Well, that was an eventful draft evening. The Indiana Pacers began Thursday, NBA Draft day, with two picks and wheeled and dealed their way into frontcourt help and a bevy of future draft picks. Here’s how it went down.
It was a long day, an eventful day, and the Indiana Pacers concluded the day with two new players. That number wasn’t a surprise, Indiana entered draft day with two selections, but things were not simple.
A big trade, a big fella was selected, and second rounders were exchanged gleefully. Plenty of Hoosiers were in the draft, Indiana left with none of them.
But it’s fair to say that Indiana came out ahead from the 2019 NBA Draft. It began early.
5:26 PM – Phoenix trades T.J. Warren and the 32nd pick to Indiana for, basically, cap space
There’s a lot to like about T.J. Warren. The soon to be 26-year old forward is on a team-friendly contract (including this season: 3 years, $35.3M left) and is coming off back-to-back seasons where he scored 19.6 and 18 ppg, respectively. He’s a heady player on offense, where he moves well off the ball (which you’re going to like), lulling his defenders to sleep before slicing to the basket.
Warren is at his best when he is tossed the ball, transforms into a rolling boulder then barrels downhill toward the basket. He doesn’t do this mindlessly, he’s like Indianapolis Colts great, Dwight Freeney, in that way, he has a bull-rush, a spin, he can stop and pop. Warren’s got several tools in his chest which helps him do something the Pacers need: create his own shot.
The flip side is he can become a blackhole. The ball goes to Warren and doesn’t come back out. He can pass and be a team player, but when he makes up his mind to score it’s not changing. But he’s also not afraid to work on aspects of his game.
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This past season, he dusted off an improved three-point shot. Warren was 42.8% from deep, taking 4 threes a game. Both numbers were gigantic improvements over what he had previously done in his career. That has been a trend for Warren, improvement, he’s largely gotten better each season of his career, a trend that bodes well.
Now all that said, the smart bet is the under on continuing his 18+ ppg streak, Phoenix was and is terrible and plays in a style that encourages space, speed and isolations. The Pacers are structured and like ball-movement. Will he score, yes, will his ability to create his own shot be valuable, yes, but he will have to adjust.
Fortunately, he’s shown that he can dabble in everything. Excluding scoring, his numbers are in the ballpark of what Thaddeus Young did this year in Indiana. And that’s an important point to how he will likely be used.
Assuming neither Domantas Sabonis or Myles Turner are traded, Warren will fill the role that Young filled so well here in Indiana. He is listed as a small forward but he is similarly sized to Young (Warren: 6’8″, 215 lbs; Young: 6’8″, 221 lbs), and the Suns frequently deployed him as a nominal four.
Acquiring Warren will allow Indiana to play Sabonis and Turner together more while using Warren as a balance that can play with either Sabonis or Turner. In practice, start the two bigs, Warren then replaces one, stays in while the centers replace each other, then subs out to let them close.
Warren would offer a dynamic that the two bigs don’t bring. While Sabonis is more post savvy and a brilliant passer, and Turner slashes well and is a strong shooter, Warren will bull rush defenses.
Does this mean that Thad Young’s time in Indiana is over? Not necessarily, Indiana still has his Bird rights and could retain him.
But, adding a player like Warren smells like a change. It’s probably a change needed for the Pacers to keep progressing as a team (Sabonis needs more minutes). Exchanging Warren for Young makes that transition much easier. A bittersweet after-taste to a clever trade to open draft night.