Pacers’ GM gives hints as to team strategy in the NBA draft

One of the biggest questions that Pacers’ fans have for the upcoming offseason is what direction the team will want to go. Will the Pacers trade away some of the picks later in the first round in order to either move up or try to bring in another top-tier talent? Or will the Pacers continue to patiently build through the draft by utilizing multiple of their draft picks? While fans will continue to need to wonder, Pacers’ GM Chad Buchanan recently did an interview and gave some small insights into the team’s thinking.

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Chad gave multiple different aspects to the types of things that the Pacers are going to be looking for in the upcoming draft. However, there were a few that stuck out initially upon listening.

1. The Pacers need to improve their defense. 

Chad talked about how the Pacers desperately need to improve their defense. This could point to certain draft prospects such as Jarace Walker, who is clearly the best defender in this draft (and probably has Draymond Green-level potential on the defensive side of the ball). Additionally, Walker perfectly fills the position of need in the four spot, something Buchanan also addressed.

2. The Pacers need to get more aggressive. 

Buchanan talked about how all of the teams left in the playoffs were extremely tough, and had a little bit of “dog” in them. One of the players that could fit this would be Cam Whitmore of Villanova, so has extremely athletic as well as shown an aggressive style of play on the court.

3. The Pacers need someone who loves the game. 

Buchanan talked about how they saw that Mathurin showed them that he truly loved the game of basketball. The idea that passion is something that can’t be taught is an important one, and it was good to see Pacers’ brass are specifically looking for passion in their next top draft pick.