Fansided Mock Draft Has Indiana Pacers Taking Petr Cornelie

One of the Indiana Pacers options on draft day is Petr Cornelie.

With the NBA Draft coming up on Thursday, the Indiana Pacers are making their final preparations for the big day, including shopping their pick at No. 20.

But assuming that they do keep their first round pick, who might they take?

One of their options is 6’11” Petr Cornelie from France if things play out like they did in Fansided’s Mock draft.

Ian Levy had the honors of picking for the Pacers and offered this rationale for the pick.

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"The Indiana Pacers have evolved towards playing a different style — faster, more versatile, better spaced. The problem they ran into during the playoffs was not having the personnel, particularly in the frontcourt, to make that style of play viable. Myles Turner appears to be a budding star but the Pacers desperately need another big or two who can keep up when they’re running the floor, move well enough to switch or hedge hard in the pick-and-roll, and space the floor with and established jumper on the other end.Enter Petr Cornelie. The 21-year old native of France is a legit seven-footer who runs the floor like a gazelle, and displays impressive footwork in tight halfcourt spaces. He’s a little bit older which may dampen assessments of his long term potential but his athletic profile implies that he could grow into exactly the type of player Indiana needs. He will need to add some bulk and strength to put it all together but there is plenty of time to fill out his body. Oh, and he also shot 41.3 on threes last season between the Euroleague and his French league."

But what else should we know about him? Upside and Motor have you covered with a full scouting report. Trevor Magnotti sees Cornelie as the first-round talent that one day could find a regular spot in a team’s rotation.

"Cornelie’s definitely a first round-level prospect. He’s a player with a diverse array of skills that could lend to him being successful as a role player at the next level, and you can easily see a route to him becoming a good two-way third forward. However, he lacks one truly elite skill that would potentially guarantee him early playing time, and it’s hard to see him coming over to the NBA right away, especially if he can’t get early minutes to develop. That creates an even bigger issue because it’s hard to see him building his strength up while continuing to play in Europe, which might make it harder for him to survive when he does come over.Then again, the right team can mitigate that by negotiating a plan to get Cornelie over and working with him while he’s overseas. Teams like the Atlanta Hawks or San Antonio Spurs, who have experience working with international prospects while abroad, would be great landing spots for Cornelie, and he could even benefit from landing in the early second round on a team like the Celtics or Lakers who could create D-League minutes for him and guarantee time on their roster if he makes improvements.Cornelie does have some ways to go to be an NBA player, but the raw talent is there to justify his inclusion as a potential 1st rounder."

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The pick makes sense as Cornelie could serve as a long-term replacement for fellow Frenchmen Ian Mahinmi. Adding a center allows Myles Turner to continue playing the power forward position in the future, giving Indiana flexibility. While Myles can play center, he’s looked very comfortable at the four spot on both ends of the floor. A pairing of Cornelie and Turner could give the Pacers a more offensive and athletic version of the front-court they are currently sporting. If Cornelie is protecting the rim, then Turner can continue to rack up blocks coming in on help defense.

Cornelie currently projects as a role player, but that’s all they would need from him if Turner develops into the player Pacers fans hope he does. It is hard to know what the future holds for Indiana, especially if Cornelie doesn’t come over immediately. He may be a long-term project for the Pacers as he needs to add size and strength to his body if he wants to survive in the NBA.

Next: Indiana Pacers Draft Profiles: Playmakers

Another 3-point shooting big could help the Indiana Pacers truly embrace the small ball tactics Larry Bird talk about, but Cornelie still has work to do before he’s ready for the NBA.

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FanSided Mock Draft Has Indiana Pacers Taking Petr Cornelie

By Ben Gibson | Jun 22, 2016

One of the Indiana Pacers options on draft day is Petr Cornelie.

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