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Hindsight is 20/20: Re-drafting the Pacers’ last 5 first-round draft picks

By Ben Gibson

INDIANAPOLIS, IN - APRIL 23: Solomon Hill #44 and George Hill #3 of the Indiana Pacers speak during Game Three of the Eastern Conference Quarterfinals during the 2016 NBA Playoffs against the Toronto Raptors on April 23, 2016 at Bankers Life Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, Indiana. (Photo by Gary Dineen/NBAE via Getty Images)
INDIANAPOLIS, IN - APRIL 23: Solomon Hill #44 and George Hill #3 of the Indiana Pacers speak during Game Three of the Eastern Conference Quarterfinals during the 2016 NBA Playoffs against the Toronto Raptors on April 23, 2016 at Bankers Life Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, Indiana. (Photo by Gary Dineen/NBAE via Getty Images) /
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Myles Turner #33 of the Indiana Pacers
INDIANAPOLIS, IN – APRIL 21: Myles Turner #33 of the Indiana Pacers dunks the ball against the Boston Celtics during Game Four of Round One of the 2019 NBA Playoffs on April 21, 2019 at Bankers Life Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, Indiana. (Photo by Ron Hoskins/NBAE via Getty Images) /

With the 11th pick of the 2015 draft, the Pacers select…

Pacers 2015 Pick: Myles Turner, the 11th pick
Our 2015 pick: Myles Turner, the 11th pick

Remember how we mentioned Myles Turner back there? As it turns out, if everyone got to re-do the 2015 draft, Turner might not have made it out of the top 3 or 5. Karl-Anthony Towns still goes number one, but looking at the results afterward, there’s probably regret on more than one team’s part.

Turner, Larry Nance Jr., Montrezl Harrell, and a number of other players wouldn’t have fallen back to who they did while some like Kristaps Porzingis,  Willie Cauley-Stein, and D’Angelo Russell might have ended up on the same teams that actually drafted them.

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The Pacers got lucky as the Charlotte Hornets took another center, Frank Kaminsky with the 9th pick while Justice Winslow went to the Miami Heat at No. 10. It could have been a much different draft even for Indiana.

While basketball is more than stats, it’s worth noting Turner is second in VORP to only Towns from that draft class. Injuries have Porzingis lower than you might expect, but that’s the nature of that statistic.

If you look at something like box plus-minus, which attempts to measure a player’s statistical contributions on both sides of the ball without accounting for wins or other factors that aren’t fully in their control, Turner finishes 6th.

Devin Booker is the only player I’d consider taking over Turner as Booker went 13th, but even then, getting a potential Defensive Player of the Year candidate or at least someone who will eventually end up on an All-Defensive Team is still worth considering over a scorer like Booker.

Booker is interesting, but I’d wonder if his heavy usage would drastically alter his and Oladipo’s ability to play together in the hypothetical world. Even in that world, I’m happy with keeping the ponytail-sporting center.

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