How The Los Angeles Clippers Fleeced The Indiana Pacers At The 2026 Trade Deadline

Nov 4, 2025; Inglewood, California, USA; LA Clippers players (from left) center Brook Lopez (11), center Ivica Zubac (40), forward Derrick Jones Jr. (5), forward Nicolas Batum (33) and, guard Kris Dunn (8) watch on the bench against the Oklahoma City Thunder in the second half at Intuit Dome. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

How The Los Angeles Clippers Fleeced The Indiana Pacers At The 2026 Trade Deadline

Originally posted on Stadium Rant | By David Desa | Last updated May 13, 2026 8:30 AM ET

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When it comes to the 2026 NBA draft and the Los Angeles Clippers, the league knew that they didn’t own their pick. The Clippers traded the rights to the 2026 draft pick in the 2019 offseason. It was sent to the Oklahoma City Thunder to acquire Paul George. This ultimately led to them signing Kawhi Leonard that same offseason, which looked like a great deal for them, but years later, it was turning out to be one of the worst in recent history. Well, now the tables have turned for Los Angeles, and it looks to get the franchise back on track after an underwhelming seven years since that trade with the Thunder.

The Clippers And Pacers Trade At The Deadline

What better way to get a franchise in the right direction than having a top pick in a draft class that is looked at as one of the deepest in decades? The Clippers have a chance to do just that with the deal they made with the Indiana Pacers that involved their starting center, Ivica Zubac. For the fans of Los Angeles, it was definitely hard to see him go because they had seen him grow into a great building block for them. Some might consider him a top ten center in the game, and without question, he was playing like it. So they sold high on him to a team that was in desperate need of a center.

Zubac will be a great addition to this Pacers team, especially when they get Tyrese Haliburton back to full health in the 2026-27 NBA season. Indiana took a major chance with the draft capital they ended up trading to get this deal done, and it might end up coming back to haunt them. The official trade was Zubac and Kobe Brown to the Pacers. Bennedict Mathurin, Isaiah Jackson, a 2029 first-round pick, a 2028 second-round pick, and a 2026 first-round pick went back to the Clippers. That 2026 pick was top-four protected, and it ended up being unfortunate for Indiana as the pick landed at five.

End Of Los Angeles Clippers Rant

This turned out to be a great deal for Los Angeles; it got back a promising, young player in Mathurin, the fifth pick in a loaded draft class, and future picks. Depending on who the Clippers draft and how good they turn out to be, this could end up being one of the more lopsided trades in recent memory. Caleb Wilson could be a potential fit for this team to bolster their frontcourt. It made sense for the Pacers to make this deal; they had a high chance of the pick landing in the top four. Unfortunately for them, it didn’t. The Clippers got lucky in the draft lottery.

This article first appeared on Stadium Rant and was syndicated with permission.

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