Pacers Reportedly Trade No. 23 NBA Draft Pick, Mojave King to Pelicans for 2026 1st

The Indiana Pacers are reportedly trading the No. 23 pick in the 2025 NBA draft and the rights to Mojave King to the New Orleans Pelicans, per ESPN's Shams Charania, in exchange for getting back their own first-round pick in 2026 (which was previously traded to the Pels).

The Pelicans now hold the Nos. 7 and 23 picks for the June 25th NBA draft.

Indiana's 2026 first-round pick was originally sent to Toronto as part of the Pascal Siakam trade and then sent to New Orleans when Toronto traded for Brandon Ingram.

For the Pacers, the move is likely financial in nature, as it will clear $3.2 million off the books for the 2025-26 season, which could make it more palatable to re-sign Myles Turner to a long-term extension.

As Marks noted, the trade was allowed even though Indiana is currently in the NBA Finals because no players were exchanged. The Pacers the Oklahoma City Thunder 3-2, with Game 6 in Indiana on Thursday night.

The Pelicans, meanwhile, no have more ammunition in this year's draft if they want to move up the board or add another veteran player to the core of Zion Williamson, Dejounte Murray, C.J. McCollum and Trey Murphy III.

NBA reporter Jake Fischer wrote Tuesday that the the Philadelphia 76ers and Charlotte Hornets "have signaled to rival teams that they will listen to trade offers until they're on the clock at No. 3 and No. 4 respectively."

Could the Pelicans be preparing a package to potentially move up to No. 3 or 4? If they truly love a player from the tier of Ace Bailey, VJ Edgecombe, Tre Johnson or Kon Knueppel and don't want to miss out on him, moving up could make sense.