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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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John Collins
INDIANAPOLIS, IN – DECEMBER 31: John Collins #20 of the Atlanta Hawks is seen during the game against the Indiana Pacers at Bankers Life Fieldhouse on December 31, 2018 in Indianapolis, Indiana. (Photo by Michael Hickey/Getty Images) /

With the 18th pick of the 2017 NBA draft, the Pacers select…

Pacers 2017 Pick: T.J. Leaf, the 18th pick
Our 2017 pick: John Collins, the 19th pick

I just want to start this off my saying I feel bad throwing T.J. Leaf under the bus like this, but so far he hadn’t played up to his draft position. I still think there is a rotation quality player there for the Pacers, but so far, Leaf hasn’t been that.

With that said, if we were picking again in 2017, I’d take the player taken one pick after Leaf, John Collins.

Collins was pressing towards averaging a double-double in his rookie season but his 19.5 points and 9.5 rebounds this season for the Atlanta Hawks certainly jump off the board. He is arguably in the top 5 of that draft, so the Pacers weren’t the only teams that should wonder if they weren’t scouting things correctly when they made their pick.

The two players in back to back picks illustrate both the difficulty and frustrations that come with the draft. Leaf and Collins both fell roughly where they were expected to in the draft, but one is a starter on their team while the other is fighting for minutes off the bench.

Unfortunately for the Pacers, this might be Kevin Pritchard’s biggest mistake since taking over the president of basketball operations position. Moves like Tyreke Evans that don’t pan out are really limited to one season of regret. Unfortunately for however long both Collins and Leaf are in the league, we’ll be left wondering why Indiana made the pick they did.

That’s unfair to Leaf in some ways, but that’s the nature of the beast.

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