Pacers swing mid-Finals trade, swap picks with Pelicans: Source
Even as they prepare for Game 6 of the NBA Finals, the Indiana Pacers got their offseason started early on Tuesday.
For the first time since 2023, a team pulled off a trade while they were still playing in the NBA Finals, as the Pacers agreed to send the New Orleans Pelicans the No. 23 pick in the 2025 NBA Draft and the rights to Mojave King to New Orleans in exchange for the Pacers' 2026 first-round pick, which the Pelicans previously acquired in the deal that sent Brandon Ingram to the Toronto Raptors, a league source confirmed to The Athletic.
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ESPN was first to report the news.
The 2023 Denver Nuggets were the last team to make a mid-finals trade. Similar to the Nuggets that year, the Pacers' motivation behind this deal is to clear up cap space as the team prepares to negotiate a lucrative extension with starting center Myles Turner this summer. Turner, who has spent all 10 years of his NBA career in Indiana, is set to hit unrestricted free agency after the season.
The Pelicans will now own the No. 7 and No. 23 picks in this year's draft as they look to reshape their roster under new executive vice president of basketball operations Joe Dumars.
The first round of the NBA Draft will be held on June 25 in New York.
This story will be updated.
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