How Pacers Pivot to Upgrade Roster After NBA Lottery Disappointment

The Indiana Pacers have a solid team in place with one of the strongest starting fives in the NBA: Tyrese Haliburton, Andrew Nembhard, Aaron Nesmith, Pascal Siakam, and Ivica Zubac.

After a franchise-worst 19-63 season, the Indiana Pacers were hoping the basketball gods would shine down on them when the ping-pong balls were drawn to determine the NBA Draft Lottery, but unfortunately, they were nowhere to be found.

Now, the Pacers must pivot into the offseason without their 2026 first-round pick and attempt to make roster upgrades with limited resources.

Finances

The Pacers, as currently constructed, are over the luxury tax by $278,776, according to Capsheets.com. This means they cannot offer a free agent the non-taxpayer mid-level exception, which is roughly worth a maximum of $15 million per year.

Indiana would be able to qualify for the non-taxpayer mid-level exception, but they would need to waive one of their non-guaranteed contracts to get under the luxury tax. However, they would then only be able to spend up to the first apron, which is projected to be set at $209 million this season.

For example, if Indiana were to waive Micah Potter’s fully non-guaranteed $2.8 million contract, they would have roughly $197.95 million on the books but would only be able to spend around $11 million of their non-taxpayer mid-level exception — not the full $15 million.

I lay all of that out to explain how difficult it will be for the Pacers to acquire a significant upgrade in free agency. However, there are better avenues for Indiana to acquire help, and that’s through trades.

Picks The Pacers Can Trade

Once the new league year begins, Indiana will be able to trade these first round picks:
2027
2031
2033

They can also include the following year's picks, but only in swaps because of the Stepien Rule:
2028
2030

Kevin Pritchard Joins Pat McAfee

Kevin Pritchard joined Pat McAfee’s show to explain the difficulty of free agency and how teams are currently being built in today’s NBA:

“There’s something else that has changed in the NBA in that free agency isn’t really free agency,” Pritchard explained. “Teams re-sign and keep their best players.”

Once the league implemented the first and second aprons, team-building changed drastically from what we had seen in previous eras. The Pacers, for example, in the middle of the worst season in franchise history, elected to make a move at the trade deadline to acquire a player via trade, knowing the move wouldn’t impact the current season much but would help them the following year.

This was a smart business decision by Pritchard and company to acquire the player they coveted before another team could — and while they still had the assets to do so.

The Trade Before The Trade

Pritchard continued by explaining how trades and the draft have overtaken free agency as the primary ways to build a roster:

“Now you have the draft or you have to trade. The draft is risky business. It can be great business, and there are drafts that are better — and this draft looks like it’s going to be a terrific draft — but we couldn’t have done this trade if last year we didn’t trade our pick into this year.”

Fans may have forgotten about this important nugget. During the 2025 NBA Finals, the Indiana Pacers made a deal with the New Orleans Pelicans. Indiana traded its 2025 first-round pick in exchange for its 2026 first-round pick back, a pick that had originally been sent to the Toronto Raptors in the Pascal Siakam trade and later moved to New Orleans as part of the Brandon Ingram trade to Toronto.

Had Indiana not regained its 2026 first-round pick, and had either Toronto or New Orleans retained it, there’s a strong chance the Pacers never bottomed out for a significant portion of the season. More importantly, they would not have possessed the asset the Los Angeles Clippers wanted in exchange for Zubac.

It was a major move by Indiana to reacquire its own 2026 pick, and it ultimately landed the franchise Ivica Zubac. Whether you believe the Pacers overpaid for Zubac or not, Indiana would not have even been in consideration to acquire “Big Zu” without it.

Roster Building Through Trades

Pritchard concluded this portion of the interview by saying:

“We used that asset and we got Zu, but trading is the way to get players now, and you have to take shots.”

The Pacers certainly took a swing by offering a significant package to land Zubac, but this is far from the first aggressive move we’ve seen from the franchise.

Spending Money is a Must

Last season, after the Pacers lost Myles Turner in free agency, they sent two second-round picks to the Memphis Grizzlies for Jay Huff. Targeting Huff was a smart move because he had shown the ability to shoot from three-point range, block shots, and provide value on a multiyear minimum contract.

Since Indiana won’t be using significant money on a top-four draft pick, a move that would have pushed the team into the first apron, the Pacers now have the flexibility to improve around the margins. And with the free-agent market expected to be thin, Indiana could once again do what it does best: find the missing piece to the roster through a trade.

Both Pritchard and Chad Buchanan have been adamant that the team is operating in win-now mode. This summer should be about trading for established players who fit stylistically and financially with the current roster while addressing any remaining weaknesses.

Last offseason, Pritchard said the Pacers were willing to enter the luxury tax to re-sign Myles Turner, but they never had to once he departed in free agency. If it truly is championship-or-bust time for Indiana, ownership must be willing to enter the luxury tax, and potentially even the first apron, if it gives this team the best chance to contend for a title.

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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