The Indiana Pacers have agreed to acquire center Ivica Zubac from the Los Angeles Clippers in a multi-player, multi-pick deal, sources told ESPN on Thursday.
Indiana will send Bennedict Mathurin, Isaiah Jackson, two future first-round selections and one second-rounder to Los Angeles. The Pacers also receive third-year guard Kobe Brown as part of the trade.
The first-round picks headed to the Clippers are a 2026 pick protected 1-4 and 10-30 and an unprotected 2029 pick. If the 2026 pick does not convey, it becomes an unprotected first in 2031.
Zubac, who turns 29 next month, is averaging 14.0 points and 11.0 rebounds while shooting 61% this season. Signed through the 2027-28 campaign, he is expected to step into the starting role vacated when Myles Turner left the Pacers during the offseason. At 13-38, Indiana owns one of the league’s worst records, but the front office views Zubac as a long-term pick-and-roll partner for injured star guard Tyrese Haliburton, who is rehabbing a torn Achilles.
According to GeniusIQ tracking data, Zubac has contested more than 2,000 field-goal attempts since the start of last season, limiting opponents to 44.8% shooting. Over the same span he ranks third in on-ball screens set, an area Indiana hopes will bolster its 28th-ranked interior defense.
The Clippers add 23-year-old Mathurin, who is averaging 17.8 points and 5.4 rebounds on 43% shooting in 28 games this season. Mathurin, in the final year of his rookie contract, will become a restricted free agent this summer. The move continues Los Angeles’ recent youth push that also saw the team acquire guard Darius Garland from Cleveland for James Harden.
Source: ESPN
