It was respectable and right for Pacers to go for it

Despite the Indiana Pacers falling out of the top four and it stinging supporters that they won’t pick one of the talented prospects in this loaded draft, the trade for Ivica Zubac made them better. It’s unfair to call it a bad trade because there was a good chance the team would have kept the pick, and had they, talk would have started about the swap being a heist.

The trade was made at a time when the team was desperate for a quality big man to replace Myles Turner. Think about how close the team was last year, even with Tyrese Haliburton’s devastating Achilles tear in Game 7 of the Finals, and how no team has had the conference by the throat since LeBron James was on the Cleveland Cavaliers.

The exchange may have taken some sweetening of the pot since quality centers are not normally not on the market for long. Still, even with things not going according to plan, president of basketball operations Kevin Pritchard took ownership of it.

He posted on X (formerly Twitter), “I'm really sorry to all our fans. I own taking this risk. Surprised it came up 5th after this year. I thought we were due some luck. But please remember - this team deserved a starting center to compete with the best teams next year. We have always been resilient.”

Imagine if the New York Knicks execs, who are doing well for themselves as the team goes to its second Eastern Conference Finals in the last two years, had the same accountability for the Mikal Bridges trade that brought him in for a package that included sending out five first-round picks.

Ivica Zubac made the All-Defensive Second Team last year. He’s made improvements guarding at the level of the screen, and he has the size plus power to slow down the big boys. Considering how the pick stayed with the Los Angeles Clippers, it may turn into a motivating factor for Zubac in Indiana to prove he was more than worth it.

Zubac does not need to be Shaquille O’Neal but he needs to be an All-Star, and better than he was in 2025-26. (Maybe being as impactful as Rik Smits will be enough.) His post play is his best offensive asset, making him more of a threat than a catch-and-shoot specialist, which creates two-man possibilities with Tyrese Haliburton and Pascal Siakam, among others, without having to over rely on screen rolls. Just picture one of these two playmakers working off the double-team Zubac attracts in the post to get open for a cut or 3-point shot.

Although, there will be a steady diet of screen rolls next year, too. Whoever runs it with him is going to unfasten the defense at the corner and wings. Don’t count out a career year for Zubac in Indiana’s pass-heavy attack, and since he’s a large man, slipping out of a stagger screen and horns set will be effective tools.

Even with all Zubac brings, some might be unsatisfied after losing the 2026 FRP because the kid taken may turn out better than him. It’s reasonable for them to say the price was too high. Even if the pick is a dud, it doesn’t mean it would have been that way if the Pacers chose someone else. Yet a fair counter would be that title windows are shorter than expected.

Think of the Miami Heat not being able to capitalize on the Jimmy Butler and Bam Adebayo pairing when their chance was shorter than the time they were together. Or how the Los Angeles Lakers only got one ring out of the Anthony Davis and James combo. There’s also the Milwaukee Bucks only breaking though once in 2021 in part because of injuries.

History might remember the trade poorly, but no one wants an executive team that plays it safe. Always remember: scared money don’t make no money.

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