Pacers Draft Day 1 Preview: Should Indiana Trade Into 1st Round?

With no pick in the upcoming 2026 NBA Draft what can we expect the Indiana Pacers to do?

Well, it depends on how important the Pacers front office and coaching staff feels it is to get into the first round of this year's draft. This class was viewed as one of the best in a longtime, but with the way NIL is impacting the finances of college basketball, several players who would have been first-round picks elected to go back to college where they can make more money and get drafted higher next season.

That makes this draft class weaker, while a good amount of players in the back third of the NBA Draft will be selected higher than they would have been had several college returnees stayed in.

Latest Reporting

Giannis Antetokounmpo and Bobby Portis are headed to the Miami Heat for a HAUL. The Bucks will receive: Tyler Herro, Kel'el Ware, Jaime Jaquez Jr., Kasparas Jakucionis, 3 first-round picks (No. 13, 2031,a nd 2033), a 2030 first-round pick swap and a 2033 second-rounder per Shams Charania of ESPN.

This clearly balances out the Eastern Conference powers more than if Giannis had been traded to Boston. I think the Pacers front office can let out a sigh of relief with this result compared to the Celtics.

Norman Powell is someone I can see Indiana being intrigued by in Free Agency, but he might become a priority for the Heat now after trading a good portion of their roster to Milwaukee. This move also indicates that the Bucks might be open for business as they are rostering a multitude of players that they can't realistically keep.

Potential Bucks Trade candidates for the Pacers: AJ Green, Gary Trent Jr. (player option), and now Jaime Jaquez (restricted free agent). This deal could turn into something bigger as it cannot be legally completed till July 6th, and these are the types of deals that tend to get bigger as other teams become a part of it with smaller moves.

Overall, It is hard to imagine the Bucks keep all of these players, as they acquired four for two, and have two draft picks at No. 10 and No. 13 im tonight's draft. More pieces will be moving...it's just a matter of who is going where.

Backend of First Round Open for Trade

Jake Fischer of The Stein Line has been all over the latest intel for the NBA Draft, and has mentioned a handful of teams in the back third of the NBA Draft are willing to move out of their pick.

On Monday evening, the Bulls, Nets and Timberwolves made a three-team deal that sent Julius Randle and No. 28 to the Brooklyn Nets, Nic Claxton to the Chicago Bulls, and Mouhamadou Gueye to the Timberwolves on a non-guaranteed contract.

Chicago is under new management and looking to rebuild the Bulls. Brooklyn takes a big salary load of Minnesota's hands in Randle deal, but moves up in draft, and the Timberwolves create a ton of salary cap space that they didn't have by offloading Randle's contract.

Ayo Dosunmu off the Table

ayo — Apr 7, 2026; Indianapolis, Indiana, USA; Minnesota Timberwolves guard Ayo Dosunmu (13) looks on in the second half against the Indiana Pacers at Gainbridge Fieldhouse. Mandatory Credit: Trevor Ruszkowski-Imagn Images | Trevor Ruszkowski-Imagn Images

In a subsequent move, Shams Charania of ESPN tweeted, "Free agent guard, Ayo Dosunmu, intends to sign a five-year, $112 million contract to return to the Minnesota Timberwolves, with a player option in the fifth season." After salary dumping Julius Randle to Brooklyn with the No. 28 pick, the Timberwolves lock up their trade deadline acquisition.

This takes another unlikely Pacers candidate off the table, as Dosunmu will make roughly $22.4M for his average annual value the next five seasons. A great payday for the standout guard and well above the full mid-level exception the Pacers were hoping to get in on.

New York Knicks Trade Rumors: Pick No. 24 or No. 31 Available

As of late Monday evening, we know that the Knicks are looking to trade either pick No. 24 or pick No. 31 per Jake Fischer. With the Knicks backs against the wall financially, paying for two players in the same range doesn't make sense. I expect the Knicks to be more open to trading No. 24, only because of how much cheaper No. 31 will be.

Hawks Latest Moves - Willing to Trade No. 23?

Wiggins McCollum — Jan 31, 2022; Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, USA; Portland Trail Blazers guard CJ McCollum (3) is defended by Oklahoma City Thunder guard Aaron Wiggins (21) on a drive to the basket during the first quarter at Paycom Center. Mandatory Credit: Alonzo Adams-Imagn Images | Alonzo Adams-Imagn Images

Atlanta has pick No. 23 in addition to pick No. 8 in which they acquired from New Orleans last season. There have been reports that they are willing to move of No. 23, and they just extended CJ McCollum to a 1-year, $21M contract, and traded two second-round picks to the Thunder for Aaron Wiggins.

Celtics and Nuggets Looking to Move Out or Up?

Denver is reportedly interested in shedding the salary of Zeke Nnaji with No. 26 attached, but they have also been mentioned as a team that wants to move up in the draft. Same can be said for Boston at No. 27. Indiana doesn't want to take on the salary of Marshall for No. 26, unless other assets than No. 26 are added to it in the deal.

Cavaliers Up Against it Financially?

Apr 5, 2026; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; Cleveland Cavaliers guard Max Strus (2) drives to the basket against Indiana Pacers guard Ethan Thompson (55) during the first half at Rocket Arena. Mandatory Credit: Ken Blaze-Imagn Images | Ken Blaze-Imagn Images

Cleveland would be a great candidate to trade out of the first round, as they have a ton of money on their books with Harden, Mitchell, Mobley, and Allen. Trades are expected to happen with the Cavaliers, potentially Max Strus, who is someone the Pacers showed interest in before he signed in Cleveland. It would cost Indiana Jarace Walker and Micah Potter to take back Strus in a deal, but No. 29 might also be in play for a trade.

Dallas Taking a 2nd Pick at No. 30?

flagg — Oct 29, 2025; Dallas, Texas, USA; Dallas Mavericks forward Cooper Flagg (32) shoots the ball between Indiana Pacers center Tony Bradley (13) and center Jay Huff (32) during the second half at the American Airlines Center. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-Imagn Images | Jerome Miron-Imagn Images

The Mavericks have the No. 9 overall pick in the draft, and acquired pick No. 30 from the Thunder in a previous deal. With a roster full of young talent and a new head coach in Dusty May, as well as new management in Masai Ujiri, who knows what the Mavericks will do at No. 30. Trading back into the second round would make sense, as the Mavericks are without a second-round selection. If Indiana could get a second-round pick and trade it with Dallas for No. 30, that could be a possibility.

Final Thoughts

The Pacers have opportunities to get into the First Round of the NBA Draft but they are limited with what they can do.

As other teams continue to make big moves to improve their rosters, the Pacers can wait it out and evaluate what is going to become available from these moves. Indiana is confident in their Core Seven, but it doesn't rule out the possibility of making a moves around the edges to get better.

Milwaukee's rebuild will have ripple effects across the entire league and the Pacers have to monitor it closely. There are going to be several chances for the Pacers to improve their roster this offseason, but Night One of the NBA Draft is the beginning of it all.

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