{"id":131497,"date":"2026-05-10T22:24:31","date_gmt":"2026-05-11T02:24:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cablemanpro.com\/wallstreetpr\/pacers-president-apologizes-to-fans-after-teams-risk-backfires-in-nba-draft-lottery-131497"},"modified":"2026-05-10T22:24:31","modified_gmt":"2026-05-11T02:24:31","slug":"pacers-president-apologizes-to-fans-after-teams-risk-backfires-in-nba-draft-lottery","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cablemanpro.com\/wallstreetpr\/pacers-president-apologizes-to-fans-after-teams-risk-backfires-in-nba-draft-lottery-131497","title":{"rendered":"Pacers president apologizes to fans after team’s ‘risk’ backfires in NBA Draft Lottery"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

The Indiana Pacers<\/a>\u2019 risky move backfired after the 2026 NBA Draft Lottery saw them lose their top pick altogether in a disastrous turn of events on Sunday afternoon.<\/p>\n

Heading into the lottery, the Pacers, who went 19-63 just one season after reaching the NBA<\/a> Finals out of the Eastern Conference, had a 52.1% chance of having a top-four pick.<\/p>\n

However, when they didn\u2019t see their team chosen in the first four picks \u2013 Indiana also had a 14% chance of getting the No. 1 overall pick \u2013 it was time to panic.<\/p>\n

CLICK HERE FOR MORE SPORTS COVERAGE ON FOXNEWS.COM<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

The reason? The Pacers included their first-round pick in a trade with the Los Angeles Clippers<\/a> for Ivica Zubac, but they only made it a top-four protected pick. That means, if the Pacers were chosen in the lottery as a top-four selection, they would be able to keep it.<\/p>\n

But the Pacers were chosen as the No. 5 pick, and the Clippers now own the selection in next month\u2019s draft.<\/p>\n

NBA LOTTERY CHAOS: WASHINGTON WIZARDS STRIKE GOLD, PACERS PAY FOR TANKING GAMBLE NIGHTMARE<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

As a result, Pacers team president of basketball operations Kevin Pritchard took full responsibility for the move, apologizing on social media.<\/p>\n

“I\u2019m really sorry to all our fans,” he wrote on X<\/a>. “I own taking this risk. Surprised it came up 5th after this year. I thought we were due some luck. But please remember \u2013 this team deserved a starting center to compete with the best teams next year. We have always been resilient.”<\/p>\n

The Pacers were viewed as a team that were actively tanking despite the NBA\u2019s attempt to crack down on such a season, with the lottery being one way of that. And it clearly worked this time around.<\/p>\n

Pritchard was trying to be transparent and honest with the Pacers fan base, but people were quick to jump in the comments to make their thoughts, and gripes, known.<\/p>\n

“You lose Myles Turner and add Zubac,” one X user began. “You lose [Benedict] Mathurin and the number 5 pick with absolutely nothing in return. This is why fans are upset, for a center who not even a top 5 center in the NBA. Who trades their future away for Ivan [sic] Zubac???”<\/p>\n

Another X user called this a “generational draft,” and couldn\u2019t fathom the Pacers won\u2019t be picking from a deep class.<\/p>\n

“If I were a Pacers fan and my team traded away a top 5 pick for Ivica Zubac in the middle of a tanking season I would be beyond devastated,” a fellow X user wrote.<\/p>\n

The Pacers were without their All-Star point guard Tyrese Haliburton all season long<\/span> after he suffered an Achilles injury during the NBA Finals against the Oklahoma City Thunder. But Indiana still has key members of that team returning next season, including Pascal Siakam, Andrew Nembhard, and Aaron Nesmith.<\/p>\n

However, this 2026 draft class is quite the spectacle, with many believing it to be deep considering the talent of BYU\u2019s AJ Dybantsa, Kansas<\/span>\u2019 Darryn Peterson, UNC\u2019s Caleb Wilson, and Duke\u2019s Cam Boozer, among others.<\/p>\n

