The Los Angeles Clippers may have pulled off one of the biggest fleeces in recent NBA history, and the 2026 NBA Draft Lottery made the full damage impossible to ignore. What initially looked like a risky gamble for the Clippers has now turned into an absolute robbery of the Indiana Pacers.
The final details of the trade are brutal for Indiana.
Los Angeles Clippers Received: Bennedict Mathurin, Isaiah Jackson, 2026 No. 5 Pick, 2028 Indiana Pacers second-round pick, 2029 Indiana Pacers first-round pick
Indiana Pacers Received: Ivica Zubac
And now, after the Pacers failed to jump into the top four during the 2026 NBA Draft Lottery, the No. 5 pick officially conveys to Los Angeles as part of the original protections.
Indiana entered the lottery night with a 14% chance at landing the No. 1 pick and over a 52.7% chance at keeping the selection inside the top four. Instead, disaster struck. The pick landed exactly at No. 5, handing the Clippers one of the most valuable assets in basketball.
Pacers president Kevin Pritchard publicly apologized to fans afterward.
“I’m really sorry to all our fans. I own taking this risk. Surprised it came up 5th after this year. I thought we were due some luck.”
The trade already looked questionable before the lottery. Now it looks catastrophic in hindsight.
Bennedict Mathurin already looks like a legitimate long-term piece for Los Angeles. He averaged 17.4 points, 5.5 rebounds, and 2.5 assists for the Clippers while providing a major scoring punch off the bench. Even with his outside shot struggling at 20.7% from three-point range, he still shot 42.6% from the field and consistently attacked defenses downhill. At only 23 years old, Mathurin still has room to grow and already looks like a solid NBA player with starter upside.
Isaiah Jackson also quietly developed into a useful rotation piece. The athletic big man averaged 7.5 points and 4.6 rebounds while giving the Clippers energy, rim protection, and frontcourt depth. He might never become a star, but he looks capable of sticking in an NBA rotation for years.
Still, the real price of this trade was never Mathurin or Jackson. It was the No. 5 pick, the unprotected 2029 first-round pick, and also the extra second-round selection attached to the deal.
That is where the trade starts looking overwhelming in favor of Los Angeles.
Meanwhile, Ivica Zubac barely even played for Indiana after the trade. He appeared in only five games because of injury recovery before the Pacers shut things down late in the season.
To be fair, Zubac remains one of the league’s better traditional centers. Across his career, he has averaged 10.5 points, 8.3 rebounds, and 1.0 blocks per game. His best season came in 2024-25 when he posted 16.8 points, 12.6 rebounds, 2.7 assists, and 1.1 blocks while earning All-Defensive Second-Team honors.
Indiana desperately needed a starting center after losing Myles Turner to the Milwaukee Bucks in free agency the previous offseason. That need pushed them toward the gamble.
But the timing completely backfired. Now the Clippers suddenly own one of the strongest rebuilding foundations in basketball. They have young talent, flexibility, premium draft capital, and possibly another franchise-changing player arriving with the No. 5 pick in a loaded draft class.
If Los Angeles hits on that selection, this trade may eventually be remembered as one of the most lopsided deals of the decade.
