It’s that time of year where fans turn their attention away from the current season if their franchise isn’t going to make the postseason, they turn their attention towards the future. In this case, Pacers fans are looking towards the upcoming NBA draft.
And there have been many mock drafts that have come out to date and we have commented on many of them.
The disappointing ones:
- NBA Mock Draft 2.0: Pacers fail to land generational talent
- NBA Mock Draft: Pacers draft another player they don’t need
- NBA Mock Draft: Analyst projects Pacers waste their lottery pick
But we’ve also seem some good ones as well:
- NBA Draft: Detailed mock explains how Haliburton could find co-star
- NBA Mock Draft: Pacers make the right decision in newest projections
However, in the last few days the Ringer has come out with the most optimistic mock draft for the Indiana Pacers. The Pacers find themselves lacking one key piece: a power forward. It feels like they have the guard rotation and centers for their future, but continue to struggle to secure the forward spot, specifically the power forward.
If the Ringer’s predictions come true, the Pacers will not only have solve that issue, but probably paired Haliburton with another superstar to form the basis of a title-contending team.
With the 2nd pick in the 2023 NBA draft, the Indiana Pacers select…….Brandon Miller, forward out of Alabama.
Is this optimistic? Sure. The Ringer has the Pacers doing very well in the lottery and getting the second overall pick. Of course, if this is the case, this would have the potential to change the franchise trajectory for years. And Brandon Miller could be the right player to make that happen in Indy.
He arguably played for the best team in the NCAA this season, and was the best player on that team. His averages this season were the following: 19 points, eight rebounds, three assists, one block, and one steal for the season. Those are, honestly, incredible numbers. And he is still only a freshman having multiple years of growth and development ahead of him.
He could potentially be an elite two-way player and has the frame and skills to check many of the boxes of what the modern NBA superstar player is today. Tall, long, quick, good offensive skills, and great defensive instincts. The Ringer compares him to Paul George.
Brandon Miller, from a playing standpoint, would be a great fit with the Indiana Pacers.
It almost seems laughable to have to analyze this, but Miller would be an absolute perfect match for the Pacers. He would fill a void that we have had for many years in trying to have a natural power forward at the four spot. In the last five years, it seems that we always have both offensive and defensive liabilities at the four spot, and Miller could go a long way in solving those.
The starting five of the Pacers would look something like this:
- Tyrese Haliburton, PG
- Bennedict Mathurin, SG
- Aaron Nesmith/Buddy Hield, SF/SG
- Brandon Miller, PF
- Myles Turner, C
That is a dynamite starting lineup and one that Pacers’ fans would be incredibly excited about, me included. It’s entirely possible that this type of lineup could quickly rise towards the top of the eastern conference, especially with the amount of depth on the bench in Nwora, Duarte, Nesmith/Hield, and Nembhard. That’s not even mentioning the potential of a player like Isaiah Jackson.
Is this all just optimism and hope on the part of the Ringer and Pacers’ fans?
Currently the Pacers have a 15% chance to land one of the top two picks in the NBA draft. So it is likely that the Pacers are going to be able to pick that high? No. But it isn’t necessarily unlikely either. The Pacers have the ability to catch the next couple of teams in the draft order and up those chances to something closer to 20%, or one in five. If the Pacers can do that, this starts to not feel so far-fetched to begin with.
However, we would be lying if we didn’t caveat that the Ringer is being optimistic about the Pacers chances. However, the chances of walking away with Miller are likely a bit higher as well. He isn’t the consensus number two pick, with many mock drafts still having Scoot Henderson ranking higher. If this is the case, the Pacers could have as high as almost a 30% chance of landing Brandon Miller if the cards fall right.
So hold on to hope, Pacers’ fans. There is a lot to be excited about in Indy.
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