After pushing the Cleveland Cavaliers to seven games, the Toronto Raptors decided that they were ready for the next step. They agreed to send Brandon Ingram, Gradey Dick, and a few draft picks to the LA Clippers for Kawhi Leonard in a move that promised to shake up the Eastern Conference landscape.
That trade still hasn’t been finalized, much to the frustration of everyone involved or invested in the Raptors. If the trade is completed before the season, the Raptors have a real shot at a deep playoff run and maybe even the Eastern Conference crown, depending on Leonard’s health and the team’s ability to click quickly. If the trade falls apart, the Raptors must prepare for a lot of awkwardness and not nearly as much on-court success.
Waiting for results from the investigation into the Clippers for alleged salary-cap circumventions isn’t great. However, if it wasn’t for the Indiana Pacers and their bad lottery luck, the Raptors may not even have had a chance to make the swing for the perfect superstar to pair with Scottie Barnes.
“I think if they don’t get the number-five overall pick, they might not have actually made this decision to pivot in the way that they have with Kawhi,” The Athletic’s Sam Vecenie said on the Game Theory podcast when discussing the Clippers’ offseason.
That fifth overall pick came from the Pacers.
The Pacers lost their lottery pick to the Clippers
In February, the Pacers traded Bennedict Mathurin, Isaiah Jackson, and draft capital to the Clippers for Ivica Zubac. The draft capital included a second-round pick, a 2029 unprotected first-round pick, and a top-four protected 2026 first-round pick. Luck was not on the Pacers’ side in the lottery. They ended up with the fifth-overall pick, just outside of the protected range, and had to send it to the Clippers.
The Clippers selected Keaton Wagler, hoping to rebuild around the young guard.
Despite the lost lottery pick, the Pacers should be a team to look out for next season—especially if the Raptors get Leonard and want to compete with the best teams in the NBA. The Pacers may have won just 19 games this past season, but they were in the finals the previous year. If Tyrese Haliburton hadn’t torn his Achilles tendon in Game 7, who knows if the Thunder still would have won the championship. With Haliburton finally back in the lineup, the Pacers could rocket back to the top of the Eastern Conference next season.
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