Who the Indiana Pacers should have selected in every NBA Draft since 2010
By Josh Wilson
The Pacers could have made impact moves in the second round in 2014
First-round selection: NONE
Second-round selection: Louis Labeyrie (traded to Knicks)
Available: Maxi Kleber, Torrey Craig
Maxi Kleber and Torrey Craig both certainly felt like gambles here, but they would have been better selections than Labeyrie who never panned out in the NBA and was traded on draft night.
Kleber is a legitimate stretch-four and a good ancillary offensive piece, now playing alongside Luka Doncic in Dallas.
Torrey Craig is a defensively-minded wing player that can hit 3-pointers at a respectable rate.
There’s a chance neither of them is able to carve out a substantial role in this Pacers era, but you never know.
In 2015, the Pacers would have drafted differently had they handled 2013 right
First-round selection: Myles Turner (WRONG)
Available: Devin Booker
Second-round selection: Joe Young (WRONG)
Available: Christian Wood, T.J. McConnell, Montrezl Harrell
This draft re-done may be somewhat controversial. Some might say that Myles Turner was the best fit for the team at the time since the Pacers already had a decent stable of ball-dominant players on the roster.
Booker is the more talented player on the offensive end, but Turner is a legitimate rim protector and defensive anchor with DPOY potential if he taps into his strengths and works hard.
Booker had an All-Rookie season averaging 13.8 points, 2.5 rebounds, and 2.6 assists per game.
Monta Ellis, the Pacers’ shooting guard that year averaged 13.8 points, 3.3 rebounds and 4.7 assists per game.
Booker probably has the higher ceiling as a star player in the league, getting added in as an All-Star reserve this year when Damian Lillard backed out due to injury. I genuinely struggle to see him filling into a role with the Pacers where he offers the two-way upside that they need to help launch them into the next era.
I know this is disagreeable to many, and I may be overvaluing the potential of Turner at this point in his career. In part due to fit reasons, I believe the Pacers made the right call here.
That said, we’re evaluating the last decade together. Had the Pacers selected properly two years prior (Rudy Gobert), the team should have selected Devin Booker to follow. Turner would have been redundant had they selected Gobert.
Now, Joe Young on the other hand (who by the way, wants to come back to the Pacers?) was not the right pick. Harrell or McConnell — who is now a Pacers player himself — would both have been better options, however, one could argue Indiana would not have been able to afford them the proper playing time to allow them to grow.