MM after this season) was appealing to a team targeting centers with mid-sized contracts.
According to Brett Siegel of ClutchPoints, the Pacers also looked at options like Mavericks center Daniel Gafford and Pelicans big man Yves Missi, but Zubac was always thought to be on top of their list.
For the Clippers to relent on Zubac, it was going require a team to meet their asking price of two first-round picks “and then some,” per Fischer, who suggests that some members of the Clippers wouldn’t have been upset if Indiana had decided the cost was too high, since it would’ve meant L.A. “had” to hang onto the 28-year-old, who was highly valued within the organization.
However, the Pacers put together a package of two valuable first-round picks, a future second-rounder, and two young players – Bennedict Mathurin and Isaiah Jackson – for Zubac, which convinced the Clippers to pull the trigger on a deal.
As Fischer writes, one of those first-rounders features unusual protection. It will convey to L.A. in 2026 only if it lands between No. 5 and No. 9 in this year’s draft. Besides the unique protections, that traded pick also includes unusual roll-over details — if Indiana keeps it this year, the Clippers would instead receive a 2031 first-rounder.
In a typical deal, the Pacers would owe the Clippers their 2027 first-rounder if the ’26 pick were to land in its protected range. However, according to Fischer, it was important to the Clips to secure a farther-off draft pick in that scenario. L.A.’s thinking was that Indiana – armed with Zubac and a potential top-four pick in 2026 – would have a bright short-term outlook, reducing the value of the team’s ’27 first-rounder, whereas there would be more variability by ’31.
Here are a few more notes related to the trade:
- While the Clippers had been prioritizing 2027 cap room in the hopes of going star-hunting that offseason, the team recognized that mere cap space might not be enough to land that sort of player, given how few stars reach free agency these days, Fischer writes. With that in mind, L.A. wanted to replenish its cache of draft picks to some extent. The Clippers that those picks they’ve acquired from the Pacers will help put them in a better position to pursue an impact player down the road, per Fischer.
- The Pacers had zero interest in surrendering their 2026 first-round pick in a deal for Gafford, while the Mavericks didn’t have a ton of interest in Mathurin, so trade talks between those teams didn’t generate any real traction, Siegel writes.
- The Mavericks had been hoping to add a 2026 first-rounder if they were going to move Gafford at the deadline, but the Hawks, another team with interest in the big man, also didn’t have interest in parting with its least favorable ’26 first-round pick (likely to be Cleveland’s), so the discussions between the two teams failed to gain momentum, according to Siegel.
Clippers Notes: Deadline Moves, Investigation, Leonard, Zubac
The Clippers remade their team before the trade deadline and president of basketball operations Lawrence Frank declared those moves were “difficult” but necessary, Janis Carr of the Orange County Register writes.
James Harden was dealt to Cleveland for a much younger guard, Darius Garland. Starting center Ivica Zubac and Kobe Brown were traded to Indiana for Bennedict Mathurin, Isaiah Jackson, two first-round draft picks and one second-rounder. Chris Paul, who was essentially in exile after being told he would no longer play with the club, was traded to Toronto.
“As hard as these moves are, we are extremely excited about where we’re going,” Frank said. “We want to win now. We believe we are going to win now, and we’re going to do it while getting younger. That doesn’t dismiss the impact specifically that James and Zu had, but in Darius, we’re getting a two-time All-Star.”
Even though the Clippers moved up to a play-in spot this winter after a dismal start, Frank felt the team’s ceiling wasn’t high enough with the previous roster.
“We were the oldest team in the NBA. We were in ninth place despite turning around, which we do not take lightly,” he said. “But we had to make some really, really hard and difficult decisions. As a player and coach, you don’t expect those guys to like it and with every major trade we’ve made here over the last 10 years, I’ve always had to face very disappointed players.”
Here’s more on the Clippers:
- The ongoing NBA investigation into possible salary cap violations regarding Kawhi Leonard had no impact on the decisions to revamp the roster, Frank insisted. “We haven’t learned anything more than we have in September,” he said, per ESPN News Services. “We know it’s out there, we know at some point there’ll be a decision made. We very much feel the same thing that we told you back in September, that we’re on the right side of this. It really doesn’t impact anything we do on a daily basis.” The investigation commenced after a report that the Clippers may have violated the NBA’s salary cap rules through a $28MM endorsement contract between Leonard and a now-bankrupt California-based sustainability services company called Aspiration Fund Adviser LLC.
- As for Leonard’s reaction to the roster moves, Frank said his star player is in step with the organization, Law Murray of The Athletic writes. “Kawhi’s a very bright guy, and understands in order to be sustainable, you have to make some really, really hard and difficult decisions,” Frank said. “We can continue and look forward to building with Kawhi while still acknowledging we’re going to need more. And we’ll go through every step of what that looks like, whether it’s free agency, whether it’s in trade, whether it’s in draft and how we build it. But Kawhi’s been a great partner, and I anticipate him being a great partner moving forward.”
