The Indiana Pacers have not taken the leap from beyond the arc that many expected this season. Can they change that in the 2021 NBA Draft?
Nate Bjorkgren’s hiring last offseason was supposed to bring a modern approach to the Indiana Pacers. While they have increased their three-point attempts from 28.0 per game in 2019-20 to 34.2 per game this season, the shooting has not been all that improved.
The Pacers jumped from dead last in attempts last season to 16th in the league this time around but their three-point percentage rank has dropped from 14th to 17th. Which NBA Draft targets could help improve their shooting next season?
Corey Kispert – Forward (Gonzaga)
While the trend of drafting youth and upside in the lottery is hard to pass up, Corey Kispert is the best pure shooter in this class and will be a key rotation player in the NBA for a long time. Kispert was a dominant scorer at Gonzaga for four years, three of which came as a starter on one of the nation’s top teams.
Across four seasons, the 6-foot-7 wing shot 40.8 percent from deep and averaged 11.6 points per game. If you take out his first two seasons, Kispert’s numbers are even more impressive. In his final two seasons, Kispert shot 43.9 percent from downtown and 57.8 percent from two-point range. He posted 16.2 points per game in that span while also knocking down 84.6 percent of his free throws.
Kispert has a pure stroke that will get him buckets at the next level, most likely as a role player off the bench. He has the size to be helpful on the wing defensively but teams will almost certainly value him as a shooter from the outside. He is projected to be right in the range for the Pacers after the lottery if things go as we expect.
Chris Duarte – Guard (Oregon)
A tremendous rise in his sophomore season propelled Chris Duarte into first-round consideration in this draft class. Duarte exploded onto the season this season, especially during the NCAA tournament. He finished the year with an absurd 42.4 percent clip from beyond the arc and 63.1 shooting percentage from inside the line. He also knocked down 81 percent of his attempts from the charity stripe.
Duarte racked up 17.1 points per game as a sophomore, up from 12.9 points as a freshman starter in 2019-20. His play during March Madness was one of the highlights of the entire tournament as he averaged 22 points and shot 53 percent from the field in Oregon’s two contests. There was only one game all season in which Duarte did not knock down a three-point attempt.
His touch around the rim and ability to knock down shots in the face of defenders is hard to dislike. Guys who can connect on shots despite a good closeout are incredibly valuable, especially for a team like Indiana that has been inconsistent from downtown this season.
Duarte would be a fun fit off-ball next to Caris LeVert moving forward. The potential of those two on the offensive end of the floor would be hard to pass up, although there are clear concerns with Indiana’s defense at the moment.
Jared Butler – Guard (Baylor)
Baylor won the title in 2021 thanks to some standout performances including another great season from Jared Butler. Butler, a junior guard, shot lights out from deep and was a crucial piece to their title run. He was automatic from the field, connecting on over 41 percent of his threes and over 52 percent of his twos.
For the second season in a row, Butler scored 16 points per game while shooting at a high clip from the field. He is ready to step into the second unit and contribute right away to an NBA team. If Indiana is forced to move on from T.J. McConnell as the backup point guard, pairing Butler with Edmond Sumner in that second unit may be worth a shot.
Butler was not a primary ball-handling point guard at Baylor last season but he has the tools to take that role. If the Pacers use him as an off-ball scorer, which was his primary role with the Bears, it would work out as well.
There is potential with Butler as a pick-and-roll man in a two-man game with Domantas Sabonis in the second unit – something we’ve seen between Sabonis and Doug McDermott. For a later first-round option, Jared Butler brings a lot to the table.
He can be a bright scoring option off the bench but he also has shown that he is a capable defender on the perimeter. His 2.0 steals per contest last season was near the top of all of college hoops on the season. He can fill two massive holes for a plummeting Pacers team if he falls into their lap.
Moses Moody – Guard (Arkansas)
Get used to hearing Moses Moody as a favorite for the Pacers. He possesses all of the tools that this roster currently lacks on both ends of the floor. Moody is a three-level scorer with a lot of potential on the defensive end of the floor as well. Most notably, Moody is currently projected in the back half of the lottery, which seems to be the range for Indiana.
He is a pro-ready scorer that can get the job done from anywhere on the floor. His numbers may not be as high as the other guys on this list but 16.8 points on .427/.358/.812 splits are still respectable. At just 19 years old on draft night, the sky is the limit for the former Razorback.
There is nothing more valuable in basketball than having a wing that can create his own shots and convert them into points. The writing is on the wall for Moody to be that kind of player and the Pacers should be very excited if he is available for them. Even if they have to trade up to secure him, Moody is too perfect of a player for Indiana to pass up.
Indiana could use his shot creation off the bench as a leader in the second unit but could also fit him next to Caris LeVert in the starting lineup if they decide to part ways with T.J. Warren. Having extra two-way wings is the best problem to have in the NBA.