Best NBA Draft Trade Partners for the Indiana Pacers

INDIANAPOLIS – As the NBA Draft arrives tonight, the Indiana Pacers enter the event without a spot on the board. The first round is set for Tuesday, when 30 new players will hear their names called and officially begin their NBA careers.

For now, Indiana is not scheduled to take part. The Pacers do not own a pick in the opening 30 selections — or anywhere else in the draft, for that matter. Their first-round choice belongs to the Los Angeles Clippers, while their second-round pick is controlled by the Memphis Grizzlies. Indiana and Portland are the only teams currently without a selection in this week’s draft.

That did not stop the Pacers from preparing like an active draft participant. Indiana brought dozens of prospects to its practice facility for workouts in front of front-office personnel, scouts, coaches and other staff members. Those on-court evaluations are useful, but at this point in the process, the in-person conversations and meetings can be just as important — if not more so — for the organization’s decision-makers.

And while the Pacers do not currently hold a 2026 draft pick, that does not guarantee they will remain without one by the time Wednesday night ends. Indiana has future draft capital it could use in a trade, and the franchise has often been willing to maneuver near the top of the second round. During the 2020s, the Pacers have been especially active in the No. 31 to No. 38 range.

There is a case for exploring that route again, even if adding another young player is not an urgent need for a team with championship aspirations. If Indiana chooses to pursue a 2026 NBA Draft selection via trade, which teams could make sense as potential partners for the blue and gold?

Could the Spurs and Pacers make another deal?

One familiar option is San Antonio. In 2024, the Pacers and Spurs completed a second-round pick trade that helped bring Johnny Furphy to Indianapolis. The two franchises connected again in 2025, when San Antonio moved the No. 38 pick to Indiana in exchange for a future second-round selection.

These teams have a history of draft-related transactions. And they could be good fits for one another again. While the Spurs have several roster spots to fill this summer and have the wiggle room to bring in a few rookies, they are contenders. They need to add proven veterans in free agency. Yet as of this writing, they own four picks in the 2026 NBA Draft.

Those four are 20th, 35th, 42nd, and 44th overall. Could the Pacers grab one of those picks and send San Antonio a future asset that may be more helpful down the line?

Memphis Grizzlies

The Grizzlies appear to be entering a rebuild and would thus value draft selections. But Memphis has 14 players under contract – a full roster – before making a single pick in the coming draft.

There are a few players the Grizzlies could easily part with. But their roster crunch makes them a trade candidate this week, especially as they hold picks No. 3, 16, and 32. That early-second round pick seems like a particularly good fit for the Pacers if these teams agree to a trade.

Brooklyn Nets

The Nets find themselves in a similar position to the Grizzlies. Entering the offseason, they could have as many as 13 players under contract after agreeing to acquire Julius Randle from the Minnesota Timberwolves on Monday. They also possess multiple picks in the coming draft.

Brooklyn is slated to select sixth, 28th, and 43rd. Could 28 or 43 be in play for Indiana if the Nets need to keep their roster spots open in anticipation of other moves?

Another Pacers trade with the Cleveland Cavaliers?

The Cavaliers and Pacers made a trade involving draft picks earlier this decade when Caris LeVert went to Cleveland and Ricky Rubio to Indiana. Multiple second-round picks and a first-round selection were exchanged in the deal.

This week, the Cavaliers could be a trade candidate with their only draft pick. Cleveland holds pick 29 overall, which comes with a starting salary just under $3 million (pending rookie scale usage). But right now, the Cavs are over the salary cap’s second apron.

That means adding more contracts would make it harder for the team to be flexible or add other talent in the offseason. Cleveland makes sense as a team that would move their late first-round pick for multiple future assets, or even move back into the second round. Indiana could be a good trade partner if that is the case.

Oklahoma City Thunder

The Thunder, like the Cavaliers, project to be an expensive team in 2026-27. So much so that they already agreed to a trade that will send forward Aaron Wiggins to the Atlanta Hawks in exchange for second-round draft capital.

While the money is the headliner for the Thunder, they fit the same boxes as every team listed so far. Like the Spurs, they are contenders and perhaps more interested in upgrades than young talent. Like the Cavaliers, they have a pricey roster. And like the Grizzlies and Nets, they have several draft picks and a more filled roster.

Oklahoma City owns picks 12, 17, and 37 entering the draft. Pick 37, in particular, feels like one that could be moved.

Atlanta Hawks

Atlanta has been mentioned in multiple reports as a team looking for upgrades in the offseason. They were the only team able to beat the champion New York Knicks more than once in the most recent NBA playoffs, so improving their roster is a natural next step.

The Hawks own the eighth overall pick, which would be challenging for the Pacers to obtain. But the Hawks, who have 12 players under contract, also own picks 23 and 57. Is there a world in which Atlanta’s later selections become available in bigger deals? They don’t have the perfect asset for the Pacers to chase like some other teams but seem like a team to watch in general during the two-night draft.

A Los Angeles Clippers and Indiana Pacers draft trade again?

The Clippers and Pacers already made a trade involving a 2026 draft pick. Could they do so again?

Los Angeles has 13 players under contract and owns picks five, 36, and 52. They could easily use all three selections and spend a two-way contract on their 52nd pick. But the Clippers have shaken up their team quite a bit in the last few months and are a team worth watching this week.

New York Knicks

New York just won a title. Keeping their core together seems like a prudent move. And maybe the Knicks do exactly that – they’ve already reportedly agreed to terms with Mohamed Diawara and have agreed to change a contract detail for Jose Alvarado.

But like a few teams on this list, the Knicks are expensive. They are approaching the second apron, and crossing that team spending threshold has been a topic of discussion surrounding the franchise since their championship parade.

“There’s certain things in the NBA that you’d have to be suicidal to do. One of them is the second apron,” Knicks owner James Dolan said in a recent radio interview.

New York holds the 24th, 31st, and 55th overall picks. Could the Pacers move into the late first or early second round via a trade with New York?

Denver Nuggets

Count the Nuggets, who possess picks 26 and 49, in the expensive teams group. They are approaching the second apron and have many roster spots to fill out to complete their team.

As Denver looks to contend around Nikola Jokic, would they be willing to move their pick late in the first-round to make their salary cap sheet make better sense? If so, the Pacers could be a good trade partner.

The Pacers have multiple attractive future second-round picks they could move in trades, and they have some recent draftees in Jarace Walker, Ben Sheppard, and Kam Jones that are still developing but could be moved. In their draft pick and salary cap reality, a trade seems possible, and the above teams would all be natural candidates for a variety of reasons.