The Indiana Pacers’ top-four protected first-round pick landed at No. 5 in Tuesday’s draft lottery, sending the selection to the Los Angeles Clippers and completing a major package for 2024/25 All-Defensive center Ivica Zubac. Indiana had already shipped an unprotected 2029 first-rounder, guard Bennedict Mathurin, forward/center Isaiah Jackson, and a 2028 second-round choice (via Dallas) in the February deal.
“I’m really sorry to all our fans. I own taking this risk,” president of basketball operations Kevin Pritchard wrote on X after the lottery results were finalized. “Surprised it came up 5th after this year. I thought we were due some luck. But please remember—this team deserved a starting center to compete with the best teams next year.”
Wizards hit jackpot
The Washington Wizards won the No. 1 overall pick after finishing with the league’s worst record, marking the first time since the NBA flattened lottery odds in 2019 that the team with the poorest mark landed the top selection.
Updated mock drafts
Post-lottery projections from ESPN’s Jeremy Woo and Yahoo Sports’ Kevin O’Connor feature the same top five: A.J. Dybantsa (Wizards), Darryn Peterson (Jazz), Cameron Boozer (Grizzlies), Caleb Wilson (Bulls) and Keaton Wagler (Clippers).
DraftExpress’ Jonathan Givony mirrors picks 3-5 but flips the top two, sending Peterson to Washington and Dybantsa to Utah. Grizzlies.com’s Michael Wallace reports the Jazz would be “thrilled” to land Peterson, while league insiders believe Memphis could face a difficult decision between Boozer and Wilson.
Woo and O’Connor match on 13 of the 14 projected lottery players, though slotting differs. O’Connor projects Michigan center Aday Mara eighth to Atlanta; Woo places the Spanish-born big man 14th with Charlotte. Shared placements include Tennessee forward Nate Ament to Milwaukee at No. 10, Mexican forward Karim Lopez to Golden State at No. 11, and Michigan big man Yaxel Lendeborg to Oklahoma City at No. 12.
G League combine risers
Scouts told Spotrac’s Keith Smith that prospects Aiden Tobiason (Temple), Rafael Castro (George Washington), Aaron Nkrumah (Tennessee State) and Nate Bittle (Oregon) boosted their stock on Day 1 of the G League Elite Camp scrimmages, joining earlier standouts Trey Kaufman-Renn (Purdue) and Jacob Cofie (USC).
Source: Hoops Rumors