- Trading away a quality center in his prime was the toughest move Frank made. Frank informed Zubac before the trade was finalized that a team was being extremely aggressive about acquiring him, but the veteran executive “was kind of hoping” they wouldn’t meet the Clippers’ threshold for making the deal, Beth Harris of The Associated Press reports. Zubac made a lengthy visit to the team’s practice facility afterward with teammates, coaches, staff and business operations employees saying goodbye. “There were a lot of tears,” Frank said. “It’s hard because we all know what Zu means to us.”
Injury Notes: Furphy, Zubac, Giannis, CMB, Luka, Thiero
Second-year Pacers wing Johnny Furphy may have suffered a significant right leg injury in Sunday’s loss at Toronto, tweets Scott Agness of Fieldhouse Files. Furphy landed awkwardly after converting a dunk and immediately went down in a great deal of pain while grabbing at his leg (YouTube link).
The 21-year-old was initially helped off the floor with assistance and then was taken to the tunnel in a wheelchair. Furphy was formally ruled out for the remainder of the game with what the team called right leg soreness (Twitter link).
“We’re not sure on Furphy’s situation. He’ll get testing tomorrow in New York and we’ll see where things are,” head coach Rick Carlisle said after the game (Twitter link via Tony East of Circle City Spin).
The 35th overall pick in the 2024 draft, Furphy has become a rotation mainstay in his second season, averaging 5.2 points and 4.4 rebounds on .466/.324/.486 shooting through 34 games, including 20 starts (18.5 minutes per contest).
We have more injury updates from around the NBA:
- Carlisle suggested on Friday that trade acquisition Ivica Zubac may not make his Pacers debut until after the All-Star break, writes Jamal Collier of ESPN. The former Clippers center is still dealing with the lingering effects of a Grade 2 ankle sprain he sustained in December and Carlisle said the team wants the injury fully heal. “It’s kind of yo-yo’d a little bit,” Carlisle said. “My understanding from talking to him is that there’s still something there that’s not quite right. We’re not going to put him out there until he’s really ready. … He’s a guy that has played 94 or 95 percent of his games through his career and I’m presuming that’s because he’s always raring to go through things. That’s not going to be an option here.”
- The Bucks have no plans to shut down Giannis Antetokounmpo for the rest of the season and the two-time MVP is close to returning from a right calf strain, head coach Doc Rivers said on Friday (story via Collier of ESPN). “He’s going to play when he’s healthy,” Rivers said. “We just got to make sure he’s healthy. He’s getting close. He’s working out. He looks good. So I would say hopefully sooner than later.”
- Raptors forward/center Collin Murray-Boyles exited Sunday’s game early after aggravating a left thumb injury, according to Blake Murphy of Sportsnet.ca (Twitter links). The rookie big man’s injured digit was hit during the game and he is considered day-to-day, Murphy adds.
- Lakers star Luka Doncic will miss his second straight game on Monday due to a left hamstring strain, tweets Dan Woike of The Athletic. There’s reportedly optimism that the soft-tissue injury isn’t serious. Adou Thiero, who has been out since the end of December because of sprained MCL, was assigned to the G League for a practice on Sunday, according to Dave McMenamin of ESPN, who reports (via Twitter) that the rookie forward went through a full contact stay-ready game last week.
Clippers Trade Ivica Zubac To Pacers
8:26 pm: The deal is official, the Clippers confirmed in a press release.
1:13 pm: The Pacers have their new starting center, according to ESPN’s Shams Charania, who reports (via Twitter) that Indiana has reached an agreement to acquire Ivica Zubac from the Clippers.
The full trade, according to reports from Charania (Twitter links), Jake Fischer of The Stein Line (all Twitter links), and Brett Siegel of ClutchPoints (Twitter links), is as follows:
- Pacers to acquire Zubac and Kobe Brown.
- Clippers to acquire Bennedict Mathurin, Isaiah Jackson, the Pacers’ 2026 first-round pick (top-four protected and 10-30 protected), the Pacers’ 2029 first-round pick (unprotected), and the Mavericks’ 2028 second-round pick.
If that 2026 Pacers pick doesn’t land between No. 5 and No. 9, the Clippers will instead get Indiana’s unprotected 2031 first-rounder, according to Fischer.
Ever since losing Myles Turner to the division-rival Bucks in free agency last summer, the Pacers have been in the market for a new starting center, having attempted to temporarily address the position this season with a combination of Jackson, Jay Huff, Micah Potter, Tony Bradley, and James Wiseman.
