Pacers Draft Primer – An NBA Draft Cheat Sheet

The Draft is finally here. For one day, fans of every single team can optimistically look towards the future as it seems flush with endless possibilities. Well, unless you’re a fan of the Kings. Sorry, you have no future. Stauskas?

The Pacers, for their part, could go in many different directions tonight. With David West’s shocking (unless you remember that he’s unlike almost every other NBA player) decision to opt-out of his contract, the Pacers suddenly find themselves with both a modicum of cap room and a hole in the starting lineup. As Roy Hibbert continues to hold the Pacers hostage with his decision, Larry Bird decides exactly how much he wants to transform this team.

Could Monta Ellis be in the cards? Will the Pacers trade up or down in the draft? Who are they targeting?

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King James Gospel

So much is up in the air, but Kevin Pritchard portrayed a positive outlook yesterday in his pre-draft press conference. While he was spouting off the usual cliches – best player available, yada yada yada, you gotta always have a Plan B – he mentioned something interesting about this year’s draft specifically.

“We really like 4 or 5 guys,” Pritchard said, when asked who the Pacers were targeting. “We feel like we’re going to get (a guy who can be) at least a rotation guy early and a starter for sure down the line (with the 11th pick).”

While compiling their own “Big Board,” most NBA teams also break the draft down into “Tiers.” Each tier separates talent levels. Tier 1 consists of possible superstars – guys that will make multiple All-Star teams and could be the best player on a championship team. Tier 2 is made up of future starters. While this draft may not have a glut of guys from Tier 1, Pritchard was optimistic that Tier 2 was very deep, and that the Pacers would be able to draft a future starter with the 11th pick.

Maybe, like our fearless leader at 8p9s, you just aren’t a big college basketball fan and you are going into this draft a little blind. Perhaps, you’ve gotten familiar with some of the names that the Pacers are targeting, but you know little about everyone else.

This Pacers Draft Primer is for you. Here, we will break down the 1st Round prospects into tiers, discuss the possibility each guy has of playing in Indiana, decide whether or not you want that player on the Pacers, and give you a little nugget of information on each guy so that you can feel smart tonight while watching with your friends.

With the first pick in the 2015 NBA Draft, the Minnesota Timberwolves select…

*The following “Big Board” was created by Jon Washburn from 8points, 9seconds.*

Tier 1 – Future All Star/Best Player on Championship Team

1. Karl-Anthony Towns

• Possibility of playing in Indiana – Absolutely no chance. He’s going to Minnesota.
• Do you want him on the Pacers? Of course, but don’t think about it. It will make you sad.
• Nugget of information to make you feel smart – John Calipari most likely started coaching the Dominican Republic National team in order to get this guy to commit to Kentucky. He’s been compared to “Tim Duncan with 3-point range.”

2. Jahlil Okafor

• Possibility of playing in Indiana – Zero chance. He’s probably going to the Lakers, but definitely won’t fall further than #4.
• Do you want him on the Pacers? Yes, but you would also love James Harden. Things don’t always work out, sorry.
• Nugget of information to make you feel smart – When Okafor’s name is called tonight, somebody near you is going to opine that “the league is going away from guys like this; this guy will be a bust.” You could simply reply, “Yes, because there are so many players like LeBron James and Stephen Curry in the league.” Have you actually seen this guy play? He’ll be fine.

3. D’Angelo Russell

• Possibility of playing in Indiana – I’d say more like one out of a million
• Do you want him on the Pacers? Yes. This dude sees the game better than anyone in the draft.
• Nugget of information to make you feel smart – Russell admitted that he didn’t even really try on defense until late in his freshman campaign, but once he did, he became a destroyer on that end too. The Lakers should probably take him #2 but they probably won’t.

4. Justise Winslow

• Possibility of playing in Indiana – It’s actually possible. He’s projected to go in the top 7 or so, but he was an inch shorter than scouts thought and this is a really big deal.
• Do you want him on the Pacers? Absolutely. This guy will be a destroyer. He plays like Kawhi Leonard in James Harden’s body.
• Nugget of information to make you feel smart – Winslow was probably the most important player on the National Champion Duke Blue Devils. He made huge shots, defended the other team’s best player, and Coach K. has, with a straight face, compared him to Dwyane Wade.

