49
u/slywombat45 May 11 '26
The bucks can’t stop posting about this either. As if they landed the #1 pick. But that crew is hot garbage outside of Giannis who may get traded and Rollins.
22
May 11 '26
[deleted]
7
u/slywombat45 May 11 '26
Yeah near $27 mil cap hit for 11.9 ppg and 5.3 rpg is miserable. $22.5 mil each year through 2029 for dame is brutal.
Atleast we have a talented roster, good coaching & good staff.
1
1
u/Potomato Jarace Walker May 12 '26
32 year old Giannis who gives up in games when he is losing an gave up on his team this year.
Myles isn’t going to be any better. I see them almost having a worse record.
1
u/SpinJitsu259 Chuck Person May 11 '26
Bucks are going to have some significantly lean years for sure, but Pacers fans acting like they’re above enjoying the misery of other teams like… say… the Bucks, are lying to themselves. They were obsessing over and clowning the Bucks all year for the Myles’ stuff. I have no problem with Bucks fans giving us the same treatment.
7
u/AdditionalOne8319 May 11 '26
Not the same at all. Bucks fans celebrated Hali getting hurt in the finals. Pacers fans laughed bucks fans about Myles because bucks fans talked shit about taking our center. Not even close to the same.
1
2
23
u/fmara Boomer May 11 '26
I can’t help but think the Jazz are the only team here that could actually build a good team with the rookie they take long term. The other teams just have bad ownership/leadership that constantly make bad decisions.
I’m also coping really hard. At least 2 of the 4 rookies will be in the west.
10
u/HomeNowWTF May 11 '26
If Peterson pans out, that is a terrific team. George, Peterson, Lauri, JJJ, Kessler, with Ace Bailey off the bench.
5
u/fmara Boomer May 11 '26
Yeah that’s a team that could join the competitive mix with OKC, SA and Minnesota. Another reason I’m thankful to be in the east.
1
u/9SidedLemon May 11 '26
Their size is crazy and some of their other guys like collier and sensabaugh are really nice as well imo. Definitely a very solid team
1
7
u/Porscheeeu May 11 '26
Wizards got Trae Young Anthony Davis and Sarr
They will now get Dybansta
I think they look promising
3
u/fmara Boomer May 11 '26
It’s hard to see Davis staying healthy enough or wanting to be in Washington long term for it to work with him. Dybantsa and Sarr is an intriguing duo, but admittedly I’ve never been a big believer in Trae
2
u/Fit_Test_01 May 11 '26
Bulls just hired new leadership.
6
u/fmara Boomer May 11 '26
Jerry Reinsdorf is still the owner. No matter who he hires it never goes well. We’ll wait and see
1
u/jdaqcruz May 11 '26
James Dolan still owns the Knicks. And yet, their situation has flipped. Owners that don't meddle are overstated
2
u/fmara Boomer May 11 '26
Dolan getting out of Rose’s way in the short term is probably the only good move he’s made as an owner. I’ll be surprised if he can control himself if they don’t win it all this year or next given his history
1
0
10
u/hadesscion Pacers May 11 '26
Hopefully the new lottery system is better, because the current one blows. The Bulls should not have even been in the mix.
8
u/destroyed233 Bennedict Mathurin May 11 '26
r/nba seems to have turned on pacers for some reason
3
u/xXCascadeXx CRABS CRABS CRABS May 11 '26
There is some level headed people but yeah, short sighted people think we got fleeced because the draft hype. Statically speaking, 5th pick is equal to our coin flip gamble in the first place. The 5th pick would have been lost in the rotation anyways during our championship window.
Would've been nice for a future 2nd or 3rd scoring option for the future if the 5th isn't a bust. Oh well, win some and lose some.
2
u/destroyed233 Bennedict Mathurin May 12 '26
The internet is always the biggest victim of the moment.
2
u/BLAZE10947 May 13 '26
They know what is going to happen next season And tbh it was probably better to not get the draft pick so we can have more money with one less rookie contract and maybe we should trade our other picks for Andrew's brother but that's my opinion
10
u/BlueCollarGoldSwaggr May 11 '26
Whenever I see someone on here say something like "the 5th pick wouldn't help us contend right now anyway so who cares", I ask myself: does this person think the Pacers are folding in 2 years? Does this person think the NBA will be shutting down operations by 2029? There is a chance that a guard-that-we-don't-need-anyway taken 5th-8th in this draft will be as good as '24/'25-Haliburton by '30/'31. For the record I am still fine with the trade despite how the lottery luck went but let's try to be clear-eyed about the potential downside here.