Follow Fox News Digital\u2019s<\/em><\/strong>\u00a0sports coverage on X<\/em><\/strong><\/a>\u00a0and subscribe to<\/em><\/strong>\u00a0the Fox News Sports Huddle newsletter<\/em><\/strong><\/a>.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Source – https:\/\/www.foxnews.com\/sports\/pacers-president-apologizes-fans-teams-risk-backfires-nba-draft-lottery <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Indiana Pacers\u2019 risky move backfired after the 2026 NBA Draft Lottery saw them lose their top pick altogether in a disastrous turn of events […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"rop_custom_images_group":[],"rop_custom_messages_group":[],"rop_publish_now":"initial","rop_publish_now_accounts":{"twitter_2902945987_2902945987":""},"rop_publish_now_history":[],"rop_publish_now_status":"pending","footnotes":""},"categories":[16563],"tags":[],"stock_ticker":[],"class_list":["post-131497","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-market-news","entry"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nPacers president apologizes to fans after team's 'risk' backfires in NBA Draft Lottery - Wall Street PR<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/cablemanpro.com\/wallstreetpr\/pacers-president-apologizes-to-fans-after-teams-risk-backfires-in-nba-draft-lottery-131497\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Pacers president apologizes to fans after team's 'risk' backfires in NBA Draft Lottery - Wall Street PR\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The Indiana Pacers\u2019 risky move backfired after the 2026 NBA Draft Lottery saw them lose their top pick altogether in a disastrous turn of events […]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/cablemanpro.com\/wallstreetpr\/pacers-president-apologizes-to-fans-after-teams-risk-backfires-in-nba-draft-lottery-131497\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Wall Street PR\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/WallStreetPR\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-05-11T02:24:31+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/cablemanpro.com\/wallstreetpr\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/businessman-showing-business-evolution1.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"715\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"423\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/cablemanpro.com\/wallstreetpr\/pacers-president-apologizes-to-fans-after-teams-risk-backfires-in-nba-draft-lottery-131497#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/cablemanpro.com\/wallstreetpr\/pacers-president-apologizes-to-fans-after-teams-risk-backfires-in-nba-draft-lottery-131497\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"admin\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/cablemanpro.com\/wallstreetpr\/#\/schema\/person\/6e00efa2abc413bdc0bca51a90c54d36\"},\"headline\":\"Pacers president apologizes to fans after team’s ‘risk’ backfires in NBA Draft Lottery\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-05-11T02:24:31+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/cablemanpro.com\/wallstreetpr\/pacers-president-apologizes-to-fans-after-teams-risk-backfires-in-nba-draft-lottery-131497\"},\"wordCount\":552,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/cablemanpro.com\/wallstreetpr\/#organization\"},\"articleSection\":[\"Market News\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/cablemanpro.com\/wallstreetpr\/pacers-president-apologizes-to-fans-after-teams-risk-backfires-in-nba-draft-lottery-131497\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/cablemanpro.com\/wallstreetpr\/pacers-president-apologizes-to-fans-after-teams-risk-backfires-in-nba-draft-lottery-131497\",\"name\":\"Pacers president apologizes to fans after team's 'risk' backfires in NBA Draft Lottery - Wall Street PR\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/cablemanpro.com\/wallstreetpr\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2026-05-11T02:24:31+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/cablemanpro.com\/wallstreetpr\/pacers-president-apologizes-to-fans-after-teams-risk-backfires-in-nba-draft-lottery-131497#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/cablemanpro.com\/wallstreetpr\/pacers-president-apologizes-to-fans-after-teams-risk-backfires-in-nba-draft-lottery-131497\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/cablemanpro.com\/wallstreetpr\/pacers-president-apologizes-to-fans-after-teams-risk-backfires-in-nba-draft-lottery-131497#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/cablemanpro.com\/wallstreetpr\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Pacers president apologizes to fans after team’s ‘risk’ backfires in NBA Draft Lottery\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/cablemanpro.com\/wallstreetpr\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/cablemanpro.com\/wallstreetpr\/\",\"name\":\"Wall Street PR\",\"description\":\"Latest News From WallStreet\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/cablemanpro.com\/wallstreetpr\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/cablemanpro.com\/wallstreetpr\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/cablemanpro.com\/wallstreetpr\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Wall Street PR\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/cablemanpro.com\/wallstreetpr\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/cablemanpro.com\/wallstreetpr\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/cablemanpro.com\/wallstreetpr\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/brand-logo.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/cablemanpro.com\/wallstreetpr\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/brand-logo.png\",\"width\":537,\"height\":70,\"caption\":\"Wall Street PR\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/cablemanpro.com\/wallstreetpr\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/WallStreetPR\/\",\"https:\/\/x.com\/WallstreetPRs\"]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/cablemanpro.com\/wallstreetpr\/#\/schema\/person\/6e00efa2abc413bdc0bca51a90c54d36\",\"name\":\"admin\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/cablemanpro.com\/wallstreetpr\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/cablemanpro.com\/wallstreetpr\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/360_F_336393115_5gCUfwn76x3MJaCJMYDKLoRebkC8QyrL-300x300.