Pacers GM Kevin Pritchard Apologizes for NBA Draft Lottery News After Trade
The Indiana Pacers found themselves in a potentially great spot to add a young star from the NBA Draft, following a losing season in which star Tyrese Haliburton was recovering from a rough, torn right Achilles tendon injury.
Haliburton suffered the injury during last season’s NBA Finals, bringing his and his team’s postseason to a disappointing end as the Oklahoma City Thunder won the championship.
With Indiana’s top star out for the entire 2025-26 season, the Pacers made several trades, including sending Myles Turner to the Milwaukee Bucks, and making a trade with the Los Angeles Clippers for big man Ivica Zubac.
As part of that trade, the Clippers were to receive Indiana’s first-round pick this June, provided it fell outside the top four in the NBA Draft lottery.
Heading into Sunday’s dramatic event, presented on ABC and ESPN, the Pacers held a 14 percent chance of landing the top pick, which tied them with the Washington Wizards and Brooklyn Nets.
Unfortunately, the Pacers’ ping-pong ball fate put them at No. 5, which means the pick will go to the Clippers and Indiana won’t have any selections in the first or second round.
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And with fans expressing their frustrations, some are assigning blame to the Pacers’ general manager and president of basketball operations, Kevin Pritchard, for a trade that cost them a top-four pick.
In reacting to the results of Sunday’s NBA Draft Lottery, Pritchard said, “We’re all disappointed,” and that the team “really needed a center” this year to fill that hole.
He indicated there was pressure to make the trade for Zubac before the deadline, which they did. While it filled that gaping hole on the roster, it has now upset fans who wanted a player like BYU’s AJ Dybantsa or Kansas’ Darryn Peterson in the draft.
“I’m really sorry to all our fans. I own taking this risk. 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. We have always been resilient,” Pritchard said in an X message on Sunday afternoon.
Zubac played in just five games for the Pacers this past season, averaging 11.6 points and 7.2 rebounds in 30.1 minutes a game.
Those averages were lower than his 43-game stretch with the Clippers last season, during which he averaged a double-double, but Pritchard believes this is the move the Pacers needed most and that the Zubac trade will pay off.
Meanwhile, Haliburton returned to playing five-on-five in May, and most expect he’ll be fully healthy by the time Indiana’s minicamp begins. That will make him a key component alongside their core players in the lineup.
Former NBA All-Star Pascal Siakam led the team in scoring in Haliburton’s absence, and the team still has other valuable contributors, including Andrew Nembhard and TJ McConnell.
And there’s still the potential to work free agency or find undrafted talent after things shake out at June’s event, which could bring additional help to the franchise.
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This story was originally published May 10, 2026 at 8:07 PM.