The NBA draft lottery didn’t shake out the way that the Pacers would have wanted it to, but it wasn’t all bad either (there was definitely a silver lining). The Pacers ended up with the number seven overall pick, but probably missing out on the blue-chip talent at the top of the draft.
The consensus seems to be that there are three to five top-tier talents in the draft this year, the biggest of which would be Victor Wembanyama, Scoot Henderson, and Brandon Miller. The Thompson brothers are also considered to be top-end talent. There are probably multiple players in the draft that would be a top overall draft pick many other years.
Because of this, there may be quite a few teams that are interested in making a run at a top pick in the upcoming draft, including a rebuilding team like the Indiana Pacers. This is because it was reported that the Portland Trailblazers will be shopping the number three overall pick in order to put together one last contending team for Damian Lillard.
The general manager of the Portland Trailblazers anticipates receiving numerous calls for the third pick
— NBACentral (@TheDunkCentral) May 17, 2023
“We’re a team that’s trying to win and trying to maximize Damian’s timeline.”
(Via Yahoo Sports) pic.twitter.com/Ebp1sDnMMd
As such, the Pacers could be primed to capitalize on such an offer to trade up for one of the blue-chip level talents in this years draft, solidifying their young core.