Indiana Pacers Lose First-Round Draft Pick, Send Pick Five To Clippers

BusinessSportsMoneyIndiana Pacers Lose First-Round Draft Pick, Send Pick Five To ClippersByTony East,Contributor.Forbes contributors publish independent expert analyses and insights. Tony East is an Indiana-based writer who covers the Pacers and Fever.Follow AuthorMay 10, 2026, 05:39pm EDT--:-- / --:--This voice experience is generated by AI. Learn more.This voice experience is generated by AI. Learn more.People attend the NBA basketball draft lottery in Chicago, Sunday, May 10, 2026. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh)Copyright 2026 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.CHICAGO – The Indiana Pacers won’t have their first-round pick in the 2026 NBA Draft. On Sunday, the league held the 2026 NBA Draft Lottery at the Navy Pier in Chicago, and the results were unkind to the Pacers.That’s because the Pacers traded away a protected part of their first-round selection to the Los Angeles Clippers back in February. Indiana sent LA a 2029 unprotected first-round pick, a future second rounder, Bennedict Mathurin, and Isaiah Jackson as well as their 2026 first-round selection protected for picks one through four and 10-30. The Clippers sent the Pacers center Ivica Zubac and forward Kobe Brown.In short: the Pacers would keep their top draft pick unless it landed somewhere between five and nine. But after the team’s poor finish to the season – they had the second-worst record – only the top-four protection was in play. Entering Sunday, the Pacers first-round selection could only land somewhere between one and six.The odds were slightly in the Pacers favor to keep their top selection. 52.1% of the time, the lottery would have landed the Pacers between one and four. The other 47.9% of outcomes would have sent the pick to the Clippers.And in the end, the slightly less likely result happened. The first pick went to the Washington Wizards. The second selection is headed to the Utah Jazz. The Memphis Grizzlies will pick third and the Chicago Bulls climbed up to fourth. That was all of the lotte...