Full Breakdown
Clippers Poised to Break Draft Drought via Pacers Lottery Pick
5/7/2026, 1:15:22 PM
Draft Stakes: Clippers' Potential First-Round Return
The Los Angeles Clippers could end a two-year first-round draft drought if the Indiana Pacers’ 2026 lottery pick transfers to them. The Clippers traded center Ivica Zubac to Indiana for Bennedict Mathurin, Isaiah Jackson, two first-rounders and a second-rounder; one of those first-rounders is the 2026 pick. ABC 7 says the pick is protected for selections 1-4 and 10-30, so a 5-9 landing would go to LA, while TalkBasket limits the transfer to 5-6. The Pacers, who finished 19-63, hold the No. 2 lottery slot and cannot fall below No. 6. The Clippers have missed the first round in 2024 and 2025, their last first-round pick being No. 13 in 2018.
Data & Statistics
The Pacers have a 14 % chance at the No. 1 overall pick. Their odds breakdown shows a 47.9 % chance the pick lands in the transfer range. ABC 7 says the pick is protected for 1-4 and 10-30; TalkBasket says only 5-6 transfers. Indiana’s 19-63 record gives them low lottery odds. A transferred pick would be the Clippers’ highest since No. 13 in 2018.
Official Statements & Responses
The Pacers posted on X, “May the odds be in our favor,” before the draw. The Clippers responded, highlighting the 47.9 % chance the pick could fall in the transfer range. Pacers GM Chad Buchanan told a radio audience that the trade carried known risk and that the team evaluated both outcomes—keeping or losing the pick—as chances to improve.
Conflicting Reports & Gaps
ABC 7 says the pick is protected for 1-4 and 10-30, sending any 5-9 landing to the Clippers. TalkBasket limits the transfer to 5-6 and notes the Pacers cannot fall below No. 6. The differing accounts create uncertainty about the exact protection range.
Verbatim Quotes
- “May the odds be in our favor.” — Indiana Pacers, X post
- “When we made the trade, obviously we knew there was risk involved as there is in any other trade,” — Chad Buchanan, Pacers GM (radio interview)
- “The LA Clippers have not selected in the first round of the NBA draft for two consecutive years in over a decade But, ahead of the draft lottery Sunday, there is a chance that streak is broken, thanks to the Indiana Pacers.” — ABC 7 report
What’s Next
The lottery will be held Sunday. If the pick falls within the transfer range—5-9 per ABC 7 or 5-6 per TalkBasket—the Clippers will receive the 2026 selection. Should the Pacers retain a top-four pick, they keep the 2026 asset and the Clippers will instead acquire Indiana’s unprotected 2031 first-round pick. Both clubs will reshape their draft plans based on the outcome.
