Where do the Indiana Pacers land after LeBron James went to the Philadelphia 76ers?
NBA legend LeBron James signed a two-year, $8 million deal with the Philadelphia 76ers.
The Sixers now have a lethal core of LeBron, Joel Embiid, Tyrese Maxey, Jaylen Brown and VJ Edgecombe.
NBA analyst Andy Bailey of Bleacher Report ranked every team in the league after James joined the 76ers, and he has the Indiana Pacers at 17.
The Pacers added Kelly Oubre Jr. and Larry Nance Jr. this offseason in free agency.
Without Tyrese Haliburton, the Pacers struggled immensely last season. They won only 19 games.
However, Pascal Siakam played well. The former Toronto Raptors wing averaged 24.0 points, 6.6 rebounds and 3.8 assists per game and made his fourth All-Star team.
Haliburton had an incredible 2024-25 campaign for the Pacers. He averaged 18.6 points, 3.5 rebounds, 9.2 assists, 1.4 steals and 0.7 blocks per game and made the All-NBA Third Team.
Indiana defeated the Milwaukee Bucks, Cleveland Cavaliers and New York Knicks to advance to the 2025 NBA Finals. The Oklahoma City Thunder defeated the Pacers in the NBA Finals in seven games. Haliburton, of course, tore his Achilles tendon in Game 7.
It will be fascinating to see if the Pacers sign Haliburton and/or Siakam to an extension this offseason. Indiana can sign Siakam to a $207 million extension. Meanwhile, the Pacers can sign Haliburton to a two-year, $121 million extension.
The Ivica Zubac trade came at a high cost, as the Pacers lost their first-round pick in the 2026 draft because of the Zubac deal.
The Pacers needed to land in the top four to keep their pick after trading it to the Clippers with protections for Zubac. The trade sent two of Indiana's first-round picks to the Los Angeles Clippers: one in 2029 and either this year's first if it fell outside of the top four or a 2031 unprotected first-rounder if it did not.
Because the Washington Wizards moved up in the lottery, Indiana landed fifth, so the pick went to the Clippers instead.
The Pacers could have drafted AJ Dybantsa, Darryn Peterson, Cameron Boozer or Caleb Wilson. Instead, they have to pray that Zubac plays like an All-Star next season alongside Siakam and Haliburton.
