Pacers trade for Ivica Zubac, send away Bennedict Mathurin, Isaiah Jackson, picks | Quick reaction
The Indiana Pacers have traded for Ivica Zubac. Bennedict Mathurin, Isaiah Jackson, two first round picks, and a second rounder are headed to the Los Angeles Clippers. Host Tony East breaks it all down.
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40 Comments
Timestamps-ish:
0:00 Pacers Zubac trade immediate reaction
1:29 Full trade details, assets exchanged
5:59 Zubac’s fit/value for Pacers
8:52 Kobe Brown’s inclusion
10:29 Mathurin/Jackson departure, why Pacers moved them
16:06 Draft pick risk analysis, lottery protections
I feel like tanking for a potentially game changing player would have been the smarter move. A play in spot would do nothing for us.
Next year our second unit is going to be Huff, Obi, TJ, Furphy and Walker…..I like it.
Trade sucks.. Its always the same.. We get a great team and went to the finals and we trade because we never pay our players once they become good.. there goes another jersey I have.. along with Bailey Granger Hibbert Tinsley George Oladipo West Sabonis Turner .. We need a center and we got 1 and traded a young star and the guy who was supposed to take over for Turner ?Good luck Ben.. Except against our Indiana Pacers!!🏀🏀🎂
Better pray that pick lands inside the top 4 or in my opinion what a wasted opportunity for the Pacers
You always need the man in the middle. Great Trade! Nobody knows what type of player will emerge.
You could tell Mathurin intentions outgrew Indiana. He wants the spotlight that comes with LA. He’s a fashionista and loves to score.
I loved Ben. But he didnt make the Pacers better. Sure he was averaging 17 points per game but still made stupid mistakes. He never took that next step to be that guy.
I guess I'm a clippers fan now.
I’m not sweating them not adding protections for picks 5-9. The draft is strong bc of 4 elite guys. The rest are all a crapshoot.
Needed the quality big. No centers in that upcoming draft and when hali comes back it is win now for this bunch with Pascal 32 before next season
LOL…I'm lost about who gets the pick and how they get it?!? It's too hard to follow…I think I need to listen to how it works another 50 times b4 I get it. 🤣🤣
I don’t know. But Siakim is getting old. He’s in his prime. They could have gotten more for him. I think they should have built their team through lottery. Players don’t like going to Indiana to play. Plus that college ball system Carlisle likes playing is very fast paced. You need young guys
Hey Tony, you should try to get Caitlin Cooper to come talk about Zubac and the Pacers fit. You two are the GOATs of Pacers media. As always, you give a great understanding of everything we should think about.
This was my dream trade for the Pacers. Every Pacer wins this trade. Mathurin and IJAX get more playing time, while the Pacers get the best center value in the league. Zubac is an All-NBA defensive center on a 20 million dollar contract. That is insane value. The players projected in the draft between 5-9 are all guards. There were no better options. Great trade for everyone involved.
Having Zubac helps us match up against teams that used to beat us up. No more Embiid dropping 50 or Giannis walking into the paint. Now teams have to be wary of the paint. Zubac will be the next Roy Hibbert for the team.
Mathurin is a great player, but he is redundant on our roster.
Glad he is getting a chance to take on a starting role in LA.
I like this trade. Curious to see what the Zubac rotation looks like. I trust Carlisle’s scheme.
Clips fan here, this was so tough for so many reasons. You guys got a great player, there is no better 5 for that value than Zu. He’ll be scary with Hali.
You called it Tony. I thought it made sense when you mentioned Mathurin, Jackson and draft picks. I think this is a trade that had to be made. The Pacers just need to find another microwave scorer off the bench. Maybe that can be Quenton
Jackson if they don't get a top 4 pick.
Sad to see Mathurin go without getting a real chance this season. Hope he gets his chance to shine on the clippers
Huge upgrade from Myles turner and I got them getting aj from BYU
This move signals to me that the Pacers are VERRRRRY confident they've got their guys and they don't need a 1st round pick to seriously compete next year.
The 2026 protections on the pick is so crazy the league is going to change the rules on this. They are already tired of these crazy protections this will put them over the edge. Lol
If we lose the 5-9 we lost this trade. I don't like Jackson at all but the picks was dumb. No one cares you predicted it bud. You only had to sat it once.
I will miss Benn. However… I think this will be the best thing for his career. I don't think he'll reach his ceiling while playing in this system.
I will definitely be following his career after this, though! Good luck, Bennedict. I hope the rest of the Pacers fans see fit to pay respect to the double-aught every time it comes back to town. I know I will.
I like Zubac a lot but that was a steep price before I heard mathurin was involved. This year s draft is going to be so good even 5-10 will probably get you a chance at a decent player. I know it's top 4 protected but I would have had it protected to top 6 at least. Really I wouldn't have traded the pick at all. They did so good on tanking, now they're screwing that up. Hoping they get top 4 in the draft . Not a great center class but they could have found a decent free agent back up.
I was looking at Zubac's stats and noticed he gets a lot of rebounds, but also doesn't shoot 3-pointers. And, then, I thought, "Wait… Maybe he gets all those rebounds because he's under the basket instead of camped out behind the 3-point line."
It'll be interesting to see how this works with the system. We still have Huff and Toppin to create 5-out space, if needed, and having Zubac should improve the half-court game a lot. Adding a very different tool to the Swiss Army Basketball Team that Carlisle is wielding could produce some excellent outcomes.
You know it's a good deal when both sides are a little upset about it. Huge (literally and figuratively) addition for us/loss for them, but a no-brainer for the Clippers in terms of the assets going the other way. Benn and IJax were consummate Pacers. Wish them the best of luck in LA. Let's get to work, Big Zu! 🇭🇷
We essentially traded one first and Mathurin for Zubac while still preserving the option to tank for a top 4 pick. That 2029 first has a high probability of being 27-30. What a deal.
Losing Mathurin hurts, but I understand the move since we got a solid BiG center. Pacers will be STACKED in the 26-27 season.
STUPID TRADE!! yo u trade a 23 yr old gut averaging 18pts a game early
This is an A move frome the front office. Period.
If this was the move you had 2 make you do it 100 out of 100.
Awsome. I must say that Ben Mathurin is an absolute pro and an awsome basketball player and i will miss his burst of scoring the basketball… Tremendous hooper. "We are here 4 basketball and croissants" 😂 (paris game) an absolute pro. But i had my doubts fitwise.The protections make tot sense. If you get 1-4 your future is set (incl 2031) …if you don't fall into 1-4 your core is set 4 at least 3 more years + zubac. And you see what may come in 2031. By then consult madame soleil😊
“Zoo-bots”
Should not have given the 2026 pick.
Mathurin was one of my favorite players. I know you have to give up something to get something but man, I feel like we gave up a lot when you consider all the draft capital we gave up as well. Is the guard, Kobe Brown, any good?
Zubac is good, but Kobe Brown will be the true star if this trade when the dust settles. Mark my words.
Huff and Zubac will be a nice combo at center. Pacers are set for a solid playoffs run next season if everyone stays healthy
My gut reaction is to not like this trade. We will see if that changes.
Zu is an elite defender!!
Btw Ivica in English means Johnny!!
I’m good with it
LA Lakers fan from LA over here and what you’re getting is a guy that’s always gonna play that’s never hurt. They give you 15 points 10 rebounds is gonna be a presence in the middle a perfect teammate.