What the Indiana Pacers Might Be Looking For With Pick #7

Ladies and gentlemen, the 2023 NBA Draft Lottery is in the books, and with it, the Indiana Pacers’ fate on draft night is a little clearer. About a month ago, I gave 3 scenarios for the Pacers’ offseason, in which I listed the realistic scenario being that the Pacers would be awarded the 7th or 8th pick in the draft. Well, after a rocky season containing ups, downs, and injuries alike, the Indiana Pacers have been rewarded with the 7th pick in the draft, which was no surprise given their draft odds, however, they are probably thrilled that they did not end up with the 8th pick, of which they had a 35.61% chance of obtaining.

Side note, for the last 4 years, the team with the 7th best odds has consistently moved up in the draft. That streak has been broken this year when the Indiana Pacers owned those odds. Just another small tidbit that I’m sure Pacers fans will love!

With that being said, I can’t really find myself complaining too much, since the Pacers thankfully didn’t fall in the lottery and are also getting picks 26 (Cavaliers trade), 29 (Celtics trade), and 32 (Rockets trade).

Most of all, we have to be thankful that we are not the Detroit Pistons on this fateful night.

With the Pacers’ lottery position revealed, there has already been speculation as to who the best pick would be for the team, and whether they want to be competitive immediately, or take a longer-term prospect that perhaps won’t be as good in his first year or 2. I will be talking briefly about the 3 most discussed potential Pacers draft picks, those being Jarace Walker, Cam Whitmore, and Taylor Hendricks. So without further ado, let’s get into it!

Taylor Hendricks:

Now, I’ll be the first one to admit that I do not know the most about Taylor Hendricks. However, I have done some research on him recently and he seems like a very good choice for the Pacers to take with the 7th pick. The Ringer has him ranked exactly #7 in their 2023 NBA Draft guide and has compared him to Jerami Grant and Jaden McDaniels while nbadraft.net has him compared to Pascal Siakam, and from what I’ve seen, these comparisons are reasonable enough. In one scouting report, Hendricks has been labeled as “the ideal modern defender”, and this is tough to argue against, with his 6’9″ frame and excellent lateral quickness and athleticism. While not being the bulkiest guy on the floor, with a weight of 210 pounds, Hendricks may not be able to bang with Embiid and Jokic down low, but with his frame and nose for the ball, he can definitely be a good candidate for a small-ball 5, and someone that can either guard the perimeter or serve as a weak side rim protector, with his 1.7 blocks per game as a freshman at UCF. In addition to being a great defender, Hendricks also shot 39% from the 3-point line as a freshman and has some of the best shot mechanics of the top prospects, while also being a good finisher, who presents matchup problems in the pick-and-roll.

However, Hendricks is not perfect, as he does not have much self-creation ability at this point, and relies more on pure athleticism than touch around the rim when finishing. As a result, he probably won’t be a team’s leading scorer out the gate and still has a lot of room to grow in that area, with his ball handling and off-the-dribble game also needing improvement. With this being said, it’s not like the Pacers are dying for a top scorer in this draft, as they already have Tyrese Haliburton, who averaged 20 points per game this season, and Bennedict Mathurin, who was second in rookie points per game, with 16.7. Hendricks will most likely not be asked to be a go-to guy on offense if he were to be drafted by Indiana, and would be seen as more of a spacer and play finisher, as well as a fantastic defender, given he puts it all together. If drafted, I can see Hendricks slotting in right next to Myles Turner and perhaps giving Isaiah Jackson some more time to come off the bench and develop a bit more.

Cam Whitmore:

In my previous article where I talked about the 3 scenarios for the Pacers’ offseason, I labeled Cam Whitmore as the most interesting guy among the players the Pacers could take with the potential 8th pick. Well, the Pacers have the 7th pick, and I still feel more or less the same about Whitmore, who, standing at 6’7″ and weighing a burly 235 lb, would be another great candidate to slide next to Myles Turner at the 4 spot, just like Hendricks. The thing that separates Whitmore from a lot of prospects at this range to me, is his incredible explosiveness. After all, The Ringer didn’t give him the comparison of “A semi truck with a Ferrari’s accelerator” for no reason, as Whitmore’s off-the-dribble explosiveness and ability to finish with either hand have been heralded as some of the best in the draft. Not only is he fantastic while operating downhill with a head of steam, but he also has a very nice 1st step which gives him an advantage when matched up with bigger frontcourt players in college, and his burly 235-pound frame gives him the ability to shield defenders and get to the rim easily against smaller wings, which leads to plenty of above the rim finishes and a whopping 58% FG inside the arc. As well as being an amazing slasher, Whitmore is also a very active cutter who is always looking for opportunities to sneak past defenders, and can even be a lob threat in certain offenses (he’s going to be catching lobs from Tyrese Haliburton in this case, come on now). In addition to his athletic ability, Whitmore has also shown potential as a shooter with his feet set, shooting 34% from 3 in his lone season of college on 4.2 attempts per game, and has also shown potential as a defender and rebounder, given his insane 2-footed leaping ability, whether on his first or second jump. However, what intrigues me the most about Whitmore is his age. He was born in July 2004 which would make him still 18 years old on draft day and actually younger than me. If you have this much raw athleticism and surprising finesse in an 18-year-old’s body, you’re probably going to get good results more often than not, and that’s what excites me the most about Cam Whitmore.

