Indiana Pacers: Draft or pass? 4 lottery prospects in play
By Luke Parrish
Scottie Barnes – Forward (Florida State)
Drafting a hybrid forward to play at the four should be in play for the Pacers whether they keep Myles Turner and Domantas Sabonis together or not. If they split them up, bringing in Scottie Barnes makes perfect sense. He could create an elite defensive pairing with Turner or be the defensive four while Sabonis plays the five.
His size and lateral ability on that end of the floor make him a dangerous defender capable of stealing passes and getting into transition in a hurry. There is some work to do with Barnes’ skill set on offense as he is not a great shooter but his ability to drive and find open teammates will have value.
Barnes has enough in his bag on offense to be a threat. Pairing that with his elite defensive upside makes for a bright future in the NBA. In the range of the Pacers in the lottery, this would be a home run selection.
They could use Barnes off the bench as the backup four that leads that second unit but could also slide him into the starting lineup whenever injuries arise, which is destined to happen. T.J. Warren is set to hit the free-agent market after next season and the Pacers could look to replace him with a younger option in this draft.
Verdict: Draft