Tier 2 – Future Starter/Rotation Player on Championship Team

5. Emmanuel Mudiay

• Possibility of playing in Indiana – The only shot the Pacers ever had at getting Mudiay was in this mock draft among bloggers where he inexplicably slipped, and I was so stunned, I still took another guy over him.
• Do you want him on the Pacers? Maybe. He’s kind of an unknown though. Is he Brandon Jennings?
• Nugget of information to make you feel smart – Mudiay spurned Larry Brown and SMU to go play in China. Everyone knows this. What you might not have known was that he played at Deion Sanders’ charter high school in Texas. On second thought, no…the Pacers don’t want this guy.

6. Mario Hezonja

• Possibility of playing in Indiana – Little to none. These European guys never slide that far.
• Do you want him on the Pacers? No. He’s the European Earl Smith, III.
• Nugget of information to make you feel smart – What? You want something else besides “He’s the European Earl Smith, III?” Fine. Here you go.

7. Kristaps Porzingas

• Possibility of playing in Indiana – Even less than Mario. He actually might go third to Philadelphia, because they are the 76ers and why not?
• Do you want him on the Pacers? I don’t think so. His workout is pretty impressive, but so was Yi Jianlian’s.
• Nugget of information to make you feel smart – Since 2002, 19 European players have been taken in the lottery. Zero have become All-Stars. You’ve been warned. Now get excited about Kristaps playing against nobody!

8. Willie Cauley-Stein

• Possibility of playing in Indiana – There’s a real chance. Larry Bird thinks he’s a $100 million player. If he doesn’t go in the top 5, he could slide all the way to Indiana. But there are some medical concerns too.
• Do you want him on the Pacers? Yes. Unless you hate Anthony Davis/Tyson Chandler defensive hybrids. In which case, I hate you.
• Nugget of information to make you feel smart – Cauley-Stein has only played basketball full time for three years, and he probably could have been the greatest wide receiver in the history of the world had he wanted to stick with football.
• 8points, 9seconds profile on Cauley-Stein

9. Kelly Oubre, Jr.

• Possibility of playing in Indiana – He might be available, but it appears that they want to go in a different direction.
• Do you want him on the Pacers? You might, but only if you want the Pacers to try and “play small” full time.
• Nugget of information to make you feel smart – Oubre had an inconsistent freshman year at Kansas due to Bill Self’s rotation habits and schemes. But hey, didn’t another wing have that same problem last year?
• 8 points, 9 seconds profile on Kelly Oubre, Jr. 

10. Devin Booker

• Possibility of playing in Indiana – Probably low. He’s the best shooter in the draft, and the teams in front of Indy really need shooting. Even if he was available, Indiana would probably look elsewhere.
• Do you want him on the Pacers? Not really. He’s a less athletic C.J. Miles.
• Nugget of information to make you feel smart – Devin’s dad, Melvin, was the Big Eight Player of the Year at Missouri in 1994.

11. Cameron Payne

• Possibility of playing in Indiana – There’s a real chance. Larry Bird really likes him, and he is a fantastic pick and roll point guard.
• Do you want him on the Pacers? Do you love George Hill or think he’s absolute trash…because apparently, those are the only two options on twitter. If you are in the latter group, you probably want Payne. If you are more level-headed, the idea of letting Hill play off the ball a little more is intriguing.
• Nugget of information to make you feel smart – If he slips past Indiana, the Thunder will draft this guy. They love him, because you know, they have a huge hole at the point guard slot.
• 8 points, 9 seconds profile on Cameron Payne

12. Stanley Johnson

• Possibility of playing in Indiana – Low. He probably won’t be available anyway.
• Do you want him on the Pacers? Eh, I don’t. Johnson is that guy that can kind of sort of do everything well but doesn’t do anything really well. Wesley Johnson, anyone?
• Nugget of information to make you feel smart – Johnson won four straight high school state championships, but more importantly, he will be the first “Stanley” the NBA has seen in over 15 years.

