Indiana Pacers Bring In 6 More For Pre-Draft Workouts

The Indiana Pacers’ future is continuing to take shape.

The Indiana Pacers brought in another group of players for pre-draft workouts on Wednesday as they try to figure out who they will take in this year’s NBA Draft.

Unless they make a trade, the Pacers have the 20th and 50th picks in this year’s draft.

The Pacers could keep things in the Hoosier State if they bring in Max Landis, one of the six players brought in on Wednesday.

Kyle Neddenriep of the Indy Star spoke with Landis, who admitted that he was a bit in awe of the situation.

"Max Landis got a text from his agent, Buddy Baker, on Tuesday morning that the Indiana Pacers had invited him in for a workout.Landis, a former Perry Meridian High School standout who grew up attending games at Bankers Life Fieldhouse as a Pacers’ fan, needed a few minutes to digest the news.“If you would have told me this was possible before the year, I would have said, ‘You’re crazy,’ ” Landis said after his workout on Wednesday. “It’s a dream come true.”The 6-2 Landis was one of six players in Wednesday for a pre-draft workout in front of the Pacers’ front office and new coach Nate McMillan. Others were Villanova’s Ryan Arcidiacono, Vanderbilt’s Wade Baldwin IV, Michigan State’s Matt Costello, UNLV’s Patrick McCaw and Arizona 7-footer Kaleb Tarczewski.Landis admitted to feeling a bit overwhelmed by the moment at first. Arcidiacono, Baldwin, Costello and Tarczewski were all top-100 recruits out of high school. McCaw wasn’t but had a number of high-major offers before picking UNLV in 2014."

Landis was the Summit League’s player of the year.

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The headliners of Wednesday’s group, however, were Wade Baldwin IV and Patrick McCaw. Both are potential first-round picks.

Baldwin said he was surprised by the amount of coaching McMillan gave during the workout according to Pacers.com, but he also said he was eager to listen as well.

"Baldwin said he walked away from Wednesday’s workout with a favorable impression of McMillan and the Pacers’ coaching staff. For what it’s worth, McMillan spent the entire portion of the workout open to the media watching Baldwin go through shooting drills with Villanova guard Ryan Arcidiacono and Michigan State center Matt Costello, occasionally offering instruction.“I didn’t come in here expecting there to be a lot of teaching, but these guys were doing a hell of a job just teaching us coming in,” Baldwin said.“I just want to be a sponge to everything that the coaching staff and players have for me.”Baldwin is aware that the Pacers could be in the market for a point guard this summer. He believes his skillset will allow him to fit in wherever he ends up, regardless of system or style of play.“I have full confidence that I’ll be somewhere that believes in me and builds me to be a great player,” Baldwin said."

Reggie Miller Approves of McMillan Hire

The second best player to ever where an Indiana Pacers uniform chimed in to give his stamp of approval on the hiring of Nate McMillan.

Miller addressed the fact that the hire didn’t fit Bird’s description of what he wanted in the next coach for Indiana, but that it was a “solid hire” for the Pacers according to the Indy Star’s Nate Taylor.

"“No. 1, we don’t know the inner workings of what’s gone on behind the scenes and, you know, I think only time will tell (with) the chemistry (with McMillan and the players),” Miller said. He added: “With Kevin Pritchard, who is very familiar with Nate McMillan, I think this is a solid hire. I think, you know, if anyone knows the pulse of that team, it’s the guy that’s been there the last three years. I think there’s going to be a wrinkle in the offense.”"

McMillan Get With the Times?

We all know McMillan will have to adjust how he coaches compared to the way he did in 2012, but the Indy Star’s Candace Buckner had a few good quotes from former players and friends of the new Pacers coach about how he’ll have to evolve.

Brent Barry hit on the fact that while the hire goes in the face of everything Larry Bird said, fast or slow, it is in McMillan’s hands if the team is successful.

"“The interesting thing is that Nate went to Portland and had a pretty decent run of success there but played a very methodical, slowed-down, precise type of offense,” said former player Brent Barry, who was coached by McMillan for four seasons, “and I think that’s why a lot of people are interested in how it is after Larry’s comments with regards to coach Vogel, wanting to be a more up-tempo offensive, quick-strike team, how it is that Nate has changed and evolved during his time on the bench in Indiana.”"

Martell Webster said while McMillan’s teams were deliberate, the coach mainly wanted the ball to keep moving.

"On offense, he doesn’t really care too much about it as long as (it) isn’t stagnant,” Webster said about McMillan.“With the league now – especially how the All-Star Game went when there’s no centers anymore – it’s more get the ball off the backboard and you push up no matter who has it. Everybody’s so versatile now from 1 to 5 that you almost have a point center now and Indiana has been known for their powerhouses down on the block,” Webster continued. “It’s going to be interesting. Nate is a chameleon. He can kind of blend in with all types of styles of play. I think him taking the assistant coach role allowed him to see a little bit more and experiment.”"

They may have been slow paced, but his offenses were efficient.

Hoosier Troy Williams’ Future

The Pacers brought in Troy Williams on their first day of predraft workouts, but the Fort Wayne News Sentinel reports he still isn’t sure if he’ll return to the Indiana Hoosiers for another season of college or if he’ll go pro.

"Troy Williams believes where experts do not. He finds confidence where others see concern. He offers perspective when others push gloom.“I don’t see it as life or death,” he said about his NBA draft drama. “I’m having fun with it and am enjoying it all.”Does this mean his Indiana Hoosier days are over?Will he stay in the NBA draft hoping to get selected, but willing to start playing for pay somewhere, be it in the D-League or overseas?No one knows, with Williams topping that list."

Our own Ryan Eggers wrote a little about what he could be for the Pacers.

"Of course, the player that likely isn’t even going to be in this year’s draft gets the most attention from fans and media on the first day of pre-draft workouts. It makes sense — Troy Williams, if hypothetically drafted by the Pacers, would be the first player that Indiana has drafted from an Indiana college since hometown favorite Damon Bailey in 1994 (and we all know how that turned out). The hype surrounding Gordon Hayward a few years ago was pretty high, although I’m sure everyone is happy that we just missed out and instead took some nobody named Paul George instead. People from Indiana like Indiana basketball and they probably like IU basketball even more than they like Indiana. We won’t hear the end of the Williams’ talks until he officially opts out of the draft."

Dan Burke is still in Indiana

While there is still speculation about the future of Dan Burke and Popeye Jones as assistant coaches in Indiana, they haven’t left yet.

They’ve both been with McMillan as he goes through the pre-draft workouts.

Next: 8p9s AMA Mailbag — Nate McMillan, Kevin Durant, and Larry Bird’s Plans

It won’t be surprising to see them stick around, especially if Frank Vogel gets left out to dry after being let go well after most teams had filled their vacancies. Vogel is rumored to be in the hunt for the Magic’s head coaching job, one of the few left.