How have the Indiana Pacers done in recent NBA Drafts?
With the Indiana Pacers set to make a selection in the NBA Draft’s lottery range, we should take a quick look back at recent history to see just how well – or poorly – the Pacers have done in the team-building phase.
The Pacers have not built their roster through the draft in the same way other teams have but they have also not had the success of the franchises that have joined them in building through trades and free agency. Indiana is not going to attract the big-ticket free agents but rather try to fill out the rotation with cheap deals on players with some sort of baggage, typically injury concerns.
Why haven’t the Pacers been successful in the draft? For starters, they have not had many high draft picks so their odds of landing a star are quite slim. Paul George and Myles Turner were both selections in the back end of the lottery but with only seven picks in franchise history coming in the first eight picks. The Pacers have not had a top-eight selection since 1989 and have not had a top-10 selection since 2010.
It’s been over a decade since Indiana has had a real chance at one of the superstars in a draft class. This year, Indiana is projected to pick 13th overall prior to the lottery, leaving them with a lottery pick but not a great one. Although, the history of that pick might be worth salivating over.
How have the Indiana Pacers done in their past four NBA Drafts?
Indiana Pacers 2020 Draft
First-round selection: N/A (traded for Malcolm Brogdon)
Second-round selection: Cassius Stanley
The jury is still out a bit on this one as Cassius Stanley was Indiana’s only rookie selection in 2020 after they traded their first-round pick as part of the deal to bring in Malcolm Brogdon the summer prior.
Stanley did not see the floor much in his first season and when he did, it did not go very well. The freakish athlete out of Duke really struggled to knock down his shots, even at the G-League site. He was nothing but a garbage time minute filler with a lot of athleticism in the backcourt.
Indiana has plenty of bodies in the backcourt that are capable of minutes and Cassius found that out the hard way last season. Even with injuries to Caris LeVert, Malcolm Brogdon, and Jeremy Lamb throughout the season, Stanley was still buried on the depth chart with no real shot at playing time.
Draft grade: C
Malcolm Brogdon was a great addition when considering the value that would be included in a late-first-round draft pick but not enough to make up for the lack of impact from the actual draft class. Brogdon’s future in Indiana may very well be in question and the Pacers have nothing to show for it up to this point.
Stanley could still develop into a decent rotation player, which we’ve seen from second-round picks in Indiana recently, but he has a long way to go in order to prove himself.
Indiana Pacers 2019 Draft
First-round selection: Goga Bitadze
Second-round selection: Jarrell Brantley (traded to Utah)
Goga Bitadze was put in a pretty unforgiving situation when he entered the NBA, going to a team with two starting centers and needs elsewhere. His selection did not sit well with fans, myself included, but Goga took a huge step forward in his second season.
Injuries slowed Bitadze down a bit this season but when he was on the floor, he was an impactful player behind Myles Turner. He was expected to be the backup center with a similar skill set to Turner and he proved exactly why this season. His ability to shoot from the perimeter, even if inconsistently, is enough to draw defenders out and keep them honest.
Defensively, Goga continued to be a force in the paint as a reliable rim protector with the second unit. He averaged 1.3 blocks per game in just 12.5 minutes of action. He was not completely lost when he had to fill in for Turner or Sabonis in the starting lineup.
Indiana also traded the rights to Jarrell Brantley in that draft, a player with some NBA experience but not enough to lose sleep over. They received an extra second-round pick in 2021 and cash considerations in the deal, making it a bit of a nothing move for a team with a full roster.
Draft grade: B
Goga has done a great job at adapting to the speed of the NBA as quickly as he has. He is by no means a star, which is a given considering he comes off the bench for a team that didn’t even make the playoffs last season. But with a lot of room for growth, his selection is not a complete loss even with the need for wings.
Indiana Pacers 2018 Draft
First-round selection: Aaron Holiday
Second-round selection: Alize Johnson
This might be the toughest draft class to grade in this group. Aaron Holiday was a promising young ball handler heading into his third season before regressing in 2020-21. He never took hold of the second unit and was even knocked out of the rotation for a period last season.
If Holiday continued on his trajectory after the 2019-20 season, I think we would be looking at this draft class a lot differently.
On the other hand, the selection of Alize Johnson and that evaluation offers a lot of questions of its own. Johnson may not have been a key piece in Indiana but the talent has always been there. For a second-round pick with low expectations, Johnson has made the most of every opportunity he has gotten at the next level.
From one standpoint, the Pacers botched the Alize pick by not giving him minutes and letting him walk. At the same time, they found a pretty good forward with the 50th pick in the draft.
Draft grade: C+
I wish this grade could be higher but given that neither guy was really an impactful player for Indiana just three years after they were selected, there’s not really any way you can give them a high evaluation. Johnson has done a great job of sticking in the NBA while Holiday may be on his way out of Indiana but he did give them two pretty decent years off the bench.
Indiana Pacers 2017 Draft
First-round selection: T.J. Leaf
Second-round selection: Ike Anigbogu
This is a much easier pairing to place a grade on. The Pacers whiffed on T.J. Leaf and passed up the opportunity to land OG Anunoby, John Collins, and Jarrett Allen in favor of Leaf who never panned out in the league. Leaf appeared in just 35 games over the last two seasons and has averaged a whopping 3.3 points per game over his career.
He was expected to be a good stretch big with some range but that was never the case. He shot 42.9 from deep in his rookie season but never topped 28 percent again in his career. The Pacers missed, and they missed badly.
Ike Anigbogu was nothing short of a project selection that has not stayed healthy, which is a shame. His NBA opportunity still has not come and it appears it probably never will.
Draft grade: F
There won’t be many draft classes easier to grade than this one. Indiana passed up on several high-impact players, including a prospect from right here in the state that filled a position of need and value, in favor of a player who might not see the NBA again. This is why fans have trust issues with the Front Office on Draft Night.