The Lakers’ deal for Walker Kessler only sharpened the case for Indiana’s February move.
On Wednesday, July 1, 2026, Los Angeles agreed to a four-year, $130 million contract with the Utah Jazz center, then lined up a sign-and-trade that will send Kessler to the Lakers for two unprotected first-round picks in 2031 and 2033, plus two first-round pick swaps in 2028 and 2030. It’s a hefty price to lock down the middle of the floor, and it also brings new perspective to what the Pacers did at the trade deadline.
Indiana had been linked to Kessler during that stretch, but Utah reportedly passed on the Pacers’ offer. That same package eventually went to the Los Angeles Clippers for Ivica Zubac, and in hindsight, that looks like the cleaner play for the Pacers.
Kessler is still a young center with room to grow, but the money tells the story. His average annual value comes in at $32.5 million, while Zubac is set to make $20.3 million this season and $21.7 million the following season, according to SpoTrac.com. That gap matters, especially for a team trying to keep its books flexible while adding pieces around the roster.
Indiana didn’t just get a starting center out of the deal. The lower cost also left room to sign Kelly Oubre Jr. to the two-year, $17 million contract they gave him in the offseason. If the Pacers had landed Kessler at the deadline on the same terms the Lakers accepted, they would have been a first-apron team and likely wouldn’t have been able to make that Oubre move unless they cleared Jarace Walker’s $8.4 million contract.
That’s the kind of domino effect that can shape a roster. Kessler may have been the more attractive swing in a vacuum, and the Lakers may have had to go big to keep Utah from matching, but Indiana’s decision gave it two important things: a center in Zubac and the flexibility to add wing depth with Oubre Jr. For a Pacers team built on depth, that was the smarter way to spend.
Kevin Pritchard, Chad Buchanan, and Ted Wu have been aggressive about finding players who fit the budget and the role. In this case, the Pacers filled a starting-center need, added backup wing help, and avoided tying themselves to an overpay for Kessler when similar, if not better, production was available for less.
In Other News...
Pacers Just Sent Tyrese Haliburton Another Clear Win-Now Message
The Pacers kept pressing their win-now push by adding Kelly Oubre Jr. on a two-year deal worth nearly $17 million, a move that gives the roster another experienced wing option with a useful two-way profile. For a team trying to keep Tyrese Haliburton at the center of a serious contender, it is the kind of signing that says Indiana is not waiting around to see how the East shakes out.
Oubre is expected to bring depth and spacing on the wing, the sort of support piece that can matter in the grind of a long season and into the spring. He also fits a larger pattern in Indianapolis, where the front office has continued to spend and use draft capital to bolster the core around Haliburton and Pascal Siakam, signaling that the Pacers are building for more than just a good regular season. [Read more 🡒]
Pacers Fans Suddenly Have A Wild LeBron Dream To Consider
LeBron James is suddenly on the market, and that alone is enough to send fans across the league spinning through the possibilities. For Indiana, the conversation is less about pure odds than about fit: the Pacers have a young, ascending core, a recent Finals run to sell and a chance to argue that they are no longer just a promising team, but one with real championship ambitions.
Shams Charanias reporting that James could be open to different kinds of deals only adds to the intrigue, because it broadens the list of teams that can at least make a case. Indiana still looks like a long shot in most rankings, but for a franchise trying to climb from contender to destination, even being mentioned in the same breath as LeBron is the kind of wrinkle that keeps the offseason interesting. [Read more 🡒]
Bulls Move On Quickly From Young Guard As Roster Churn Continues
Roster movement keeps spilling across the league, and the Pacers are right in the middle of the summer shuffle. Indiana has been linked to wing help in free agency, with interest in Kelly Oubre Jr., Gary Trent Jr. and Josh Okogie as it looks for ways to keep adding depth around the edges of the roster.
The churn is not just about who might come in, either. Chicago waived Kam Jones before his deal became fully guaranteed, a reminder of how quickly teams are trimming and reshaping spots even after a player has spent time in the building. For Indiana, every one of those decisions matters because the market is still moving and the next roster fit may not stay available for long. [Read more 🡒]