After Monday’s Game 5 loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder, the Indiana Pacers officially have their back up against the wall, needing two consecutive wins to win the NBA Finals. But surprisingly, the Pacers front office was more focused on solidifying their future on Tuesday than preparing for one of the biggest games in the history of the organization.
It’s incredibly rare to see a team in the middle of the NBA Finals making trades, which can obviously only happen if the trades do not involve players.
However, that was the case on Tuesday. According to ESPN NBA insider Shams Charania, the Pacers agreed to trade the No. 23 pick in the 2025 NBA Draft and the rights to former first-round pick Mojave King, to the New Orleans Pelicans in return for their own 2026 first-round pick, which they previously traded to the Pelicans.
NBA draft deal: The Indiana Pacers are trading their No. 23 pick and the rights to Mojave King to the New Orleans Pelicans for Indiana’s own 2026 first-round pick back which the Pelicans had previously acquired, sources tell ESPN.
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) June 17, 2025
This trade is a particularly surprising one for a team that is in the middle of the NBA Finals. Particularly, because if you are trading for your own pick next year, that would suggest that the organization doesn’t expect to return to the NBA Finals next season. Otherwise, the pick would be far less valuable than the one they are giving up in 2025.
Another potential explanation could be that the Pacers don’t particularly see the 2025 NBA Draft as a strong draft class. But still, given what we have seen in the NBA Finals so far, it seems to be possible that the Pacers organization sees the shortcomings of their roster that have been evident in the NBA Finals.
Could a roster overhaul be coming for the Pacers? That remains to be seen. But this decision is at least something to monitor as we consider what the future of the Pacers roster will look like, which could hinge on how the rest of the NBA Finals go.