Evaluating the Indiana Pacers Future at the Center Position

The center position was once the most coveted position for a team to build their core around. While that has drastically changed in the modern NBA, the value of the big man has grown increasingly more important as the league is shifting from the small-ball Warriors Era to the Victor Wembanyama Era.

For the Pacers, they had to find a starting center once Myles Turner took his talents to Cream City, and they did so with a blockbuster trade that got them Ivica Zubac.

Now, the Pacers enter the 2026 offseason with Zubac at the top of their depth chart, with Jay Huff and Micah Potter rounding out the rest of the group.

For today, I want to rank the centers based on how I see them fitting into the Pacers future, specifically after this two-year championship window.

1. Ivica Zubac

In 2024-25, Zubac had a career year with the Los Angeles Clippers, averaging 16.8 points, 12.6 rebounds, 1.1 blocks, 2.7 assists, while shooting 62.8% from the field. Zubac was voted to the All-NBA Defensive Second Team, and finished sixth in Defensive Player of the Year voting.

Offensively, Zubac is a terrific screensetter who has the ability to create space for ball handlers to get downhill and put pressure on the defense. In addition to that, once he sets the screen and rolls to the rim, the amount of gravity he draws causes opponents to leave shooters wide open with the fear that he might finish an easy two.

While it was only a five-game sample size, Big Zu displayed everything he can bring to the table offensively for the Pacers before his season was ended short with a broken rib. Pacers fans saw his "bone-crushing" screens and rim gravity, but also witnessed the big man catch the ball on the roll, and kick it out to open shooters with crisp and efficient passes.

If a team decided to switch the defensive matchup after the screen, Big Zu would take his opponent into the paint and call for a post-up. There were a handful of times when centers were matched onto Big Zu, and Pacers still ran post plays to try and get him some buckets around the rim. Offensively, there is a lot to love, and I don't see that falling off any time soon.

Zubac is coming off a career year. pic.twitter.com/TIWJu651eT
— BBall Index (@The_BBall_Index) September 20, 2025

Defensively, you can see in this graphic why the Pacers had him at the top of their trade targets board. Zubac is an incredible defender (and rebounder) that will only get better in the Pacers' system with more reps and a full offseason to get his body into the shape the Pacers want to play.

Whether Indiana elects to play more drop coverage, or they ask Big Zu to guard in space, he has proven that he has the capabilities to do both. His skillset is elite, and while the Clippers haven't been able to go on a deep playoff run for him to showcase those skills, every team in the league understands how big of a pickup this was for the Pacers.

At just twenty-nine years old, Big Zu still has plenty of game left to play. Last season was the first season where we saw injuries end his season prematurely, but prior to that, durability was always a positive for the Coration center.

If Haliburton and Zubac can replicate the chemistry he had with 36-year-old James Harden, this marriage could well exceed the two-year window, and Zubac could cash in on an extension.

2. Jay Huff

The 7-foot-1 center had a career year for the blue and gold, playing in all 82 games. During his lone season with the Pacers, Huff started in 47 games, led the team in blocks with 1.9 per game, and scored a career-high 9.5 points per game on 47.6% shooting from the field.

Indiana traded for Huff shortly after Myles Turner's departure, and the vision for acquiring Huff made sense. He is a terrific rim protector, and shot 40.5% from three the year prior in Memphis. Unfortunately, the three-point shooting didn't carryover as he was only able to knock down 31.9% of his outside shots, but the threat of being able to spread the floor was there.

As you can see in the picture, the outside shooting and blocks were not the highlight of Huff's skillsets. It was the backwards dunks that got the crowd rolling, thanks to the extra pizzaz on the slams.

Huff will turn twenty-nine years old before the season starts, and it will be the first time in his six year career that he will be with the same franchise beyond one season. Having familiarity with an organization and his teammates can only help him get off to a better start, but Indiana will have a team option on Huff's contract following this season.

That makes it extremely difficult to know what his future will look like with the team, but I can't envision Indiana extending him after his contract runs out. Huff does have skill, but unless he has a phenomenal season as the backup five in 2026-27, the Pacers would be foolish to not try and upgrade their center depth.

3. Micah Potter

What Micah Potter was able to do last season was impressive. Joining the team the day after Christmas and being able to ride out his non-guaranteed contract through the entirety of the season is an accomplishment in itself.

Shooting a career-high 42.3% from three (minimum 25 attempts in a season), and scoring a career-high 9.7 points per game was something that can't be overlooked. His offense was marvelous for the Pacers this season, providing them with a legitimate floor-spacing big.

In addition to his shooting, Potter added five rebounds in 19.3 minutes, while also dishing out 1.5 assists per game. He gave the ball energy with quick decisions and fit in quickly with how the Pacers like to play offense.

Defensively, things were not as successful for Potter, as he found himself involved in several pick-and-roll situations for the opponent. Teams took advantage of his inability to guard in space, and his lack of lateral quickness.

On occasion, Potter would find himself with his hips squared, helping him to stay in front of his opponent. But usually he needed the weakside defense to help him out, and that then put the Pacers into scramble mode, which led to better looks for the offense.

At twenty-eight years old and hanging onto a non-guaranteed contract with the blue and gold, I don't evision a future for Potter past this season. His shooting and rebounding are strong enough skills that the Pacers will likely give him a look at training camp and make a decision from there, but even if he were to pull off a Tony Bradley type of stint with Indiana, it will come to an end before a new contract.

Simialr to Huff, Indiana can find a better answer for their center depth than Potter. His affordable contract makes him more valuable now, but it would not be wise to keep a center entering his thirties after this two-year window.

Final Thoughts

While Zubac, Huff, and Potter are all stylistically different, only Big Zu makes sense for the long-term future of this team. All three centers will be nearing or older than thirty after this two-year window, and the Pacers need to find a young big they can grow and develop sooner than later.

You can follow me on X @AlexGoldenNBA and listen to my daily podcast, Setting The Pace, wherever you get your podcasts.

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