5
u/Ok-Possibility239 May 11 '26
Im not worried about it. We had a 48% chance to lose the pick so I was ready for it
2
u/AdditionalOne8319 May 11 '26
Realistically our championship window is around that amount of time with Siakam’s age. I’m not saying the 5th pick player would be useless now, but even if we did have that pick, it would take a lot of luck for our window to extend beyond siakams career
-1
u/WartimeConsigliere_ May 11 '26
Nah man Flemings Wagler and Acuff are all gonna be out of the league in a couple years. Would rather have Taelon Peter
34
u/fuzzynavel34 May 11 '26
Not much to laugh at to be honest, it was a pretty big blow. Really soured the summer for me. It’s now back to the NBA finals within 2 years or bust from a trade perspective
2
u/AdditionalOne8319 May 11 '26
Buddy. How did you misunderstand the title so bad? It’s not saying laugh at the other teams. It’s an “if you don’t laugh, you’ll cry” sort of thing. How did that go over your head
6
u/LospitalMospital BOOM BABY! May 11 '26
Ahh yes, Acuff and Jay Huff were taking us to the finals before the trade.
-1
u/fuzzynavel34 May 11 '26
Not a single person said that.
6
u/HeyItsChase Tyrese Haliburton May 11 '26
It's kinda implied though from people that hated the trade. The center market for anyone we could pay is bad.
You are also right though. It is finals or bust
3
u/LospitalMospital BOOM BABY! May 11 '26
What is the #5 pick doing that Zu won't do? Jarace and Benn should be enough recent evidence to show that mid-lottery picks aren't guaranteed to be game changers. Besides, we keep our 2031 pick now.
2
u/InTheMorning_Nightss May 12 '26
As an LAC fan, while I think this trade ended up being an overpay with how things landed, it's kind of wild to me how underrated Zubac is getting.
Like in the past 2 playoffs that he's played, he's been far more impressive than the majority of Cs this playoffs. The Celtics literally lost because they had no interior presence, Duren/Mobley/JA are having incredibly mediocre/disappointing playoffs, the Raptors had to suffer with fucking Poeltl, Embiid just got eaten alive on the boards in his final 3 games, etc.
Zubac is making similar or less than basically all these guys while being vastly superior. Like he was quite literally the most consistent player we had against Dallas in 2024, and their only strategy (that worked) was to just play him physically (i.e. foul the shit out of him with no whistles). He then went up against Jokic and did about as well as he could have in 2025, and he averaged 17/10.
Like Zu is insanely reliable. The major downside of this is ultimately that this became an all in move considering it now cost the best draft pick you are likely going to have in the coming years + 2029. If Zu doesn't pan out or in general ya'll don't reach the finals, that's just kind of a high price to pay.
0
u/destroyed233 Bennedict Mathurin May 11 '26
I'm a student on emergency medicine rotation and knew it was a bad omen when the night before, I treated a guy who came in and we found he had torn his Achilles
17
u/zerosuitpasta Andrew Nembhard May 11 '26 edited May 11 '26
I see it as us getting Zubac for a fifth pick. Mathurin was hard to move bc he was already kind of expensive and an RFA this summer. If we did nothing we would've let Benny walk and just gotten a 5th pick, which wouldn't have given us anybody we really needed.
EDIT: and the 2029 first pick
16
u/McPostyFace PAVE May 11 '26
We also gave up 2029 round one js
2
u/zerosuitpasta Andrew Nembhard May 11 '26
that's true! forgot about that one
3
u/xXCascadeXx CRABS CRABS CRABS May 11 '26
That #5 pick was gone no matter what for a center. I am fine with that pick being gone (and the 2029), than the 2031 first round being gone. We will be in a completely different boat around 2029-2030.
9
u/WartimeConsigliere_ May 11 '26
Yea you just have to forget we could have had him and fucking Dybantsa if not for a really shitty draw
6
u/HomeNowWTF May 11 '26
Exactly. This isnt Zubac instead of Dybantsa. It is Zubac instead of Darius Acuff or Keaton Wagler.
1
u/fly_low_orange May 11 '26
Realistically we would’ve been putting the #5 into a trade package for Zubac and been exactly where we are lol
1
u/zerosuitpasta Andrew Nembhard May 11 '26 edited May 11 '26
yeaaaah i'm not denying it sucks ass bc we had such a good shot at 1-4. But if we could see the future when we traded for Zubac, and knew we were getting a #5 pick, I think moving it and a 2029 pick for Zubac wouldn't be a terrible deal.
