Can the Pacers Trade Back Into the First Round of the NBA Draft?

The Indiana Pacers traded away both their first and second round picks in the 2026 NBA Draft and join the Portland Trail Blazers as the only two teams in the league wihtout a pick in either round.

As the Pacers look to move forward and put all their focus on the 2026-27 season, there is still reason to believe that they'd have interest in getting back into the NBA Draft. The main reason? After this season, only Kam Jones and Johnny Furphy are under contract on a rookie scale deal.

Jarace Walker and Ben Sheppard are both extension eligible as they enter the final season of their rookie deal, but there is no indication on which way the team is leaning. Pacers President of Basketball Operations, Kevin Pritchard, mentioned how much he loves this team, but emphasized that he felt this core seven deserved a chance to win together, and Walker and Sheppard aren't a part of that core.

With limited flexibility moving forward from a financial standpoint, acquiring a pick in this draft could be a significant help to how the Pacers want to build their team. Today, I want to look at how the Pacers could get back into the first round of the NBA Draft.

Teams with Multiple First Round Picks

May 14, 2019; Chicago, IL, USA; NBA deputy commissioner Mark Tatum reveals the number two pick for the Memphis Grizzlies during the 2019 NBA Draft Lottery at the Hilton Chicago. Mandatory Credit: Patrick Gorski-Imagn Images | Patrick Gorski-Imagn Images

There are a handful of teams that have multiple first-round picks in the upcoming NBA Draft.

Memphis: Picks No. 3 and No. 16
Chicago: Picks No. 4 and No. 15
Atlanta: Picks No. 8 and No. 23
Dallas: No. 9 and No. 30
Oklahoma City: No. 12 and No. 17
Charlotte: No. 14 and No. 18

The most likely pick that the Pacers could acquire from this group of teams is the 30th pick from the Dallas Mavericks. After selecting Cooper Flagg first overall last season, Dallas has its' franchise cornerstone and could be willing to move off of the last pick in the first-round for future assets.

Oklahoma City has a lot of questions to answer this offseason and they don't really need to take two more prospects to develop while they're trying to win a title, and have already invested in so many young players the last few drafts. If they're looking to kick the can down the road, Indiana could offer them a future pick for No. 17, but the traded pick would need to have protections on it.

Atlanta at No. 23 feels like the third best option for the Pacers to trade a pick for. With the Hawks looking to take another step forward as a franchise, adding two rookies to their roster might not be what they want.

Trade Idea for Atlanta's 23rd Pick

Walker Gueye — Jan 31, 2026; Indianapolis, Indiana, USA; Indiana Pacers forward Jarace Walker (5) dribbles the ball while Atlanta Hawks forward Mouhamed Gueye (18) defends in the first half at Gainbridge Fieldhouse. Mandatory Credit: Trevor Ruszkowski-Imagn Images | Trevor Ruszkowski-Imagn Images

The Atlanta Hawks have a Traded Player Exception (TPE) of $11M to use. Indiana could trade Jarace Walker and their 2027 first-round pick to Atlanta for the 23rd overall pick. This would give the Hawks another 6-foot-8 wing who has proven to be a terrific shooter and they get a future pick to trade for next season.

Indiana would be able to target a player that could help them on a team friendly deal, and by moving off of Walker's $8.48M contract, they'd clear up more room to sign a player on the Mid-Level Exception.

Teams With One First Round Pick That Could Be Traded

According to Spotrac, the Warriors, Thunder, Nuggets, Cavaliers, and Knicks have the least amount of cap space next season. Golden State has the 11th overall pick so there is no chance the Pacers are able to trade for that pick.

New York, Denver and Cleveland all have late first round picks that could be attainable for Indiana depending on what they offer.

The Cavaliers have just one future second-round pick in 2033 availabe to them. With reports on Monday indicating that the team plans to run it back with an expensive team, they seem like the most likely to make a trade with.

The Nuggets have three second-round picks and all their future firsts besides 2032. At the end of May, reports came out that the Nuggets might be looking to move off of Christian Braun or Cam Johnson to create space to sign Peyton Watson. Every bit of salary counts, and the Pacers have multiple first and second-round picks they could move.

The Knicks have the 31st pick and the 55th pick in addition to their first-round pick at No. 24. Depending on what the Knicks elect to do with their team following the NBA Finals, it could make some sense for the Knicks to move off guaranteed money to a rookie at No. 24 overall.

Trade Idea for Cleveland's 29th Pick

Pacers Cavaliers — May 13, 2025; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; Cleveland Cavaliers guard Donovan Mitchell (45) drives to the basket against Indiana Pacers guard Ben Sheppard (26) during the first half of game five of the second round for the 2025 NBA Playoffs at Rocket Arena. Mandatory Credit: Ken Blaze-Imagn Images | Ken Blaze-Imagn Images

To help the Cavaliers out financially, Indiana could trade their 2033 second-round pick, the Washington Wizards 2029 second-round pick, and cash considerations for the 29th pick overall.

The reason why the Cavaliers would do this deal is to avoid the near $3M that the 29th pick would add to their books. By adding these second-round picks, Cleveland could look to trade one of these picks to get back into the second-round where they can draft a player and sign him to a lesser deal with zero or partial guarantees.

Indiana would do this deal to get a player on a rookie scale contract that they think would be worth investing long-term in. This trade could also be the beginning of another offseason move to get veteran help.

Final Thoughts

Jan 30, 2023; Indianapolis, IN, USA; Indiana Pacers president of basketball operations Kevin Pritchard speaks during an Indiana Pacers press conference at Gainsbridge Fieldhouse. Mandatory Credit: Marc Lebryk-Imagn Images | Marc Lebryk-Imagn Images

Trading back into the first-round is something that has been done before, but it is a costly move and each situation is circumstantial.

The Pacers have a team that is mostly made up players in their prime or experienced veterans. If there is a way the Pacers can trade for a player that is projected in the late first or early second that fits their core they have to do it.

Unfortunately, I would be gobsmacked if Indiana was able to pull off a deal that got them back into the first-round. The Atlanta trade I laid out previously would be the perfect type of deal for what the Pacers are looking to do. However, the most realistic option is that Indiana trades back into the second-round and targets a veteran college player who can fill a smaller role on a cheaper contract.

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