The Indiana Pacers shocked the NBA world on Tuesday, making a trade while the team is in the middle of the NBA Finals.
The Pacers traded the No. 23 overall pick in this year's NBA draft, along with the rights to Mojave King, to the New Orleans Pelicans for Indiana's own 2026 first-round pick.
King was selected in the second round of the 2023 NBA Draft. The former No. 47 overall selection spent last season in the G-League with Indiana's affiliate, the Indiana Mad Ants. King appeared in 15 games, averaging 3.9 points per game.
After the 2023-2024 campaign, the New Zealand-born King returned to Australia's NBL for a short stint with the New Zealand Breakers. King then played seven games with the Cangrejeros de Santurce of the Baloncesto Superior Nacional before once again returning to the NBL, finishing the rest of the season with the Tauranga Whai.
King wasn't the priority of the deal. He was effectively a draft-and-stash, and even if the Pelicans have no intentions of calling him up, some NBA teams wheel and deal draft rights like poker chips.
The real value for Indiana isn't exactly present at face value. Some fans immediately expressed concern that the Pacers trading for their own draft pick signals that the team is already considering tearing things down while finding themselves down 3-2 in the NBA Finals.
The truth is, the deal actually signifies the exact opposite. Due to a combination of the Stepien Rule and protections placed on next year's pick, prior to the deal, Indiana was only able to trade their first-round picks in 2029 and 2031, as well as the No. 23 overall selection this year.
By acquiring their draft pick next year, Indiana is now able to trade first-round picks in 2026, 2028, 2030, and 2032, while also now being able to deal pick swaps in 2027, 2029, and 2031.
This seemingly minor move gives the Pacers much more draft flexibility to improve the roster moving forward. They now have the movable draft capital to make a big splash and potentially acquire another star player.