However, like any prospect this year outside the top 2, Cam Whitmore is not without his flaws. For one, he’s not the best passer, as the Athletic has noted that his assist rate will be along the lowest in lottery history for a wing player, as he averaged less than 1 assist per game in his freshman season and often was too deliberate with the ball, which led to him being a ball-stopper quite frequently which stagnated his team’s offense more than it should’ve. In addition to the playmaking holes, Whitmore is also a bit rough around the edges as a slasher, despite the immense upside he has shown in that area. Occasionally, he has found himself slashing into the lane with no plan or purpose, which has led to either a bad shot or even a turnover. Whitmore also relies pretty heavily on his physical and athletic gifts to contribute, and it is a question mark as to how he can fit in the game when his strengths are perhaps neutralized by the bigger, more athletic players in the NBA as compared to college ball. With this being said, this is why I bring up Whitmore’s age yet again. With him still being 18 years old by the time draft day rolls around and only about 19 years and 3 months old once the season starts, he has plenty of time to polish his skills as a playmaker and defender before it’s too late, and with the Pacers not expected to set the world on fire in 2024, Cam will be able to develop comfortably alongside Myles Turner, who he can see as somewhat of a mentor on the defensive end.

Jarace Walker:

Saved the best for last as you can see!

At this point, you can probably see a bit of a pattern with the guys that I’ve picked for this feature, and that is that all of them are more or less power forwards that would slot right next to Myles Turner at the 4 position, and Jarace Walker is no different. However, Walker is most certainly the best-case scenario out of the 3 players listed and should be the no-doubt selection at 7 should he still be on the board. Jarace Walker’s best assets are without a doubt his physical tools, with him standing at 6’8″ and a beefy 249 pounds while possessing strength that someone of his age should not have and a reported 7’2″ wingspan accompanied with a 38-inch max vertical, which allowed him to average 1.3 blocks per game at Houston and will let him be a potential small-ball 5 at the NBA level.

In addition to being a physical specimen, Walker is also quite versatile, as he has all the physical tools necessary to guard big men in the paint, while also having the agility and defensive IQ to cover some guards and wings on the perimeter. And it’s this versatility that will be Walker’s calling card in the NBA, with him having the tools to guard all 5 positions and slot in nearly anywhere the team needs him on offense. In addition to versatility, Jarace Walker possesses the rare combination that NBA scouts salivate over, which is athleticism and a bit of finesse. Plenty of times, we have seen Walker showcase his impressive footwork, post moves, and touch around the rim of someone that has no business being as strong and athletic as he is. Also, unlike Whitmore, Walker is a savvy playmaker who doesn’t hold the ball too much and knows how to make the right read and feed his teammates.

Another area that Walker has shown promise in, is the pick-and-roll. Defenders at the college level were obviously overwhelmed by his physical tools so much that if he wasn’t steamrolling them on his way to the bucket, they’d simply just move out of his way. Walker also has a decent handle with the ball and this allows him to get to the rim by himself and create his own shot a bit through contact if needed. Also, if his 3-pointer keeps improving (34.7% on 2.8 attempts per game at Houston), he will also be a problem in the pick-and-pop scenario.

All of this seems like it’s too good to be true, doesn’t it? There can’t be a prospect this good that slides all the way down to the Pacers at 7, right? Well, Walker obviously isn’t perfect, and he does have some weaknesses in his game. Most of these weaknesses are centered around his offensive game, which still leaves a lot to be desired and might be the reason he slips a bit in the draft. For one, his shooting is streaky at best and subpar at worst. While he has improved his form in recent years, Walker is still unproven at the NBA 3-point level, and is even more of a red flag from the free-throw line, shooting just 66%, which is pretty surprising, considering his touch around the rim and from the mid-range. Speaking of shooting, while Walker has shown some flashes of being able to make shots off the bounce, he has also shown some inconsistency at that and often sees himself settling for mid-range jumpers and floaters a bit more than he might like to. Walker seems to have taken a liking to floaters and uses them quite often, even shying away from contact and resorting to a floater when he should probably be in there using his size and strength to get a better shot. Another problem with Walker is that, while he does have an impressive handle for a man of his size, he can also be quite careless with the ball, especially when driving to the rim, which often leads to him dribbling directly into traffic or forcing an ill-advised shot through the defense, and that is if he’s not outright losing the ball.

With all this being said, however, Walker is still the clear-cut best prospect among these 3 and the guy that Pacers fans should be most excited about with their draft position. If Walker is on the board come pick 7, he is a no-brainer for the Pacers to select, as his skill set perfectly compliments Myles Turner in the frontcourt, and he’ll be a perfect pick-and-roll partner with Tyrese Haliburton as well. Pacers fans also believe that, as he barely edged out Cam Whitmore as the prospect they are most excited for, and I have to agree.

Conclusion/What to Expect:

I stopped at 3 players today because of time but if I wanted to, I could talk about plenty more prospects that the Pacers might have their eyes on, including Anthony Black, Gradey Dick, Keyonte George, and so on. I could even talk about who the Pacers might be looking to take with their late first-round and second-round picks, such as Dariq Whitehead, Trayce Jackson-Davis, and maybe even G.G. Jackson. The point is, now is a time to be excited if you’re a Pacers fan, as we find ourselves in unfamiliar territory, with 2 top 10 picks in back-to-back years. Bennedict Mathurin in 2022 was a hit with the 6th pick and already looks like a future star. If we play our cards right, we could potentially draft a third star to go alongside Haliburton, Mathurin, and the blooming Myles Turner, or we could stink up the joint and take another Tyler Hansbrough or Jonathan Bender. Ultimately, the ball is in the front office’s hands and I know they’re excited for this opportunity, as you could tell from the way Kevin Pritchard was acting in the drawing room.

All in all, this is an exciting time to be an Indiana Pacers fan, and I am here for all of it, highs and lows alike.