The Clippers have put themselves in a spot where other teams can come calling, and the Pacers ought to be one of them.
Los Angeles is staring at a future with almost no real draft flexibility, and that matters here. The team once had nine owned first-round picks, but now it has zero tradeable first-rounders and multiple owed pick swaps. That leaves the Clippers in the position of having to take back contracts if they want any kind of asset return, even if the pieces coming their way are minor.
For Indiana, the move is not about chasing a splash. It is about using a weak negotiating position to solve a very specific roster issue without giving up any of its three movable first-rounders.
The cleanest fit in this setup is Kris Dunn. If there is one player in the league who looks like a TJ McConnell clone, it is Dunn. The former top-five pick has turned himself into a strong point-of-attack defender and does everything on offense except shoot threes.
He is also only two years younger than the 34-year-old McConnell, so this would not be some massive upgrade. It would, however, give the Pacers a different look while also trimming away one of the areas McConnell helps most: veteran leadership.
In the framework laid out here, Indiana would move Jarace Walker’s deal and McConnell’s contract to bring back Dunn, Derrick Jones Jr., and any of the Clippers’ late roster fliers. That would fill the Pacers’ final roster spot and add two veterans in roles the team badly needs.
Jones would bring another fastbreak threat off the bench, with the ability to play either forward spot and hit a three when necessary. And by moving on from Jarace Walker, the Pacers would also avoid any future restricted free agency complications.
The end result is simple: a little more bench depth, a little more flexibility, and one more way to take advantage of a Clippers team with almost no leverage.
In Other News...
Pacers Center Trade Suddenly Looks Like An Even Bigger Long Term Win
The Pacers front office still looks like it found a smart long-term answer when it brought Ivica Zubac over from the Clippers in a deal that included multiple players and draft picks. At the time, the move made sense as a way to fill a clear need in the middle, and Zubac has since given Indiana the kind of steady center play teams usually spend years trying to lock down.
The trade has only aged better from Indianas side as some of the draft capital tied to the deal has been lost amid the Kawhi Leonard investigation. What once looked like a solid roster move now carries even more value for the Pacers, who get the benefit of Zubacs production while seeing the rest of the transaction tilt further in their favor. [Read more 🡒]
Rick Carlisle Is Getting The Kind Of Respect Pacers Fans Craved
Rick Carlisle has spent enough time around the NBA to know awards chatter can fade as quickly as it arrives, but the latest bit of attention feels different for the Pacers. ESPNs experts recently picked Carlisle as the favorite to win the 2026-27 NBA Coach of the Year award, a vote of confidence that comes with Indiana fresh off an NBA Finals appearance and with the veteran coach continuing to shape the franchise since returning in 2021.
For Pacers fans, the bigger point is the respect attached to the name. Carlisle is the leagues oldest coach, yet the conversation around him is not about nostalgia or rsum padding, it is about what he still has left to build in Indianapolis. Mitch Johnson and Will Hardy also drew support in the vote, which says plenty about the competition in the coaching ranks, but Carlisle being the one at the top is a reminder of how far the Pacers have come under his watch. [Read more 🡒]
Pacers Suddenly Look Capable Of A Bigger East Leap Than Expected
The Pacers enter the season with a roster that suddenly looks sturdy enough to make a much bigger move in the Eastern Conference than many expected. Tyrese Haliburton is back, Pascal Siakam gives Indiana a second high-end offensive engine, and the new addition of Ivica Zubac adds another layer of size and stability that could change the way this group plays night to night.
That combination is why the projections around Indiana have gotten more ambitious, from a clear jump in wins to the possibility of Haliburton pacing the league in assists and Zubac turning in a career-best year. None of it is guaranteed, of course, but the logic is easy to follow: when a team has this much depth and top-end skill, the ceiling starts to look a lot higher, and the East may be about to find that out. [Read more 🡒]