Indiana was linked to several starting-caliber centers on the trade market, with a focus on players with modest or mid-sized contracts, such as Daniel Gafford, Nic Claxton, Walker Kessler, and Yves Missi. According to NBA insider Chris Haynes (Twitter link), the Pacers made a recent push to acquire Kessler, offering a package that included two unprotected first-round picks, but were rebuffed by the Jazz.
Zubac was the one name continually being linked to the Pacers for much of the season, but it was unclear if the Clippers intended to entertain offers for him after fighting their way back into the postseason picture with a 16-3 stretch. In the wake of the Clippers’ deal sending James Harden to Cleveland earlier this week, Zubac rumors once again began percolating as it became clearer that the organization had an eye toward its future, and Indiana pivoted its attention to the 28-year-old big man.
Zubac is coming off a career year in which he averaged 16.8 points and 12.6 rebounds per game, finished as the Most Improved Player runner-up, made the All-Defensive second team, and placed sixth in Defensive Player of the Year voting.
While he may not receive the same kind of award consideration this season as a member of sub-.500 teams, Zubac has once again been a valuable anchor at the five, averaging 14.4 PPG and 11.0 RPG on 61.3% shooting through 43 games. He also has a team-friendly contract that includes an $18.1MM salary this season, with guaranteed salaries of $19.6MM and $21MM to follow.
Those cap hits will increase slightly as a result of the 5% trade kicker included in Zubac’s contract, adding nearly $800K per year, notes Yossi Gozlan of The Third Apron (Twitter link). Still, his contract should provide strong value to the Pacers over the next two-and-a-half seasons as the team looks to return to contention after a disappointing 2025/26 showing.
Speaking of the Pacers’ ’25/26 performance, they currently have the third-worst record in the NBA at 13-38. They’re narrowly ahead of the Pelicans and Kings in the standings and just one game back of the Nets and Wizards, so their place in the lottery standings could change between now and the end of the season, but right now, there’s a 52.1% chance they’ll land a top-four pick and a 47.9% chance they’ll be between No. 5 and No. 7, per Tankathon.
In other words, the Clippers will have roughly a 50/50 chance – or slightly better, depending where the Pacers finish – of securing a lottery pick in the 5-9 range of what is considered a very strong draft.
That pick could be the crown jewel of the Clippers’ return for Zubac, but even if it ends up in the top four and Indiana keeps it, L.A. will be on track to receive two unprotected Pacers first-rounders down the road and is adding two young players to its roster in Mathurin (23 years old) and Jackson (24 years old).
Mathurin, the sixth overall pick in 2022, has battled thumb and toe issues this season that have limited him to 28 games, but he’s still averaging career highs in points (17.8), rebounds (5.4), and assists (2.3) per contest while shooting 37.2% from beyond the three-point line. The Canadian guard will be eligible for restricted free agency this summer.
Jackson, meanwhile, has started 14 of his 38 games for the Pacers this season, coming off an Achilles tear that limited him to five outings in 2024/25. He has averaged 6.4 PPG and 5.6 RPG in 16.8 MPG.
The fifth-year center has a $7MM salary for next season and a $6.4MM salary for ’27/28. There’s some injury protection language in his deal, notes ESPN’s Bobby Marks (Twitter link), but unless he injures his Achilles again, those salaries will remain guaranteed.
Trade Rumors: Zubac, Gafford, Bucks, Lakers, Gordon
Ivica Zubac and Daniel Gafford are the Pacers‘ top targets in their search for a starting center, sources tell Jake Fischer of The Stein Line (Twitter link). However, the Clippers are asking for a high price in draft assets to part with Zubac.
Brett Siegel of ClutchPoints hears that a Zubac deal before the deadline is “extremely unlikely,” adding that it would take at least two unprotected first-round picks and a young player to land him (Twitter link).
Indiana is searching for a reliable center in anticipation of becoming a title contender again when Tyrese Haliburton returns next season. Zubac is under contract for $19.6MM and $21MM over the next two years, which would be an affordable solution for the Pacers. Gafford is signed for the next three seasons at $17.3MM, $18.1MM and $19MM, but it’s not clear how motivated the Mavericks are to move him.
Here are some more trade rumors as the deadline draws closer:
- In the wake of their decision to keep Giannis Antetokounmpo past the deadline, the Bucks notified several teams on Thursday that they’re willing to take on unwanted minimal contracts in return for draft assets, Fischer adds (Twitter link). He also states that Milwaukee is still on the lookout for buying opportunities to upgrade its roster.
- The Lakers are continuing to explore their options “around the margins,” per Dave McMenamin of ESPN (Twitter link). However, L.A. is reluctant to make any move that will reduce its projected $60MM in cap space for the offseason.
- The Sixers are looking for a taker for veteran guard Eric Gordon and his $3.6MM expiring deal, according to Tony Jones of The Athletic (Twitter link). Several teams are involved in the discussion, Jones adds.