NBA Draft: Detailed mock explains how Haliburton could find co-star

We find ourselves once again in the midst of NBA draft season, where the teams that have no business thinking about title contention, like the Pacers, begin to turn their eyes towards the horizon of all of the what-ifs that come along with thinking about the NBA draft.

And this year, the Pacers have a critical first-round coming up with three first round draft picks. Assuming that they don’t trade any of these in the coming months, many different analysts are projecting the types of players that the Pacers might be interested in.

And it shouldn’t come as a shock to anyone that many of the payers that the Pacers are interested in play the power forward position. And this is the case both for free agents that the Pacers might decide to look at as well as many of the draft prospects coming down the pipeline in the upcoming 2023 NBA draft.

Recently, the Ringer came out with their newest detailed mock draft and who they believe different franchises might be eyeing based on where they would project if the season were to end today. So in this piece, we take a look at the three first round picks that the Ringer has the Pacers making and ask, would this be the right decision?

With the 28th pick in the 2023 NBA draft, the Indiana Pacers select….Julian Phillips, forward, from the University of Tennessee.

This is what the Ringer had to say about him in their mock draft:

"Phillips is once again another bet at the wing position with a focus on defense for Indiana."

Phillips has been a great player for the Volunteers this season averaging 9 points and 5 rebounds on the court. He isn’t blowing anyone away with his offensive prowress, but he has been quite impressive on the defensive side of the court. Additionally, his size will allow him to compete with larger forwards at the next level, something the Pacers continue to need.

Given that Tennessee is playing so well, we should have the opportunity to really see how Phillips measures up against some elite competition later in the tournament if they continue to advance. This might give us all of the information to really understand if Phillips is a great pickup as a late first-round selection for the Pacers.

With the 26th pick in the 2023 NBA Draft, the Indiana Pacers select…..Dariq Whitehead, guard, from Duke University.

This pick is a large bet on the upside that could be Dariq Whitehead, a great recruit out of high school that hasn’t quite had the season he might have hoped for at Duke and has had his time sidelined by injuries. However, his upside could be game changing.

At Duke, Dariq has averaged 8 points and 1 assist on over 40% shooting from deep. And the Ringer believe there may be quite a bit of his game yet to be unlocked:

"Tough shotmaker off the dribble in high school who is just beginning to see his success translate to Duke. He’s most comfortable pulling up from midrange, and he features a good right-to-left stepback jumper."

And even though the Pacers have quite a few two-guards already, Dariq may have the upside that still warrants a team potentially taking an early gamble on him.

We feel a little conflicted on the pick, but believe that many are undervaluing Whitehead. If he’s available here, the Pacers should likely take the bait.

With the 7th pick in the 2023 NBA Draft, the Indiana Pacers select….Cam Whitmore from Villanova University.

The Pacers have needed a power forward for years. I mean literally years. And Cam Whitmore may finally be the true power forward they could bring in to solidify their starting lineup for years to come. Whitmore has been excellent for Villanova this season and there is no reason to think he wouldn’t continue that at the next level.

This is what the Ringer had to say about the Pacers potentially adding Whitmore to their starting lineup:

"Indiana is young but not missing a lot on paper, except for beefy wings like Whitmore who can provide versatility on defense. If his offense keeps developing, he could become a costar next to Tyrese Haliburton."

This would be a homerun pick for the Pacers if Whitmore is there at seven and they should absolutely without hestitation make this pickup. The question is mostly around whether or not he will move up the draft boards pending his performance in March, although it is currently looking like Villanova could miss the tournament.

Our draft grade if this is how the 2023 draft pans out: A+(+)

If we could give this a double A plus we absolutely would. The Pacers would get an almost certainty in Cam Whitmore out of Villanova, a high upside guy in Dariq Whitehead out of Duke, and another forward for a position in need from Phillips out of Tennessee.

We think this would create a phenomenal second draft since the acquisition of Tyrese Haliburton and set the Pacers up with a sure foundation as they look to climb to compete in the Eastern Conference in a few years. And pending if one of these standouts were to turn into an all-star level player, the Pacers could become competitive much faster than they likely intiially had hoped.

However, there is always the chance that the Pacers try to package these picks and turn them into an already established all-star, although only time will tell what the front office is thinking for the next offseason.

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