Power ranking the top five draft scenarios for the Indiana Pacers
By Luke Parrish
No. 2: The Indiana Pacers take a chance on Jalen Johnson
Duke forward Jalen Johnson has slowly dropped down draft boards and mock drafts over the past few weeks but his value at the end of the lottery is still there. His experience at Duke was a bit of a mess as he opted out of the season midway through but his skill set is certainly worth exploring in the lottery.
He’s an athletic wing/forward with enough size and length to be a force on both ends of the floor. Johnson flashed as a point forward who contributed on the glass and on the defensive end of the floor to set himself up for shots on offense.
In 13 games at Duke, Johnson averaged 1.2 blocks and 1.2 steals while also racking up 6.1 rebounds and 2.2 assists. He did a little bit of everything as a freshman but his limited playing time has cost him a little bit lately.
Johnson was not a high-volume three-point shooter in college, attempting just 18 total shots from beyond the arc, but he connected on 44 percent of his shots. If he can find consistency from deep, he will be a very serviceable weapon off the bench early in his career.
The Pacers still need to shift away from the two-big lineup and if that does not happen this season, adding Johnson to take over that role in the future is an option. Bringing him off the bench for a season before inserting him into the starting lineup as the small-ball forward intrigues me.
While I do like the idea of Jalen Johnson at this stage of the draft, there is one prospect that I think the Pacers have to take if given the opportunity.