Andrew Price | Opinion

It was supposed to be a calculated risk. A calculated risk by one of the smartest executives in basketball — a man who built a Finals contender out of spare parts, undrafted players, and trades that looked questionable until suddenly they didn’t. Kevin Pritchard has earned the benefit of the doubt in Indiana more than almost any front office executive in recent franchise history. Sunday’s lottery result tested that goodwill in a hurry.

The Pacers entered the night with a 52.1 percent chance of landing a top-four pick after finishing 19-63 — the worst record in franchise history. The protection structure on the pick they traded to the Clippers for Ivica Zubac and Kobe Brown was simple and brutal: land in the top four, keep the pick. Land anywhere from fifth to ninth, and it belongs to Los Angeles. The ping-pong balls landed the Pacers at number five. The pick is a Clipper.

Pritchard didn’t hide from it. He took to social media immediately after the lottery: “I’m really sorry to all our fans. I own taking this risk. Surprised it came up 5th after this year. I thought we were due some luck. But please remember — this team deserved a starting center to compete with the best teams next year. We have always been resilient.”

That’s accountability. It’s also not a plan. So what does Indiana do now?

Option 1: Go Get a Star

The most aggressive path forward is acquiring a name that changes the ceiling of the roster. The most obvious candidate being discussed is Giannis Antetokounmpo, whose discontent in Milwaukee has been well-documented. Pairing Giannis with a healthy Tyrese Haliburton would create one of the most dangerous pick-and-roll combinations in the league overnight. The cost — multiple first-round picks, Pascal Siakam, and additional contributors — would be enormous. Whether the Pacers have the assets to pull it off after already sending out future picks in the Zubac deal is a legitimate question.

More realistic targets exist. Michael Porter Jr., Tyler Herro, and Zion Williamson all play for lottery teams with question marks about their futures. None of them are Giannis, but any one of them would add a dynamic dimension to a Pacers team that was one healthy point guard away from an NBA title a year ago. These deals would be more digestible for Pritchard without gutting the current core.

Option 2: Find the Undervalued

This is how Pritchard built the contender in the first place. He saw Haliburton when Sacramento didn’t want him anymore. He found Siakam. He assembled a roster of players that nobody else valued the way Indiana valued them — and it nearly won a championship.

The Pacers’ projected starting five next season — Haliburton, Andrew Nembhard, Aaron Nesmith, Siakam, and Zubac — is genuinely formidable if healthy. Pritchard could look to add pieces in the margins rather than swing for a franchise player. Memphis forward Santi Aldama — a 7-footer who can run in transition and knock down perimeter shots — fits Indiana’s pace-and-space identity. Dallas wing Naji Marshall, on an expiring contract, would add defensive versatility and another capable scorer without costing much to acquire.

This is the most Pritchard-like path. It’s also probably the most likely one.

Option 3: Stand Pat and Trust Haliburton

The simplest answer is sometimes the right one. Do nothing. Let Tyrese Haliburton return from his Achilles injury, run it back with a healthy and motivated roster, and trust that the team that reached Game 7 of the NBA Finals is still capable of competing at that level when its best player is on the floor for an entire season.

The argument against doing nothing is that the Eastern Conference isn’t standing still. Every team watching Indiana fall out of the top four on Sunday got a little more comfortable about next season. Complacency in the NBA has a short shelf life.

The Honest Assessment

Pritchard gambled. He gambled because the alternative — watching Haliburton return to a roster without a legitimate center while contending with the Oklahoma City Thunder in a potential Finals rematch — wasn’t acceptable either. The logic of the trade was sound. The outcome was painful.

The Pacers still retain their 2031 first-round pick and have a roster capable of competing in the East. This is not a rebuild. It is a recalibration. The window isn’t closed — it’s just narrower than it was 48 hours ago.

Kevin Pritchard built something real in Indianapolis. He didn’t build it by folding when the odds went sideways. The question isn’t whether the Pacers can recover from Sunday. The question is how fast — and how smart — Pritchard can engineer the next move.

Indiana has seen this movie before. It usually ends with Pritchard looking like the smartest person in the room.

Indiana Preps covers Indiana sports at every level — from high school to the pros.