NBA Draft Lottery: Mother's Day or Mother's Day Massacre for Pacers?
Hope for the best, but prepare for the worst has become a Pacers lifestyle in 2026 waiting on results that are now in the hands of the basketball gods.
“Let me tell you something my friend. Hope is a dangerous thing. Hope can drive a man insane.”
For many Pacers fans, over the past several months, this quote from Red in Shawshank Redemption may hit too close to home. Tankathon Sim Lottery addiction is a real thing that only further highlights the random results Pacers nearly 50/50 odds can deliver. For the record, my latest spin had the Pacers taking Cam Boozer with the No. 3 pick. But we’ve all had the five tries before the Pacers finally land in the top four which only generates maddening thoughts.
But now hope is finally ready to meet reality on Sunday afternoon when the NBA draft lottery results are revealed. With a tick better than a coin flip’s chance, the Pacers will either land a top four pick in the draft or see their 2026 top pick go to the Clippers. Of this, we are all well aware.
While hoping for that top four pick, it is only natural to consider the options at each of the four spots and how incredible it would be for the Pacers to land the top pick for the first time with a shot to pick among the four players at the top tier of the draft. Dreams of AJ Dybantsa, with his dynamic game and size that would fit nicely in the 3 or 4 spot for the Pacers, are hard to shake.
But with the lottery wait winding down, I’m sensing any spot in the top four will be a huge win worthy of celebrating with the efficient addition of a quality depth piece for the current two-year window and potential star and cornerstone for more years down the road. Plus, in addition to Dybantsa, making a case for Darryn Peterson, Cam Boozer or Caleb Wilson is rather easy as all should be able to raise the Pacers current ceiling and long-term outlook.
The Pacers are sending TJ McConnell to represent the team on the dais at the lottery. Hopefully, he can pull a ‘McConnell’ and swipe a top four pick to bring home similar to his signature steals against unassuming opponents when they try to inbound the ball after a made basket.
Should the Pacers fall out of the top four, ‘Massacre’ is a bit hyperbolic to describe the circumstances although that will surely be the reaction for many among Pacers Nation (see Shawshank quote above). Although I find it hard to say the Pacers would have wasted a horrid 19-win season with nothing to show for it because…what was the alternative? Winning 32 games and not trading for Zubac? The injury issues went beyond Tyrese Haliburton left few reasonable options other than how the season played out.
But understandably, frustration will rule the day if the Pacers come up empty on Mother’s Day. However, in this worst case scenario, the Pacers still have an extremely solid center in Ivica Zubac at a cap friendly cost (around $20 million per) for their current two-year championship window. They also recover their 2031 first round pick as they move toward Plan B.
In recent radio interviews, both Rick Carlisle and Chad Buchannan have indicated the Pacers are prepared for either scenario and will move on to continue improving the roster with the pick or not. They would have some extra money on hand not adding the $10 million-ish salary of a top pick to the cap. That combined with a player or two could help the Pacers fortify their depth at center or elsewhere.
If they don’t expect to extend Jarace Walker, he would immediately assume a tradeable status as Benn Mathurin did last season. TJ McConnell is also considered a moveable salary, although can they do that after sending him to the lottery? That would be cruel. All or nothing TJ!
Regardless of the outcome on Sunday, the Pacers will be in great shape for the 2026-27 season with a (knock on wood) return to general good health throughout the top of the playing rotation. After watching the Eastern Conference playoffs without the Pacers, they certainly missed out on a golden opportunity to make another run at the Finals this year and will be in good position to make another run next year, as is.
So on Sunday evening, the Pacers offseason will officially be underway with the direction set pending the results of the lottery. Still less than a year ago, the most entertaining and fun NBA Pacers season ended abruptly in tragic manner on the last possible day of the season. Pacers fans then had to endure one of the least entertaining regular seasons in team history, hunting for solace in the hope of landing a top level draft pick.
While the Pacers will move forward quite well with or without that top pick, seeing the Pacers logo among the top four in the draft lottery would be fun. Is it too much to ask for the Pacers to have some fun on Mother’s Day?