Indiana Pacers April Fools’ Day: 5 NBA Draft blunders we wish were jokes

Missing out on Malcolm Brogdon (at 36) and Pascal Siakam (at 27), trading Caris LeVert in the process

Pacers pick at 20: Caris LeVert (traded for Thad Young)

The Pacers sort of made up for this one by securing Malcolm Brogdon this summer, but they could have easily saved themselves some trouble if they picked him up for starters.

Similarly, having Most Improved Player who is piling onto his award-winning season would not be too bad to have right now.

Brogdon was passed on 34 times before the Bucks took him at 35. Brogdon and Milwaukee would have the last laugh of his rookie season as he would go on to win Rookie of the Year and book a 50/40/90 season in his third year.

As we know, that year would close out with a sign-and-trade to send him to Indiana. It remains to be seen how well that one worked out for Indy in totality, but so far the deal has looked pretty good despite the steep price to get him.

Indiana selected Caris LeVert this year which isn’t a bad pick at all. If this draft were re-done today, he’d probably go in the top 10. The problem is that Indy shipped him out for Thaddeus Young and attached a second-round pick to get it done. Even a straight swap of Young for LeVert looks wrong now, and the added draft pick is just insult to injury.

The Pacers have had their fair share of draft rights trades gone wrong, and this is a good example of just that. Young was a good player for the Pacers (his good defense fit what the Pacers needed) but he didn’t move the needle enough to justify having sent LeVert out.

LeVert this season has averaged 17.7 points, 4.1 rebounds, and 4.1 assists per game shooting above 40 percent from the field. Saying he’s a future All-Star seems about right, a mark he could very well reach in multiple seasons throughout his career.

The injury history that comes with LeVert is scary, but one of the gambles you have to take with a player that has his all-around skill level.

The Pacers not only traded him, but they also decided not to draft Siakam or Brogdon.

Siakam is forgivable. Coming out of New Mexico State he was a thin wiry frame. To see his potential, you had to do a lot of squinting and bet on the best-case scenario. He’s worked his tail off and Toronto has really flexed their developmental abilities with him. Who knows if he would have thrived quite as much in Indiana.

Even passing on Brogdon makes sense in context. But the culmination on missing on essentially all three of these solid players for Thad Young stings.