The Ivica Zubac deal looks a lot different now than it did when the Indiana Pacers first made it, but the actual price tag never changed.
Indiana went after Zubac at the trade deadline with a package built around two first-round picks, Bennedict Mathurin, and Isaiah Jackson. At the time, that was already a big swing - and it was also the kind of package that could have been flipped again for an even bigger name.
Zubac was a strong get then, and he still is now. He’s been viewed around the league as one of the more underrated big men, the kind of old-school center teams say they want until it’s time to pay for one. But the question of whether he was worth multiple firsts, including one that later turned into a top-five pick after Indiana’s gap year, is one we may never really get answered.
What changed is the optics. The Los Angeles Clippers’ guilty verdict in the Kawhi Leonard-Aspiration cap-circumnavigation scandal and the loss of the 2029 Pacers pick have left the Clippers’ return looking like Illinois wing and fifth-overall pick Keaton Wagler.
That has plenty of fans acting like the Pacers somehow got away with something. But the point is simple: the Clippers’ punishment does not erase what Indiana gave up. It only changes how the deal looks from the outside.
Indiana no longer has to worry about that 2029 pick climbing into the lottery. It no longer has to wonder whether Los Angeles could turn it into another star. The trade cannot get worse for the Pacers now.
That helps the argument war online. It does not help the roster.
There’s value in seeing Clippers fans take heat, especially the ones who rushed to defend a billionaire owner. They absolutely deserve the mockery they’re getting. But that doesn’t put anything back in Indiana’s hands.
It’s a moral victory, but it’s a pyrrhic one. The pick is gone. The only thing that disappeared was the fear that it might become even more painful later.
And that still leaves Indiana with the real prize: the player.
The broader league context makes that even clearer. If Zubac had been available this summer, he probably wouldn’t have ended up in Indiana.
Teams like the Boston Celtics were already pushing hard for Mitchell Robinson from the New York Knicks, and the cap-strapped OKC Thunder made room for an Isaiah Hartenstein extension. The market for centers was active, and teams with more ammunition than the Pacers were ready to spend.
That matters. If a team like the Celtics had added extra first-round picks by trading Jaylen Brown, then offered those picks to the Clippers, there’s no reason to think Los Angeles would have passed on the bigger haul. Indiana moved before that kind of bidding could happen.
That’s why this was already a win for the Pacers, even before the fifth overall pick left the board. They got a quality player at a position of need and got in early enough to beat the market. And even with only five games in blue and yellow, Zubac’s value has clearly gone up.
The stripped picks should not be part of the equation anymore.
In Other News...
Pacers Gamble On From Myles Turner Looks Smarter Than Ever
When Indiana let Myles Turner walk, it was a franchise-shaping decision, the kind that invites immediate second-guessing. Turner landed with the Bucks on a four-year deal worth $108.9 million, while the Pacers moved on by trading for Ivica Zubac and positioning themselves for the 2026-27 season with bigger goals in mind. It was a clear bet on reshaping the roster rather than trying to keep the old core intact.
Early signs have only added to the debate, because Turners first season in Milwaukee produced his lowest statistical averages since his rookie year. For Indiana, that doesnt automatically make the choice look right or wrong, but it does sharpen the context around what comes next. The Pacers wanted flexibility and a path toward a title run, and now the question is whether the pivot away from Turner ends up being the move that gives them the ceiling they were chasing. [Read more 🡒]
Pacers Fans Can Already See Milwaukees Myles Turner Problem
Myles Turners exit from Indianapolis was always going to linger, but the timing has made the comparison even easier for Pacers fans to spot. Indiana moved on from its longest-tenured player by turning to Ivica Zubac on a more favorable contract, while Turner landed in Milwaukee carrying the kind of deal that tends to invite scrutiny the moment the results wobble.
For the Pacers, the bigger takeaway is not just that they replaced Turner, but that they did it without inheriting the same financial baggage. Turner still brings shot-blocking and a recognizable skill set, but the questions around his overall defensive impact and efficiency have followed him into Bucks conversations, and that makes his contract look even heavier from a distance. [Read more 🡒]
Cavs Just Got A Clear Measuring Stick In The East
The Pacers enter the East discussion with a starting group that still looks built to cause problems for just about anybody, especially when Tyrese Haliburton is setting the table and Pascal Siakam is giving them a second star who can bend a defense. Add in a center option like Ivica Zubac and the conversation quickly shifts from simple depth to fit, because Indianas best lineups have a way of looking more connected than the roster usually gets credit for.
What makes the measuring-stick talk so interesting is that the Pacers are being judged not just by names, but by how all the parts hold together against the Easts best. There are questions about chemistry, injuries and how the newest pieces mesh with the established core, and those are the sorts of details that can separate a team that looks dangerous on paper from one that actually climbs the conference ladder once the season starts. [Read more 🡒]