Pacers solidify their center position before trade deadline

Veteran big man Ivica Zubac fills a gaping hole in the middle for the Pacers to pair nicely with the return of Tyrese Haliburton next season.

The Pacers acquired one of their top targets to solidify the center position a couple of hours before the trade deadline passed on Thursday. Ivica Zubac (EE-vee-tsah ZOO-bahts) will soon join the Pacers, along with Kobe Brown, while Bennedict Mathurin and Isaiah Jackson will get a fresh start with the Clippers.

Zubac will turn 29 on March 29th and has two years remaining on his current contract for around $20 million per season. The big man is currently averaging 14.4 points and 11 rebounds per game, following up his best overall season last year when he average 16.8 points and 12.6 rebounds for the 50-win Clips.

At 7-0, 240 pounds, Zubac brings a strong presence around the rim and on the glass while also being a great pick and roll partner for Tyrese Haliburton. His ability screen, pass and finish will fit quite nicely next to Pascal Siakam in the Pacers front court. He makes over 60% of his field goal attempts, but rarely takes shots too far outside the lane. He is not a three-point shooter, let alone three-point threat, but he can actually rebound some missed three-pointers by teammates. Just a savvy, veteran big man that the Pacers coveted to add to their lineup.

The move also gives the Pacers more size to utilize and the fact they were able to keep Jarace Walker continues to fortify their rotation with more size than the past couple years now with Walker, Obi Toppin and Johnny Furphy able to mix and match and play down to the 2 thru 4 and even small-ball 5.

The risk

That valuable piece was not cheap, however and the Pacers pushed their most valuable chip all in along with Mathurin, IJax, a 2029 first round pick and a second round pick. The team’s current 2026 first round pick in a strong draft which has had the Pacers doing things like resting Siakam, Nembhard, Nesmith, Mathurin and McConnell against the Jazz on Tuesday (Jazz won).

The Pacers included the pick but made it Top 4 protected and 10-30 protected, turning the NBA draft lottery on Mother’s Day into a must see TV event. There are several teams now vying for a top, er bottom three position in the standings which gives those teams a 14 percent chance of winning the top pick. The Pacers are currently third in the inverse standings and any of those top four spots have an overall 52.1% chance of earning a Top 4 pick, which gives the Clips a 47.9% chance of acquiring the pick (5th, 6th or 7th if the Pacers can finish in one of the top three spots).

There are four players at the top of the draft that would fit the Pacers needs and boost their roster in short order. Darryn Peterson, AJ Dybantsa, Cam Boozer and Caleb Wilson would all be a strong fit. After that the bigs are a bit iffy and the other top players are guards.

The worst case scenario for losing the pick would be actually falling into the No. 5 spot and then a guard being taken ahead of Wilson. But the Pacers will still have a strong 10-man rotation ready to roll for the next two years, hence the willingness not to just add a player that isn’t among those at the top. While it would’ve been great to get a Top 5 protection, the pick would be far more benign with little chance of conveying were that the case. The Clippers know the percentages, as well so to get value they needed a shot at No. 5.

So the Pacers pushed that chip into the middle of the table to complete the deal. After the past two seasons with runs to the Eastern Conference Finals and Finals, we witnessed how you gotta have some luck along the way whether it is injury luck or the ball bouncing (sometimes 10 feet in the air) in you favor. Should the Pacers finish in the Top 3, they will need another dose of luck which has not been present this season.

Fond Farewell

Some may say sending Bennedict Mathurin to the Clippers is a risk, as well, but it would seem a far riskier bet to keep Mathurin and then try to sign him for a reasonable deal as a restricted free agent. Mathurin was (and would be) extremely valuable as a sixth man for this team, playing the microwave role off the bench, often playing starters minutes. While Mathurin desperately wanted to start, he was more valuable off the bench to play a chunk of minutes as a first or second offensive option instead of a third or fourth option.

His opportunities to start never held up and it was interesting to hear Carlisle talking about how well he had played overall since returning from injury…while playing off the bench. There is no doubt Mathurin will put up numbers and now he has a spot to start with the Clippers next to a solid point guard in Darius Garland. Thankfully, he’s in the West and it should be fun to continue following his progress.

Isaiah Jackson should also enjoy a good opportunity to shine after he struggled with the Pacers to stay healthy, avoid foul trouble and develop an offensive game. He did deliver plenty of flashes of what he can be with his athletic game, ability to run the floor and finish around the rim.

Time is now

This trade confirms something I have mentioned before that the Pacers have a two-year window to go all in for a title starting next season with Haliburton returns. It may take a season to get Haliburton all the way back, but all of the pieces will now be in place. Talk of dealing for a young center like Yves Missi didn’t fit the timeline which is why I wasn’t opposed to a stop-gap measure of adding Nikola Vucevic for two years. Welp, they did much better than Vuc with Zubac settling into the same timeline as Pascal Siakam.

What they are saying

Here is a statement from Kevin Pritchard on the trade:

“We are very excited to welcome Kobe Brown and Ivica Zubac – one of the league’s best centers – into our organization and community,” said President of Basketball Operations Kevin Pritchard. “We are continually identifying ways to enhance our team, strengthen the culture we’ve built, and position ourselves for future success, and we feel both players will help us achieve those goals in different ways.

“We would also like to thank Bennedict and Isaiah for their valuable contributions to our organization – particularly during our deep playoff runs over the past two seasons – and we wish them the best moving forward in their careers.”

Rick Carlisle hopped on JMV’s afternoon radio show to promote a new “Drive & Dish” initiative with Penn Station and then dove into the trade, discussing both Zubac and lauding the opportunity for Mathurin and IJax.

Listen here: Rick Carlisle on The Ride with JMV

Oh, and Carlisle called into the show on his way to the airport as the Pacers made their way up to Milwaukee to play the Bucks on Friday. The Bucks made a couple of trades around the edges but did not move Giannis Antetokounmpo. Giannis remains on the shelf.

Obviously the Pacers will not have Mathurin nor IJax in the lineup and Zubac will hopefully join when the deal is finalized. Zu (can we start calling him Zu now?) and his wife Kristina just welcomed a baby girl to their family, so the man has had quite a week and really, there’s no hurry for the big man to jump into the fray while we keep looking at those Top 4 protection odds.

Pacers vs. Bucks

Where: Fiserv Forum, Milwaukee, WI

When: Friday, February 6, 2026 - 8:00 p.m. ET

TV: FanDuel Sports Network

Radio: 93.5/107.5 The Fan

Odds: Pacers +6.5

Projected Starters

Pacers: Andrew Nembhard, Aaron Nesmith, Johnny Furphy, Pascal Siakam, Jay Huff

Bucks: Ryan Rollins, AJ Green, Gary Trent, Kyle Kuzma, Myles Turner

Injuries

Pacers: Bennedict Mathurin (trade pending) - out, Isaiah Jackson (trade pending) - out, Obi Toppin (hammy) - out, Tyrese Haliburton (Achilles) - out

Bucks: Gary Harris (hammy) - questionable, Bobby Portis (hip) - questionable, Giannis Antetokounmpo (calf) - out, Cole Anthony (trade pending) - out, Amir Coffey (trade pending) - out, Taurean Prince (neck) - out