Pacers Could Trade Into NBA Draft for Sleeper Second-Round Target

The Indiana Pacers currently do not have any selections in the upcoming 2026 NBA Draft. With the draft coming up on June 23 and 24, Kevin Pritchard and company have some time to figure out how they want to attack this offseason.

Pritchard has been very vocal about his desire to be aggressive. Even after losing their first-round pick, the Pacers know how close they are to winning a championship.

Could the team consider trading back into the NBA Draft?

More than likely, Indiana won't make a major trade to move into the first round. However, they have been working out players who could be drafted in the second round.

One potential option that has been suggested is Purdue Boilermakers point guard Braden Smith.

Smith is a very familiar names for fans in Indiana. He has been a star for Purdue and would offer the Pacers a solid backup point guard.

Throughout the course of the 2025-26 college basketball season with the Boilermakers, Smith played in 39 games. He averaged 14.3 points per game to go along with 8.8 assists, 3.5 rebounds, and 1.7 steals, while shooting 44 percent from the floor and 36.2 percent from three-point range.

Standing in at 6-foot-0 and 170 pounds, Smith is a bit undersized for an NBA guard. But, he plays with a lot of heart and effort. His play style could be enough for Indiana to have some level of interest in him.

Acquiring a second-round pick would not be too expensive for the Pacers. They would not have to trade up into the top of the second round to get him either.

While making a move for Smith would make a lot of fans in Indiana happy, he would not move the championship needle much for next season. The move would be about adding a young player on a cheap contract to add some depth.

At the end of the day, the Pacers aren't going to win a championship right now through the 2026 NBA Draft. Indiana will need to focus on being creative in free agency or on the trade market to pursue that goal.