INDIANAPOLIS – The Indiana Pacers agreed to a trade with the Chicago Bulls on Wednesday night to acquire the 38th pick in the 2026 NBA Draft.
The Pacers sent young guard Kam Jones, two future second-round pick swaps (2028 and 2030), and cash considerations to Chicago to acquire the pick. And with the selection, the Pacers took Purdue point guard Braden Smith, an Indianapolis native who worked out for Indiana during the pre-draft process.
Smith led the Big 10 in assists twice during his four-year college career and was perhaps the best passer in college basketball. He averaged 8.8 assists per game during his final season with the Boilermakers while improving his field goal percentage, particularly on two-point shots.
He was a first-team All-American twice while in college. As a local kid, he spent some time in Gainbridge Fieldhouse, including sitting courtside before a Pacers vs Milwaukee Bucks game in December. Two seats away was Pacers general manager Chad Buchanan, and now Buchanan and the rest of the Pacers front office select the guard.
Smith averaged 14.3 points and nearly two steals per game as a senior. He’s small, but Smith knows it and has found ways to succeed in spite of his stature for years. That’s his hope in the NBA, too.
Trading for an early second-round pick always made sense for the Pacers, both to acquire talent and for salary cap reasons. They were able to do so by agreeing to terms with Chicago, a team that made good sense as a draft trade partner.
In order to get a pick, the Pacers had to sacrifice some draft capital. They will have weaker draft selections in both 2028 and 2030 now, a requirement to get this pick. Cash considerations were needed to make a deal happen too. And Jones was the Pacers top pick in the 2026 draft, but he’ll be shipped to Chicago.
Jones had a challenging start to his career with the Pacers, then finished his rookie season with a poor 47% true shooting. He struggled with his efficiency and was limited as an attacker despite showing some flashes. Even in a down year in which playing a rookie would have been more beneficial, Jones didn’t play much for the Pacers.
He appeared in just 37 games for the blue and gold, meaning his contract for the coming seaosn wasn’t fully guaranteed. But that it was half guaratneed was telling. The Pacers now get off of Jones’ contract completely and free up some valuable spending power ahead of their offseason.
Smith is a candidate to get a standard contract via the second-round pick exception, which would put the Pacers at 14 players under contract ahead of free agency. The NBA Draft is not over, and Indiana still has some considerations in the coming weeks to finalize their roster. But for now, Kam Jones heads to Chicago while Braden Smith is on his way to Indiana.