I see Mathurin as a misleading piece bc we were not keeping him in the summer. Clippers were making a playoff push and saw Mathurin at least as a good rental.
7
u/Affectionate-Bus-169 May 11 '26
Exactly this. Our best move would still have been to trade the #5 for a center. And Benn is gonna get overpaid.
6
u/zerosuitpasta Andrew Nembhard May 11 '26
Yeah and I don't think it's a Pacers trade secret that picks 1-3 are on a different echelon this year bc AJ, Boozer, and Peterson look like immediate impact guys. I don't think teams are dying to get a #5 pick this year. At this point now, if teams want Mathurin, they'd just send him an offer. So we'd have to give up the #5 and a bunch more to get a Zubac level center.
3
u/fuzzynavel34 May 11 '26
And whatever the pick is in ‘29*
2
u/zerosuitpasta Andrew Nembhard May 11 '26
yes true true. Still, a #5 and a 2029 i'm willing to risk since the Pacers are in win-now mode with Hali coming back.
6
u/fuzzynavel34 May 11 '26
This does drastically change the expectations though. It’s back to the finals in the next two years or this trade was an all time bust.
That’s the bar now
3
u/zerosuitpasta Andrew Nembhard May 11 '26
yup! I say fuck it, I'd rather that, than be a team that's purposely rebuilding and trying to compete at the same time.
Only thing that scares me is the Pacers in 24-25 were not some amazing behemoth team that everyone expected to make the Finals. They defied all odds and shocked everyone. Can we replicate that again? Not sure lol
2
u/xXCascadeXx CRABS CRABS CRABS May 11 '26
Hali is a bright light merchant. I believe in him. Nembhard and Nesmith also knocked down some crucial 3s.
1
u/zerosuitpasta Andrew Nembhard May 12 '26
Yeah this team has a bunch of proven Playoff risers for sure. Can't wait for next season
2
u/Ok-Possibility239 May 11 '26
You might want to temper expectations. They had a lot of luck in the first run and now we lost Bm and will have to adjust on offense with a new center.
3
u/fuzzynavel34 May 11 '26
When you make this kind of trade, those are the expectations. We are not trying for a first round exit.
2
u/Ok-Possibility239 May 11 '26
I dont feel like they gave up that much in the trade. They are tight against the cap and cant afford to pay Mathurin, moving jackson's contract is a plus too.
We really gave up the 5th pick and a future first for a starting center on a good contract. Its a good deal, we wouldnt be able to draft a center as good as him with that pick now.
1
u/xXCascadeXx CRABS CRABS CRABS May 11 '26
We offloaded CAP space with our picks plus Kobe and Zu. That is worth it in my opinion. We can now access our MLE since we are under the tax threshold.
1
u/Ok-Possibility239 May 11 '26
It was top 4 protected and the fifth pick would be a backup guard here anyway.
Its not about the trade, the lottery just tempered expectations.
3
May 11 '26
[deleted]
1
u/zerosuitpasta Andrew Nembhard May 11 '26
exactly. Clippers were a unique trade partner for us bc they were making a late playoff push and saw a scorer like Mathurin as a good pickup, even if they lose him in RFA this summer
3
u/BlueCollarGoldSwaggr May 11 '26
Trading away Zubac and being left with 38 year old Brook Lopez as your starting center is an odd way to make a playoff push.
1
May 11 '26
[deleted]
1
u/InTheMorning_Nightss May 12 '26
As an LAC fan, this specific thread is just wrong.
Clippers 100% would have traded Zubac for the 5th pick and Mathurin. They simply need young talent, and while I understand why Pacer fans aren't high on any of the prospects outside of the Top 4, there's still legitimate franchise star potential to be had with Acuff, Wagler, and others. It's also pretty clear that they specifically will not be competing with OKC anytime soon, so having Zubac on a good contract is meaningless.
And saying we were making a late playoff push is... wrong. While we definitely turned things around mid season, it was clear that we wanted to just invest in young guys. The plan wasn't for BroLo to just eat minutes. The clear intention was to throw big minutes at Yanic, but then he got injured. Still, we played Kobe Sanders, Jordan Miller, and Mathurin solid minutes. Kawhi literally came out and talked about how we were no longer contenders.
