During the Summer of 2006, the Pacers lost Peja Stojakovic, whom they had just acquired in a trade from the Sacramento Kings during the previous season, in free agency to the New Orleans Hornets.
They also pulled off two separate trades with the Dallas Mavericks, giving up established veterans Anthony Johnson and Austin Croshere for unexplained reasons.
In June 2006, once-promising talent Jonathan Bender announced that he was retiring from the NBA at the age of 25, due to his struggles with knee injuries.
The Pacers had traded All-Star big man Antonio Davis to acquire Bender in 1999 when he was an 18-year-old rookie with great potential, but his constant injuries had prevented him from ever developing.
After the trade, the Pacers fell downward in the standings, marked by an 11-game losing streak which stretched from late February to mid-March, and eventually were eliminated from qualification for the 2007 NBA Playoffs.