The Indiana Pacers have known for so long that the 2025-26 season is a wash, and that they're only biding time in preparation for their expected return to contention the following season. After reaching the NBA Finals in 2025, the Pacers are widely expected to pick up where they left off once Tyrese Haliburton returns from injury.
Now, Myles Turner's departure changed the Pacers' priorities. Instead of holding steady and retaining their core, Indiana had to be aggressive on the trade market in their pursuit of a Turner replacement, and in their aggression, they landed Ivica Zubac — a nightly double-double threat who'll feast on the open looks that Haliburton will create for him.
The Pacers may have only made one trade prior to the deadline, but this was a blockbuster move that is sure to affect how they perform for the next few seasons.
With their trade for Zubac all but final, how did the Pacers do prior to the deadline?
Pacers better be prepared to play differently with Ivica Zubac
For as much flak as Turner gets for bolting in free agency, he was a perfect fit on the Pacers' pace-and-space system. As a long-time member of the team, Turner has learned how to play at a breakneck pace, all while having the necessary stamina to protect the rim and hit open shots.
Now, he was gassed by the NBA Finals, which explains why his play dropped off significantly against the Oklahoma City Thunder. But his departure was a huge loss for Indiana, and a huge reason for why they haven't even been a respectable team this season. Jay Huff and Micah Potter have shown flashes of being serviceable, but they're not starting-caliber big men, and the Pacers knew it.
The Pacers have long expressed their desire to acquire a starting center, and Zubac, who's only 28 years of age, fits their timeline of contention. Zubac is one of the best defenders at the center spot, and he's one of the rare players who can hold his own against Nikola Jokic and other post-up brutes — making him quite the valuable asset.
However, Indiana will have to prepare to play differently now that Zubac is their starting center until 2028. For starters, Zubac is nowhere near the floor-spacer Turner was for the team. He has literally just made one three in his entire career thus far, and while his jumpshot has looked good at times, it will be quite the surprise if he somehow channels his inner Brook Lopez and becomes a floor-spacer in the latter half of his career.
Zubac has indicated that the Pacers are asking him to spot up from the corner more often and that Indiana is looking at him to expand his range, with the 28-year-old center saying that he may have to get used to standing in the corner instead of the dunker's spot where he's grown accustomed to.
Perhaps a drastic mid-career adaptation would suit Zubac best in a Pacers uniform. But Indiana has to know that Lopez was an anomaly, not the norm in any capacity. Zubac is at his best near the basket, and he's at his best when he gets touches off of pick-and-rolls as well as post-ups in the center of the paint.
The good news is that Haliburton will know how to work best with Zubac; that's just his power as one of the best floor generals in the association. And Zubac gives them something that they didn't have when Turner was on board — greater rim pressure.
Turner was never the best finisher around the hoop, nor was he the best vertical threat. Zubac has exquisite touch around the basket, and his partnership with James Harden made him look like a million bucks. When the going gets tough, Zubac can bully the smaller and skinnier big men in the league, including Chet Holmgren, and could force other teams to play non floor-spacing big men just to combat his physicality in the paint.
Some would bring up how Zubac is a worse defender in space than Turner was. But Pacers fans would be quick to remind everyone that Turner was never the fleetest of foot to begin with.
Zubac is an exceptionally good fit for the Pacers and he solves their center woes. But bringing him in did not come cheap.
Zu costs Indy a potential top-five pick as well as Bennedict Mathurin
Mathurin has long been rumored to be available on the market, and the Pacers finally pulled the trigger on a trade. He simply did not fit the trajectory of the Pacers franchise, and he was up for a new contract. It was smart for Indiana to turn a young player with potential, like Mathurin, into a proven center like Zubac knowing that they weren't keen on paying him big money on a long-term extension anyway.
Isaiah Jackson was solid for spurts, but he didn't exactly differentiate himself among the Pacers' ragtag group of centers.
The Pacers' major gamble came in the form of trading away their 2026 first-round pick, which they protected for selections 1-4 and 10-30. They are basically saying that they do not care about the prospects who will get drafted in the 5-9 range enough that it's better for them to lose that pick if it falls in that range instead of losing out on Zubac.
This suggests that the Pacers view Darryn Peterson, Cam Boozer, AJ Dybantsa, and Caleb Wilson as no-brainer selections, and that Zubac was the better consolation prize than losing out on any of those four.
If the Pacers' 2026 first-round pick falls in the protected range, the Clippers will get an unprotected pick of theirs in 2031. This is a wise move for the Pacers, again, since they're not truly sold on the prospects outside the top four and that they're better off bringing someone who fits their contending timeline in like Zubac.
Giving up the 2029 first-round pick along with everything else, however, feels like a very steep price to pay. But Zubac has one of the best contracts in the NBA (a total of around $42 million for the next two seasons), and it's hard to fault the Pacers for having this much belief in their core considering the heights they reached when Haliburton was healthy.
