Pacers trade Mathurin and Jackson to Clippers for Ivica Zubac, draft picks, AP source says

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) - The Indiana Pacers finally got the center they needed. The Los Angeles Clippers got the draft picks they wanted - and two additional players to boot.

On Thursday, the Pacers dealt high-scoring swingman Bennedict Mathurin, center Isaiah Jackson and up to three draft picks to the Clippers for center Ivica Zubac, a person with knowledge of the deal told The Associated Press on Thursday.

The person spoke on condition of anonymity because the trade deadline deal had not yet been announced officially.

Indiana gets one of the league's top defensive centers - and the post presence they've been seeking since longtime center Myles Turner surprised the Pacers by leaving for Central Division rival Milwaukee last summer in free agency.

One advantage is that Zubac, who turns 29 next month, is signed through the 2027-28 season, meaning he'll be around when two-time All-Star guard Tyrese Haliburton returns from his torn Achilles tendon next season. Mathurin can become a restricted free agent this summer and it was unclear whether the Pacers could afford to re-sign their first-round draft pick from 2022.

Plus, Zubac was a second team all-defensive team selection last year and the Pacers now have nearly half of this season to see how he fits on a roster that won last season's Eastern Conference title and has most of its key players signed for multiple years.

Zubac also is averaging 14.4 points and 11.0 rebounds while shooting 61.3% from the field, making him an offensive upgrade over Jackson and Jay Huff, who struggled to replace Turner's productivity both offensively and defensively.

In some ways, this deal is reminiscent of the move president of basketball operations Kevin Pritchard made two years ago to get All-Star forward Pascal Siakam, which helped set up Indiana's successful postseason runs in 2023-24 and 2024-25.

But without Haliburton - and a series of debilitating injuries - the Pacers have struggled to the third worst record in the league, 13-38.

The Clippers, meanwhile, continue to stockpile draft picks as they overhaul their roster following the earlier deal that sent James Harden to Cleveland.

Mathurin recently returned from toe and thumb injuries that kept him out most of January, and he's been increasingly rounding into form. He's still averaging 17.8 points and 5.4 rebounds, mostly off the bench, this season and has improved significantly as a defender, too.

Jackson has started 14 times in 38 games played this season and is averaging 6.4 points and 5.6 rebounds while shooting 58.2% from the field. Like Mathurin, Jackson also was a first-round draft pick in 2021, No. 8 overall. And though Jackson had shown flashes of the player Indiana thought he could become, he lacked the consistency to win the starting job even after the loss of Turner.

But both could find more playing time in Los Angeles now, and that could help speed up the Clippers' overhaul.