13. Myles Turner

• Possibility of playing in Indiana – There’s a good chance. If Willie Cauley-Stein is off the board, Turner seems to be Plan B.
• Do you want him on the Pacers? Yes. You probably want Cauley-Stein more, but Turner is a really good player.
• Nugget of information to make you feel smart – Turner overpronates when he runs and also has weak muscles in his hips. This is important to lots of doctors for some reason.
• 8 points, 9 seconds profile on Myles Turner

Tier 3 – Fringe Starter, Likely Backup/Chemistry Guy on Championship Team

14. Bobby Portis

• Possibility of playing in Indiana – Low, unless there’s a run on big men early.
• Do you want him on the Pacers? I suppose he’s the fifth best big man in the draft, and you would settle for him if everyone else was taken. But there would most likely be better players available.
• Nugget of information to make you feel smart – Portis was the SEC Player of the Year. The SEC is the same conference that Karl-Anthony Towns, Willie Cauley-Stein, and Devin Booker all played in.

15. Jerian Grant

• Possibility of playing in Indiana – Low. He worked out for Indiana over a month ago, but they will almost certainly take somebody else.
• Do you want him on the Pacers? I kind of do, but not at the expense of better players.
• Nugget of information to make you feel smart – Grant is the son of Harvey Grant, Horace Grant’s twin brother, who played 11 seasons in the NBA.
• 8 points, 9 seconds profile on Jerian Grant

16. Trey Lyles

• Possibility of playing in Indiana – A real possibility. According to DraftExpress, the Pacers might actually like Lyles more than Willie Cauley-Stein.
• Do you want him on the Pacers? That depends. He’s actually a really good player, but you probably are more intrigued by Cauley-Stein’s upside. He was Indiana Mr. Basketball though, so you would probably be happy.
• Nugget of information to make you feel smart – Lyles probably has the most complete offensive game of any big man in the draft outside of Okafor. If you say “He was Kentucky’s bizarro Willie Cauley-Stein because of his ridiculous offensive versatility,” people will look at you and enviously wish they thought of it themselves.

17. Frank Kaminsky

• Possibility of playing in Indiana – Knowing Larry Bird and his affinity for older, more mature players, there’s probably at least a small chance.
• Do you want him on the Pacers? This very question is so polarizing, I’d rather not get into it right now.
• Nugget of information to make you feel smart – If you ever visit Charleston, SC, you must go to Kaminsky’s and get the Nestle Tollhouse Cookie Pie.
• 9 points, 9 seconds profile on Frank Kaminsky

18. Kevon Looney

• Possibility of playing in Indiana – Low.
• Do you want him on the Pacers? Not in the first round.
• Nugget of information to make you feel smart – Looney might slip out of the 1st round completely because of some health concerns. He would be an absolute steal later on though.

19. Tyus Jones

• Possibility of playing in Indiana – Very low.
• Do you want him on the Pacers? He will probably be a fantastic backup PG for the next eight years. Don’t be surprised if he has a glass of water for the Pacers in 2019 a la C.J. Watson.
• Nugget of information to make you feel smart – Don’t feel bad comparing him to Tyus Edney. It’s actually not a bad analogy.

20. Justin Anderson

• Possibility of playing in Indiana – Very low
• Do you want him on the Pacers? Yes. He’s a very good player. No major weaknesses, very good defensively, super intelligent. He’s the guy that will fall to San Antonio and make you nauseous as Jay Bilas talks about how smart the Spurs are for five minutes.
• Nugget of information to make you feel smart – Anderson is a gamer. He fractured a finger and had an emergency appendectomy midseason for Virginia last year, but only missed eight game

Next five on Jon Washburn’s Big Board:

21. Sam Dekker

22. Rondae Hollis-Jefferson

23. R.J. Hunter

24. Montrezl Harrell

25. Delon Wright

If you’re still watching the draft at this point, you probably didn’t need this cheat sheet in the first place. Enjoy the draft, everyone!

Next: Pacers Interested in Signing Free Agent Monta Ellis

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