The Indiana Pacers are caught in the middle of the NBA’s punishment of the Los Angeles Clippers, and they have every reason to be annoyed.
The league’s heavy sanctions against the Clippers for salary cap circumvention involving superstar Kawhi Leonard have made headlines across the NBA. But for Indiana, the fallout goes beyond the team that broke the rules. It reaches back to a trade the Pacers made with Los Angeles, one that sent Indiana’s 2029 first-round pick to the Clippers.
That pick is now gone after being stripped from Los Angeles, and that is exactly why the Pacers should be frustrated. Indiana did not do anything wrong here. The team was simply part of a previous deal, and now its asset has disappeared with no selection being made.
The Pacers had already used that trade to bring in center Ivica Zubac, a move that may have flown under the radar but was described as a strong pickup. Last season was still considered a gap year because of the injury Tyreese Haliburton suffered in the previous NBA Finals, but Indiana still worked to improve its roster.
The bigger issue, though, is what happens when a first-round pick gets taken away. One less player hears his name called on draft night.
Players spend their whole lives chasing that moment, and stripping a pick means one fewer opportunity for that dream to come true. That is part of why the situation feels wrong.
There is also the simple fact that Indiana had no role in the Clippers’ violations. If the NBA is going to remove a pick because of one team’s misconduct, the argument is that it should return to the original team. The thought of Indiana using that pick to land a star would only add to the conversation, especially given the way the Clippers’ punishment has unfolded.
The source of the problem is clear, and so is the position being taken: stripped picks should go back to where they started. The Pacers, who were only involved because of a trade, are the ones left holding the consequences. And even with that lost asset, the 2029 Pacers first-round pick was not expected to be a high one anyway, since Indiana’s struggles were tied to Haliburton’s Finals injury rather than a lack of talent.
The Pacers may not be the favorites, but they also should not be dismissed. And if the pick were returned, that would only make their case stronger.
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