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The Los Angeles Clippers continue to make moves ahead of Thursday’s NBA trade deadline, reportedly trading starting center Ivica Zubac to the Indiana Pacers, ESPN’s Shams Charania reports. The Pacers will reportedly be trading Bennedict Mathurin, Isaiah Jackson, two first-round picks and one second-round pick for Zubac and Kobe Brown.
The Clippers will reportedly be receiving a 2026 first-round pick from the Pacers, protected 1-4 and 10-30, plus a 2029 Pacers unprotected first-rounder. If the Pacers first-rounder this year falls outside of that 1-4/10-30 range, it converts to the Pacers’ 2031 unprotected first.
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The Pacers reportedly made a run at Jazz center Walker Kessler before pivoting to Zubac, according to NBA Insider Chris Haynes. They reportedly offered two unprotected first-round picks before Utah declined.
The move comes after the team also traded away 11-time All-Star and 17-year veteran James Harden to the Cleveland Cavaliers for Darius Garland.
Zubac has become a solid role player over the past few years for the Clippers. His stock rose even more after his breakthrough season last year, when he was a second-team NBA All-Defensive player for the first time. Zubac also averaged a career high of 16.8 points and 12.6 rebounds last season and finished sixth in Defensive Player of the Year voting.
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While Zubac’s numbers have dipped this season, he’s still averaging a double-double with 14.4 points and 11 rebounds per game. Zubac’s entire career has been spent in LA, as he was a second-round draft pick for the Lakers in 2016 before being traded to the Clippers in 2019.
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Zubac will now be the Pacers center of the future after the team lost Myles Turner to the Milwaukee Bucks in free agency this offseason. He will also be paired up with Pacers point guard Tyrese Haliburton and forward Pascal Siakam.
The Pacers are 13-38 and last in the Eastern Conference, after a Finals appearance last season. The team has struggled to replace Haliburton, who is still recovering from a torn Achilles that he suffered in Game 7 of the 2025 Finals. Last season, Haliburton averaged 18.6 points, 9.2 assists and 3.5 rebounds.
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The Pacers have been led by Siakam, who has averaged 23.8 points, 6.8 and 4 assists in his third season with the team. Siakam was also recently selected for the World team in the NBA All-Star Game.
The Pacers also added Brown, who was a former first-round pick by the Clippers in 2023 and has averaged 2.9 points and 1.6 rebounds in limited minutes.
The Clippers added former Pacers first-round picks Mathurin and Jackson to their core of Kawhi Leonard and Garland. Mathurin is second on the Pacers in scoring, averaging 17.8 points, 5.4 rebounds and 2.3 assists. Injuries have limited him to 28 games.
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Jackson has averaged 6.4 points and 5.6 rebounds on 58.2% from the field. Jackson missed most of last season with a torn Achilles.
Despite moving off Zubac and Harden for younger players and picks, the Clippers held on to Leonard at the deadline. The Clippers are currently 23-27.