While the NBA trade deadline is often considered an opportunity for contenders to add pieces while underwhelming teams look to part ways with some players, there are always exceptions.
Teams that may currently be out of the playoff race may look for help while targeting a return to the top of the standings next season. An NBA insider recently revealed a team searching the trade market to move back up the standings next season.
Indiana Pacers Targeting Interior Players Near NBA Trade Deadline
NBA insider Jake Fischer revealed on the Stein Line that the Pacers are searching for frontcourt help.
Fischer said, “At the bottom of the East, expectations persist that Indiana will chase big men for the present and future until the Feb. 5 buzzer sounds. Maybe the Pacers ultimately punt on consummating such a deal until the offseason, but they have indeed registered interest in centers all across the league. It sounds as though the Pacers have considered every name at the position.”
Fischer added, “I was told this week, for example, that Indiana has called Atlanta on Onyeka Okongwu in addition to its previously reported interest in players such as Dallas’ Daniel Gafford and the (perceived as much harder-to-get) Ivica Zubac of the LA Clippers. Another name on Indiana’s list, sources say, is Pelicans center Yves Missi.”
The Pacers are currently last in the Eastern Conference standings with a 9-32 record.
The team was written off by nearly everyone this season, with franchise player Tyrese Haliburton expected to miss the entire season after tearing his right Achilles tendon in the NBA Finals. The surgery to repair it will take some time to get him up and playing.
However, it did not appear the Pacers were prepared to lose center Myles Turner, who left the organization after 10 seasons to sign a four-year $107 million contract with the rival Milwaukee Bucks in July 2025.
Now it appears the Pacers are searching the trade market for Turner’s replacement.
Arguably, the best player mentioned in Fischer’s report is Zubac, which is why he’s perhaps the least likely to end up with the Pacers. Zubac is averaging 14.8 points and 10.7 rebounds per game this season, while shooting 60.6% from the field.
While Zubac doesn’t stretch the floor, he’s a potent interior scorer and one of the NBA’s best defensive bigs. The Clippers have been reluctant to discuss him, and with the team winning eight of their last ten games, he’s probably off the market.
A career-high-tying 22-straight games with 20+ points for Kawhi 🖐🏾
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— LA Clippers (@LAClippers) January 15, 2026
Onyeka Okongwu is averaging a career high 16 points per game this season and has become a solid three-point shooter. While the Hawks have been linked to 10-time All-Star Anthony Davis, the plan was likely to pair him with Okongwu.
Davis’ teammate Gafford has been mentioned as a possible trade candidate, as the Mavericks retool around Cooper Flagg. Gafford is having a down season, averaging 7.8 points and 6.5 rebounds per game, but he would be an upgrade over Indiana’s current options.
The Pelicans drafted Yves Missi in the first round of the 2024 NBA Draft, but the emergence of rookie Derik Queen as a potential future star may have made Missi expendable. Missi is currently averaging 5.5 points and 5.5 rebounds per game this season, and would be a long-term project for the Pacers.
The Pacers may have taken a step back this season, but it’s clear they’re planning to return to the top of the East next season.
