The NBA draft is in 60 days away from when this article was started. That’s about 2 months of NBA draft experts (fans) explaining why they think their respective team should go in any which direction. All of this will lead to one of two scenarios on draft night. You like what your team did or you do not like what your team did. Whatever your opinion was after the Pacers made their picks last year doesn’t matter now.
Benedict Mathurin and Andrew Nembhard both had fantastic rookie seasons which should result in both players being named to the all-rookie teams. They gave us highlight plays, made game winners, and helped move this franchise into a new era. (Shoutout to Kendall Brown, really bummed he couldn’t play more towards the end of the season to show what he had). Its crazy to think just how impactful rookies can be to a team and how they help shape the road that is the teams future.
But, what if we didn’t draft Mathurin or Nembhard? What if we made a win-now trade in 2022 that allowed us to win more games this year and maybe even be swept in the first round? I’m here to tell you…that that doesn’t matter because its all in the past. However, conversations surrounding what we should have done before the 2022 draft night did happen. Now that we are preparing for the 2023 NBA draft, the conversations are happening again. Let’s review our options.