The Clippers acquired high-scoring wing Bennedict Mathurin, center Isaiah Jackson, two first-round draft picks and a second-round pick from the Indiana Pacers for center Ivica Zubac, a person with knowledge of the deal not authorized to speak publicly said Thursday.
The Clippers will receive Indiana’s protected 2026 first-rounder and a 2029 first-rounder plus a 2026 second-rounder. This year’s selection is protected if the Pacers have a top-four pick or if it falls between No. 10 and No. 30. The Clippers would then get an unprotected 2031 first-round pick.
Mathurin, 23, was set to become a restricted free agent next summer, and it wasn’t clear if the Pacers could afford to keep him. He recently returned from toe and thumb injuries that kept him out for most of January. He’s averaging 17.8 points and 5.4 rebounds and improved significantly as a defender during his fourth season.
Jackson has started 14 times in 38 games this season and is averaging 6.4 points and 5.6 rebounds while shooting 58.2% from the field. He also was a first-round draft pick, at No. 8 overall in 2021. 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 Myles Turner in free agency.
The move comes just days after the Clippers traded James Harden to Cleveland for Darius Garland in a swap of point guards and adds more draft picks to Los Angeles’ growing stockpile of selections.
The Pacers get the center they’ve needed since losing Turner last summer. Zubac, who turns 29 next month, was an all-defensive second-team team selection last year. He’s averaging 14.4 points and 11 rebounds while shooting 61.3% from the field.
Zubac is signed through 2027-28, 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.
It’s a big shakeup by the Clippers, who rebounded from a 6-21 start to put themselves in contention for the play-in tournament. They’ve parted with two of their top three scorers and their top rebounder in Zubac, who was their longest-tenured player, with them since 2019.
The Clippers also traded Chris Paul, who hadn’t been with the team since November after his return turned contentious amid the early struggles.
Paul, who is expected to retire after this season, was acquired by Toronto to get below the luxury tax threshold; it’s unlikely the 40-year-old guard will play for the Raptors.
The Clippers acquired the rights to Serbian guard Vanja Marinković from Brooklyn in the three-team deal. Marinković was drafted with the last pick in 2019 and never has played in the NBA.