What I'm hearing about the Indiana Pacers ahead of the 2026 NBA trade deadline

INDIANAPOLIS – The 2026 NBA trade deadline is less than one week away, and the Indiana Pacers find themselves in a unique spot. Last season, they made the NBA Finals. Right now, they are tied for the fewest victories in the league. Most teams winning 25% or fewer of their games would be classified as sellers, but not a Pacers group that was just one win away from a championship before Tyrese Haliburton suffered a torn achilles.

The Pacers, even beyond Haliburton, have dealt with several significant injuries in 2025-26. They signed a player using the hardship exception seven times this season just to field a sensible rotation every night. Doing so put the team closer to the luxury tax line, yet they are still a manageable $5.5 million shy of that threshold with one open roster spot. More to come on that.

That sets the scene for their upcoming decisions at the trade deadline, which currently focus on one position and one young player. "I say the same thing every year, I don't expect anything to happen," Pacers head coach Rick Carlisle said of the upcoming trade deadline.

That cutoff arrives on February 5 at 3 p.m. ET. Talks are heating up. Here's what I am hearing about the Pacers leading up to this year's trade deadline.

Circle City Spin

The Indiana Pacers and Indiana Fever, up close

Circle City SpinTony East

The pursuit of centers

A significant root of intrigue around the NBA is what the Pacers' plans are at the center spot, both in the short and long term. After losing Myles Turner to the Milwaukee Bucks in free agency, the team has opted for a center-by-committee approach with Jay Huff, Isaiah Jackson, and Micah Potter currently situated as the team's only big men under contract.

As has been widely reported, league sources shared that the Pacers have made trade calls looking for a starting-caliber center. They are in the market for interior talent to fortify the team's starting five ahead of Haliburton's eventual return to the hardwood.

Recently, the Pacers have shuffled their frontcourt rotation and opted to begin games with none of Huff, Potter, or Jackson on the floor – Pascal Siakam and Johnny Furphy have manned the four and five spots. Yet even in those games, the Pacers often close with a center in the lineup, and a different one each time at that.

"It's feel. It's matchups," Carlisle said of the process he uses to decide which center he puts on the floor. That approach has allowed the blue and gold to look at many frontcourt combinations of late. "This year, it's been good to have unpredictability. It keeps everybody on their toes."

Reporting from other outlets has connected the Pacers to the likes of Daniel Gafford, Walker Kessler, Ivicia Zubac, Nic Claxton, Onyeka Okongwu, and Yves Missi.

Bennedict Mathurin's future

Conversations about Bennedict Mathurin's future have increased in number recently. Of the 14 players currently under contract with the Pacers on a standard deal, Mathurin is the only one certain to hit free agency in the coming offseason.

The 23-year old is in the final season of his rookie-scale contract, and he's headed for restricted free agency this summer. The Pacers could match any offer Mathurin signs with another team, and he's due for a raise.

There is little consensus around the league when it comes to Mathurin's value, both regarding his next contract and in trades. He can really score, and Game 3 of the NBA Finals comes up in conversations. Mathurin posted a game-high 27 points in a Pacers victory, becoming the youngest player with 25+ points off the bench in a Finals game.

Opinions seem to change daily regarding the 2022 lottery pick. As infatuating as Mathurin's scoring is to some – and he's a good rebounder for a guard – there are questions about his defensive abilities and overall impact. It has been difficult to evaluate the young guard this season as he has battled numerous injuries and missed over 20 games. Even when available, Mathurin has played through toe and thumb issues.

What is that player worth? Most estimate a coming contract somewhere in the low-to-mid $20 million range, which is about how much the Pacers project to be below the luxury tax line next offseason before any draft selections or free agency signings. Their spending could be tight, even more so if Mathurin lands a big raise in Indy. While not discussed with league personnel, a sign-and-trade would be possible in the offseason yet challenging to execute due to Base Year Compensation rules.

Because Mathurin's contract is expiring, he's been a prominent subject of chatter recently. Some teams even wondered if he'd be obtainable in the 2025 offseason, but he remained with the Pacers and entered the year as a starter.

"There's a lot more I can do on the court," Mathurin said, in part, when assessing his recent play after returning from injury. He noted that things have been different for him being a second-unit player recently instead of starting and noted it was "weird" to start the second half in Indiana's most recent game after coming off the bench to tip off the action. His cap hit is $9.2 million this season.

Will the Pacers be facilitators?

After opting not to bring back Tony Bradley once his 10-day contract expired on Thursday, the Pacers have an open roster spot heading into the trade deadline. The decision not to retain Bradley also clarified how close the Pacers are to the luxury tax line – about $5.5 million below it, as noted above.

The Pacers, one league source shared, are interested in using that roster spot and distance below the tax to take in a player(s) in trades, perhaps as facilitators in a bigger trade or perhaps in a money-moving transaction that would net the Pacers some sort of asset. The team still possesses their Non-Taxpayer Mid-Level Exception as well as a Disabled Player Exception due to Haliburton's injury, and both are mechanisms to take on salary in a deal.

In recent seasons under the leadership of their current front office, the Pacers have utilized their available spending resources effectively in trades. In just the 2020s, they have used salary cap or sub-tax space to acquire the likes of Jordan Nwora, George Hill, Furkan Korkmaz, Cory Joseph, and Kira Lewis while acquiring assets in the form of second-round draft capital or cash considerations along the way. That is one path the Pacers may take this trade cycle to acquire pieces that could prove useful in the future.

The future, of course, is where the Pacers should want value right now. They are almost certainly not playoff bound and will look to re-organize their roster and assets this week.

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