INDIANAPOLIS — The reports have been anonymously sourced and purposefully vague, seemingly by design.

ESPN’s Shams Charania wrote: “The Pacers are in active trade talks around the league to find a center of the future after losing Myles Turner in free agency, sources said,” but did not indicate who any of their targets might be or who they might be willing to give up to acquire one. Other reporters have mentioned potential targets but haven’t provided much about potential trade frameworks.

There’s plenty of presumable reason for that, of course. The NBA’s trade deadline for the 2025-26 season isn’t until Feb. 5, 2026 at 3 p.m. so there is a lot of time left for teams to make moves and decide whether they should be buyers or sellers. It’s not clear who will be on the market at any position, much less at center where big bodies come at a premium. However, as a new trade window opens up with players who signed new contracts in the offseason now eligible to be traded as of Monday, there’s at least enough smoke out there to suggest that the Pacers intend to be a player on the center market. It’s their obvious roster need in terms of a reload for 2026-27 when All-Star point guard Tyrese Haliburton returns from the Achilles tendon tear that is costing him this season, so it only makes sense that they would see what’s on the trade market as it is not a particularly strong spot of the upcoming draft.

With that in mind, here are some potential targets for the Pacers and some trades that could work to land those targets. We ruled out players on max contracts who are too central to their current teams’ foundation to be traded, mostly ruled out players on contending teams and stuck to players under 32. Still there are starter-caliber young centers who could be moved who might fit what the Pacers want and for whom they could put up a competitive trade package.

Ivica Zubac, Clippers

Age: 28

2025-26 Salary: $18.1 million

Outlook: After a late-season surge in 2024-25 in which they won 18 of their last 21 games and took the Nuggets to seven games in a thrilling first-round playoff matchup, the Clippers had reason to believe they might finally be able to put together a championship contender if they could keep Kawhi Leonard, James Harden and Zubac healthy. Instead, they’re 6-19 with just three wins in their last 20 games after starting 3-2 and dealing with internal issues that led them to send Chris Paul home.

If the Clippers want to blow things up, the 34-year-old Leonard and the 36-year-old Harden aren’t easy to move with Leonard making $50 million this season and Harden at $39.1 million. Zubac, however, has a team-friendly contract and has proven reliable. The 7-foot, 240-pounder is 1 of 12 from 3-point range in his career so he wouldn’t provide the Pacers the pick-and-pop 3-point option they had with Myles Turner, but he’s rugged inside and durable. He averaged 16.8 points, 12.6 rebounds and 1.1 blocks per game last season, making 62.8% of his field goal attempts and earning second-team All-Defense honors. This year, his numbers are about the same — 16.6 ppg, 11.4 rpg, 1.0 bpg, .615 FG%. He’s also been durable, starting all 25 of the Clippers’ games this season after starting 80 of 82 last year. He’s not a perfect fit for what the Pacers do, but if they maintain Jay Huff as a pick-and-pop option, Zubac gives them the interior defender, scorer and rebounder they’ve been missing and even if he’s not a great rim runner himself he can get the stops that put the Pacers’ offense in motion.

A trade that could work

Pacers get: C Ivica Zubac

Clippers get: G Bennedict Mathurin, F Jarace Walker, Pacers 2027 first-round pick

Outlook: If the Clippers decided to move on, they would be in desperate need of young talent and draft capital. They don’t own a 2026 first-round pick or a 2028 first-round pick and their 2027 first-round pick is Oklahoma City’s, so unless the Thunder take a sharp negative turn next season — which would be the shock of all shocks — the Clippers can’t do much in the draft until 2029. The Pacers would probably not be willing to part with their 2026 pick because that could be a gem and if they’re willing to move Mathurin they will need somebody to replace his firepower immediately. But the 2027 pick could be enough to make both teams happy.

If the Pacers decide they want to keep Mathurin, they do have other options because Zubac’s deal is trade friendly. They could send the Clippers either Obi Toppin or T.J. McConnell and draft capital and the trade would technically work. They could also send Isaiah Jackson and Walker together once Jackson’s trade restriction ends on Jan. 15 and make that deal work. However, the Clippers would probably want a bigger return and Mathurin might be a required piece.

