The Indiana Pacers still want to be back in the championship mix after last season’s ugly 19-win collapse, and the trade for Ivica Zubac made that goal pretty clear. But if that push doesn’t stick, Indiana is sitting on a roster built to pivot fast.
That’s the real wrinkle here: this isn’t a team boxed into one path. The Pacers have veterans who would draw interest around the league, plus enough young pieces to keep a rebuild from feeling like a dead end.
And if Tyrese Haliburton is right, there’s no reason to talk about tearing anything down. If he isn’t, the reset gets a lot more serious.
Still, the Pacers’ situation isn’t just about Haliburton. Teams don’t stay fully committed forever, whether the reason is performance or money, and Indiana has enough movable talent to adapt if the moment comes.
Pascal Siakam, Ivica Zubac, and TJ McConnell all fit that description. Each of them would help a contender, and that matters because it means Indiana could get real value back if it ever decides to move on.
Zubac is the easiest example. The Pacers got him at a discount because they were aggressive early, and even after sending out the fifth overall pick in that deal, they could likely turn the 29-year-old center into a stronger return now.
Siakam’s value is just as obvious. Indiana landed him by packaging two mediocre first-round picks and Bruce Brown’s filler contract, and he has already looked like the kind of player contenders chase: a versatile second option who can score, create, and still keep his usage rate low. He can be a team’s top scorer, or he can do the quieter work that good teams never seem to have enough of.
McConnell might be older, but he would still bring something useful in a playoff setting. A backup point guard who can tilt the possession battle the way he does could still fetch a handful of second-rounders and an intriguing prospect.
If Indiana ever took that route, the remaining core would still give it something to work with: Haliburton, Aaron Nesmith, and Andrew Nembhard, plus more draft capital, with all but one of its own picks still in hand and whatever young talent comes back in deals. A lineup built around Haliburton, Nembhard, Nesmith, Jarace Walker or Obi Toppin, and a center brought in through a trade would leave the Pacers with both structure and flexibility.
The changes to the draft lottery only strengthen that option, since Indiana could add quality young talent without sinking all the way into 20-win territory.
None of this means the Pacers are preparing to quit on the current era. It does mean they’re equipped to turn a bad situation into something useful if that’s where things end up.
In Other News...
Pacers Just Lost A Franchise What-If Fans Wont Forget
The Pacers went into the lottery with a chance to reshape their future, but instead watched the first overall pick in the 2026 NBA Draft land with the Washington Wizards and their own selection tumble to fifth before heading to the LA Clippers because of the earlier Ivica Zubac trade. For a franchise that has spent plenty of time trying to thread the needle between staying competitive now and building for later, it was the kind of result that stings because it closes off a rare path to a true blue-chip talent.
For Indiana, the fallout is bigger than one unlucky night. The lottery miss changes the shape of the next phase of team building, while also inviting the familiar what-if questions that follow this franchise around when a major opportunity slips away. The discussion now turns to who the Pacers might have been able to target at the top, and how much this setback will matter as they continue trying to develop their roster and keep pace in the East. [Read more 🡒]
Pacers May Be Running Out Of Time With Jarace Walker
Jarace Walker entered the league with real first-round expectations after Indiana took him eighth overall in 2023, but his place in the rotation has only gotten more precarious since the Pascal Siakam trade reshaped the roster. The Pacers still have a young, versatile forward on their hands, yet the path for Walker to carve out a steady role in Indianapolis has narrowed, and that matters now with restricted free agency creeping closer.
For a team trying to balance contention and long-term roster management, the next move around Walker may be less about what he can become and more about whether there is still a clean fit for both sides. If Indiana decides the timeline no longer lines up, a trade could make sense, and the idea of moving him before the situation gets even trickier is starting to look like a real possibility rather than just offseason chatter. [Read more 🡒]