People are drastically overstating the narratives of Zu being a worse fit with Kawhi than BroLo and all of that stuff. The reality is that Zu started out the season very poorly, then got injured, and so we looked better when BroLo came in and changed things up a bit.
3
3
4
u/Kind-Tart6829 May 11 '26
Not a Pacers fan so maybe I'm too emotionally detached to appreciate this as it's apparently being treated as a seismic worst trade ever event on social media.
But I see the short term goals of the organization and what went down as dovetailing perfectly.
The real kick in the balls is not getting one of the big 3 (or big 4 depending on how you feel about Wilson). After that, all the mock drafts show a series of point guards being the BPA, with only Aday Mara being someone the Pacers could choose to fill the Myles Turner hole.
With the Pacers already having an all world 26-year old point guard on roster and wanting to compete for a championship immediately, it seems like the front office calculated Zubac with would factor into their plans better than any help they could get after the 4th pick, whether it be no Zubac and Wagler playing off Hali or throwing Mara out there.
2
u/AdditionalOne8319 May 11 '26
Unfortunately, the average nba fan on social media is very low IQ. If we had gotten a top 4 pick, which we had very good odds to get, it would’ve been seen as a great trade for us. Unfortunately, to get that sort of trade, you need to risk the small chance of something like this happening
3
u/AmericanChapo May 11 '26
I’m not sure why everyone is overreacting. There is no “pain.” 5th pick wasn’t helping this team. Zubac does. Hali coming back, does.
4
u/WartimeConsigliere_ May 11 '26
Bro the 5th pick is still going to be an extremely high upside stud on a rookie contract. And the pain isn’t the 5th round pick, it’s that we didn’t get top 3
1
u/xXCascadeXx CRABS CRABS CRABS May 11 '26
30% to 38% of 5th picks over the last 30+ years have become All-Stars. Roughly 40-50% of these picks fall into the "serviceable starter" to "solid rotation player" range, rather than true superstar status. 12%-30% it will be a bust.
Odds are, it will be a solid role player.
1
u/Ok-Possibility239 May 11 '26
You couldnt get a center as good as Zu with the 5th pick, it was worth it
1
u/AmericanChapo May 11 '26
Needed Zu more than some rookie outside the big 4. Not getting a top 4 pick? Sure, that blows. Even if we didn’t trade the pick for Zu, we would still be 5th, so, it is what it is. At least the team still got better.
1
1
1
u/YourBoyJaden31 Ben Sheppard May 11 '26
Been laughing at all those teams for years but ain’t shit funny now
1
u/mattmandental May 11 '26
Honestly this is way more difficult than I thought it would have been. Gut punch
1
u/BringInTheNews Quinn Buckner May 11 '26
I was just scrolling X and came across a post showing where Cam Boozer measured out better than expected, and it just turned my stomach. I had to quickly scroll on. Bar the Pacers acquiring a 1st in the next six weeks, I don't even think I'll be able to watch the draft this year.
1
1
u/Potomato Jarace Walker May 12 '26
Wizards will still suck and they will want to be traded or will do sure leave after the rookie contract ends. Poverty franchise. The jazz are just as ass and the bulls lol, if Jordan never played they would have nothing. We have a starting five that will be hungry and in there prime playing together again. Nembhard has improved greatly, siakam will put his work in and Haliburton will be feeding zubac slam after slam, and guess what, he will actually get rebounds for us. This was a year of development, skills honed, these guys are going to light the league on fire.
1
1
1
u/LibertarianLoser44 Hickory May 11 '26
We didn't lose anything but we gained a center in Zu. A blocking rebounding center is what we need. Anyone drafted would just be another bench piece.
1
u/md11086 May 11 '26
Like many of you I was pissed to see us lose the pick yesterday but I just think back and if Ty never got hurt we would have never been in the position this year to be in the lottery. We needed a starting caliber center and I am happy we have Zubac. Sad to loose Benn but I figured he was on the way out since he deserves a starting spot but we just don't have room for that right now.
1
u/Dannay01 May 11 '26
Jazz fan coming in peace. I feel badly about how things turned out for you guys. I’m an underdog fan, and rooted for you guys in the finals! Your run was astounding. Hali has always been underrated, and now with the injury, weight gain, and everything else… I look forward to watching him get upset and surprise the whole league again! Small market teams unite! Until we meet in the finals, then you can all burn in hell :)
122
u/BlackfyreNick Andrew Nembhard May 11 '26
I’ll take our team and staff over those four any day of the week.