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/cablemanpro.com\/wallstreetpr\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/360_F_336393115_5gCUfwn76x3MJaCJMYDKLoRebkC8QyrL-300x300.jpg\",\"caption\":\"admin\"},\"url\":\"https:\/\/cablemanpro.com\/wallstreetpr\/author\/admin\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Pacers president apologizes to fans after team's 'risk' backfires in NBA Draft Lottery - Wall Street PR","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/cablemanpro.com\/wallstreetpr\/pacers-president-apologizes-to-fans-after-teams-risk-backfires-in-nba-draft-lottery-131497","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Pacers president apologizes to fans after team's 'risk' backfires in NBA Draft Lottery - Wall Street PR","og_description":"The Indiana Pacers\u2019 risky move backfired after the 2026 NBA Draft Lottery saw them lose their top pick altogether in a disastrous turn of events […]","og_url":"https:\/\/cablemanpro.com\/wallstreetpr\/pacers-president-apologizes-to-fans-after-teams-risk-backfires-in-nba-draft-lottery-131497","og_site_name":"Wall Street PR","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/WallStreetPR\/","article_published_time":"2026-05-11T02:24:31+00:00","og_image":[{"width":715,"height":423,"url":"https:\/\/cablemanpro.com\/wallstreetpr\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/businessman-showing-business-evolution1.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"admin","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"admin","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/cablemanpro.com\/wallstreetpr\/pacers-president-apologizes-to-fans-after-teams-risk-backfires-in-nba-draft-lottery-131497#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/cablemanpro.com\/wallstreetpr\/pacers-president-apologizes-to-fans-after-teams-risk-backfires-in-nba-draft-lottery-131497"},"author":{"name":"admin","@id":"https:\/\/cablemanpro.com\/wallstreetpr\/#\/schema\/person\/6e00efa2abc413bdc0bca51a90c54d36"},"headline":"Pacers president apologizes to fans after team’s ‘risk’ backfires in NBA Draft Lottery","datePublished":"2026-05-11T02:24:31+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/cablemanpro.com\/wallstreetpr\/pacers-president-apologizes-to-fans-after-teams-risk-backfires-in-nba-draft-lottery-131497"},"wordCount":552,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/cablemanpro.com\/wallstreetpr\/#organization"},"articleSection":["Market News"],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/cablemanpro.com\/wallstreetpr\/pacers-president-apologizes-to-fans-after-teams-risk-backfires-in-nba-draft-lottery-131497","url":"https:\/\/cablemanpro.com\/wallstreetpr\/pacers-president-apologizes-to-fans-after-teams-risk-backfires-in-nba-draft-lottery-131497","name":"Pacers president apologizes to fans after team's 'risk' backfires in NBA Draft Lottery - Wall Street PR","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/cablemanpro.com\/wallstreetpr\/#website"},"datePublished":"2026-05-11T02:24:31+00:00","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/cablemanpro.com\/wallstreetpr\/pacers-president-apologizes-to-fans-after-teams-risk-backfires-in-nba-draft-lottery-131497#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/cablemanpro.com\/wallstreetpr\/pacers-president-apologizes-to-fans-after-teams-risk-backfires-in-nba-draft-lottery-131497"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/cablemanpro.com\/wallstreetpr\/pacers-president-apologizes-to-fans-after-teams-risk-backfires-in-nba-draft-lottery-131497#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/cablemanpro.com\/wallstreetpr\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Pacers president apologizes to fans after team’s ‘risk’ backfires in NBA Draft Lottery"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/cablemanpro.com\/wallstreetpr\/#website","url":"https:\/\/cablemanpro.com\/wallstreetpr\/","name":"Wall Street PR","description":"Latest News From WallStreet","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/cablemanpro.com\/wallstreetpr\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/cablemanpro.com\/wallstreetpr\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/cablemanpro.com\/wallstreetpr\/#organization","name":"Wall Street PR","url":"https:\/\/cablemanpro.com\/wallstreetpr\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/cablemanpro.com\/wallstreetpr\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/cablemanpro.com\/wallstreetpr\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/brand-logo.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/cablemanpro.com\/wallstreetpr\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/brand-logo.png","width":537,"height":70,"caption":"Wall Street PR"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/cablemanpro.com\/wallstreetpr\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/WallStreetPR\/","https:\/\/x.com\/WallstreetPRs"]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/cablemanpro.com\/wallstreetpr\/#\/schema\/person\/6e00efa2abc413bdc0bca51a90c54d36","name":"admin","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/cablemanpro.com\/wallstreetpr\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/cablemanpro.com\/wallstreetpr\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/360_F_336393115_5gCUfwn76x3MJaCJMYDKLoRebkC8QyrL-300x300.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/cablemanpro.com\/wallstreetpr\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/360_F_336393115_5gCUfwn76x3MJaCJMYDKLoRebkC8QyrL-300x300.jpg","caption":"admin"},"url":"https:\/\/cablemanpro.com\/wallstreetpr\/author\/admin"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cablemanpro.com\/wallstreetpr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/131497","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cablemanpro.com\/wallstreetpr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cablemanpro.com\/wallstreetpr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cablemanpro.com\/wallstreetpr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cablemanpro.com\/wallstreetpr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=131497"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/cablemanpro.com\/wallstreetpr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/131497\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cablemanpro.com\/wallstreetpr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=131497"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cablemanpro.com\/wallstreetpr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=131497"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cablemanpro.com\/wallstreetpr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=131497"},{"taxonomy":"stock_ticker","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cablemanpro.com\/wallstreetpr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/stock_ticker?post=131497"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}