NBA Mock Draft: Pacers draft another player they don’t need

Tyrese Haliburton, Indiana Pacers (Photo by PATRICK T. FALLON/AFP via Getty Images)
Tyrese Haliburton, Indiana Pacers (Photo by PATRICK T. FALLON/AFP via Getty Images) /
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The newest mock draft has Pacers making some very interesting choices with their upcoming lottery pick. The crew over at HoopsHype and Michael Scotto put together their newest aggregate mock draft, and the results are not promising for the Pacers.

The aggregate draft would have them taking Nick Smith of Arkansas at the 6th overall pick, which would be…..a mistake. Now Nick Smith is a perfectly fine basketball player and could very well become a great player. This season he is averaging: 13 points, 2 rebounds, and 1 assist in 24 minutes on 39% FG and 33% FG3.

Let’s take a look at the current Pacers guard rotation:

  • Point Guard: Haliburton, Nembhard, McConnell, Hill
  • Shooting Guard: Hield, Mathurin, Duarte, Nesmith

They already have too many guard to give them all minutes, taking a guard with their lottery pick would be a mistake. Nick Smith would never have a chance to get the minutes he needs to develop into the player he can become.

But all is not lost, HoopsHype had multiple interesting wings and forwards still in the mock draft behind the Pacers, most notably:

  • Cam Whitmore
  • Jarace Walker
  • Gradey Dick
  • Kris Murray

All of these would potentially be better picks for the Pacers at six based both on talent as well as need on the roster.

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This upcoming draft will make break the current rebuild for the Pacers.

This upcoming draft is an incredibly important draft for the Pacers. With three first round picks, one of which being a lottery, the Pacers will either cement the success of their rebuild or send it back to a few years. With Haliburton, Mathurin, and Nembhard we have a good young core. One or two more young pieces could allow this team to come together and become a force in the east. However, a wrong step and we don’t turn a corner and Haliburton is lacking help around him.

We cannot afford to make the wrong choice this summer, and Nick Smith would probably be exactly that.

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