Indiana Pacers: Grading the team’s 2021 NBA Draft picks

Did the Indiana Pacers strike gold picking Chris Duarte with the 13th pick?

To the untrained eye, picking Chris Duarte, a 24-year-old rookie from Oregon, is a downer given his limited ceiling among a crowded pool of upside-rich prospects. After all, despite his valuable skillset which should pay off with more immediacy than many of his peers, he’s far from a big swing in the lottery realm.

This selection feels like a tailor-made move given the Indiana Pacers’ current conditions, both from a roster perspective and from what makes the most sense for the coaching staff. Duarte’s NBA-ready profile and relatively exhaustive experience simply fits perfectly with the team’s win-now timeline and coach Rick Carlisle’s reluctance to put raw players into the fire.

From a purely basketball perspective with the looming matter to win with urgency, Duarte should be an immediate contributor for the Blue and Gold. His prowess as a 3-and-D guard/wing with reliable individual shot creation should thrive in Indiana, especially with Doug McDermott being a legitimate flight risk in free agency and Jeremy Lamb figured to be a foremost trade asset for the Pacers to shed some salary.

Still, without offense, it feels like the front office could’ve done better with their first lottery selection in a while, especially given the available players that were still on board at that juncture. Perhaps the saving grace here is the fact that Duarte had a lot of explicit suitors in the draft aside from the Indiana Pacers, solidifying his status as one of the most NBA-ready rookies in the upcoming season.

Grade: B-