Daniel Gafford, Mavericks

Age: 27

2025-26 Salary: $14,386,320

Outlook: The Mavericks are holding on to play-in position at 10-16 but have reason to consider moving on from some assets to try to build a team around Cooper Flagg following the disastrous Luka Doncic trade. Gafford is under contract through the 2028-29 season so the Mavericks could decide to make him part of that core, but they do have the injured Derick Lively II under contract for two more years and he’s much younger at 21. Moving Gafford would allow the Mavericks to use their abundance of size to acquire more perimeter talent and also draft capital, which they’re in desperate need of.

Like Zubac, Gafford isn’t a perfect fit for the Pacers. He’s 0 of 1 from 3-point range in his career so he doesn’t provide the multi-dimensional scorer the Pacers lost with Myles Turner. However, he’s a sensational lob threat, floor runner and shot blocker, shooting a career-best 70.6% from the floor including 80.2% on shots within 3 feet of the basket and averaging 1.5 career blocks per game. For much of his career, he’s been a part time starter and he averages 19.9 minutes per game, so his per-36 rebounding numbers are much better than his per-game numbers. He averages 10.2 rebounds per 36 minutes for his career.

A trade that could work

Pacers get: C Daniel Gafford

Mavericks get: G Bennedict Mathurin, 2027 First-round pick

Outlook: Both teams are hard-capped at the first apron, so the Mavericks can’t take in much more salary than they’re sending out with Gafford and the combination of Mathurin and Walker would actually be giving the Mavericks too much. They have an improving young 2 guard in Max Christie, but they could use another to pair with Flagg and Mathurin is both still young but with crucial game experience and he could give them some firepower. The Mavericks also desperately need draft capital. They traded their 2027 first-round pick to the Hornets. It’s top two protected but if it lands any place else, they lose it, so they need to find ways to make sure they’re getting draft talent after this season.

Nicolas Claxton, Nets

Age: 26

2025-26 Salary: $25,352,272

Outlook: Like Zubac and Gafford, Claxton isn’t an established outside shooter with just nine career 3-pointers on 51 career attempts and almost 60% of his career field goal attempts coming within 3 feet of the basket according to Basketball Reference. However, like the other two, he’s long-armed and athletic and can block shots, rebound and finish at the rim. He’s made 77.8% of his attempts within 3 feet, and he’s at 10.6 rebounds and 2.3 blocks per 36 minutes in his career. He is, again, not a perfect fit, but could get the job done, if the Pacers keep Jay Huff for spacing purposes. He’s in the second year of a four-year deal with the Nets, so they would set a relatively high bar for moving him, but high draft capital might hit that bar.

A trade that might work

Pacers get: C Nicolas Claxton

Nets get: F Obi Toppin, F Jarace Walker, 2028 first-round pick

Outlook: With Michael Porter Jr. already on the roster and Cam Thomas up for restricted free agency, the Nets might be a little less interested in Mathurin than other teams. Claxton is more expensive than Gafford or Zubac, so that requires an eight-figure contract like Toppin’s to make the deal work. Toppin, a Brooklyn native, may not be thrilled about the idea of going back home. The Nets already have a lot of draft capital for the 2027 draft and the Pacers presumably wouldn’t move the 2026 pick, but the 2028 selection could be enough to excite Brooklyn.

Jarrett Allen, Cavaliers

Age: 27

2025-26 salary: $20,000,000

Outlook: Allen has dealt with a number of injuries this season and his numbers are down across the board, but he’s proven to be a reliable force on both ends of the floor. He made 70.6% of his field goal attempts last season and averaged 9.0 rebounds per game or better for the sixth straight season. Trading for him is an expensive investment because his veteran extension kicks in next season and he’ll be paid over $90 million over the three-year deal, but he could be had for a relatively inexpensive cost as it would allow the Cavs to focus more on developing Evan Mobley.

A trade that could work

Pacers get: C Jarrett Allen

Cavs get: F Obi Toppin, 2027 first round pick

Outlook: The Cavs might not need a big payback for Allen this year but a healthy Toppin could allow them to play faster than they have and give Mobley a good long-term frontcourt mate. They don’t have a 2027 first-round pick at the moment and that could also help them reload talent wise. And for the Pacers, if Allen pays off the Toppin loss might not sting as much.

Dustin Dopirak covers the Pacers all season. Get more coverage on IndyStarTV and with the Pacers Insider newsletter.