When the Indiana Pacers traded for Ivica Zubac last February, they saw it as a savvy move to secure a long-term anchor in the paint. But after Sunday's NBA Draft Lottery, that deal is starting to look like a haunting reminder of how quickly a calculated risk can backfire.

Here's the short version: The Pacers sent two players and three draft picks to the Los Angeles Clippers for Zubac and Kobe Brown. The key piece was a protected 2026 first-round pick—protected only if it fell between picks 1-4 or 10-30. If it landed in that sweet spot, Indiana would keep it and instead send an unprotected 2031 first-rounder to L.A.

After a brutal 19-63 season, the Pacers entered the lottery with the best odds of landing the No. 1 pick. But the basketball gods had other plans. Washington won the lottery, Brooklyn slipped to No. 6, and Indiana? They landed at No. 5—right in the unprotected zone. That means their 2026 first-round pick now belongs to the Clippers.

For a team that traded away its future centerpiece in Myles Turner to build around Zubac, losing a top-five pick stings. The Pacers were already looking ahead to 2026-27, hoping to climb back to the top of the Eastern Conference. Now they'll have to do it without a key draft asset they expected to keep.

Zubac remains a solid piece—a reliable rim protector and rebounder who fits Indiana's timeline. But the cost of acquiring him just went up. Instead of flipping that protected pick into a future unprotected 2031 selection, the Pacers are left watching a potential franchise cornerstone head to L.A.

In the high-stakes game of NBA trades, sometimes the lottery doesn't just determine draft order—it determines the legacy of a deal. For Indiana, the Zubac trade just got a whole lot more expensive.