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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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OAKLAND, CA – APRIL 24: Landry Shamet #20 of the LA Clippers handles the ball against the Golden State Warriors during Game Five of Round One of the 2019 NBA Playoffs on April 24, 2019 at ORACLE Arena in Oakland, California. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2019 NBAE (Photo by Noah Graham/NBAE via Getty Images)
OAKLAND, CA – APRIL 24: Landry Shamet #20 of the LA Clippers handles the ball against the Golden State Warriors during Game Five of Round One of the 2019 NBA Playoffs on April 24, 2019 at ORACLE Arena in Oakland, California. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2019 NBAE (Photo by Noah Graham/NBAE via Getty Images) /

With the 23rd pick of the 2018 draft, the Pacers select…

Pacers 2018 Pick: Aaron Holiday, the 23rd pick
Our 2018 pick: Landry Shamet, the 26th pick

As we get closer to the present, it isn’t nearly as easy to parse out the obvious choices in a re-draft. While three or four years make hindsight 20/20, it’s a little fuzzier looking at last year’s draft.

While Aaron Holiday hasn’t done much to improve where he would be taken, neither have many other players. Rookies, unless they are on lottery teams, don’t often see significant minutes. We’ve seen flashes from Holiday, but not even enough to know if at 23 whether he was the right or wrong pick with any certainty. If he breaks out in the upcoming season, any current hindsight might look foolish.

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I was impressed with Landry Shamet before the draft and was a little disappointed the Pacers passed on him. His 10.9 points and critical playoff minutes with the Los Angeles Clippers are impressive but is that enough that right now, you’d 100% for sure go back and change the pick?

Mitchell Robinson’s shot blocking stunning so far with the New York Knicks, but a few seasons from now are we going to look back on someone else, maybe even Holiday like we do Gobert?

It’s hard to say for sure, which of course, is why the drafting is so hard. Even with a little NBA time, it’s still not a clear choice at No. 23 who the Pacers would take. It isn’t like these players aren’t scouted in college, but the way they develop and how they fit into the NBA is the hard part.

The draft isn’t a crap shoot, but it’s more like a game of poker where occasionally a wild card or two gets inserted into the deck. Everyone knows they are lurking around somewhere, but knowing when and where they show up is the hard part.

Next. Chuma Okeke makes sense for the Pacers. dark

All the math in your head, all the reading of the table is worth the effort, but sometimes, you just don’t see something coming and you’re blindsided by it and a little ticked off. If you’re the one holding that wild card, though, you won’t complain about the way things worked for you.

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