I understand I wasn't the only one who felt this way, but I surely was one of the biggest critics of the Indiana Pacers' decision to draft Taelon Peter with the 54th overall pick. There were a few reasons for it at the time.
First, I thought the Pacers should've drafted Ryan Nembhard instead, and not just because of his last name.
I honestly thought Nembhard was simply just the better player, and he would've been a good fit in Indiana as a high-level playmaker and passer. Plus, despite being undersized at 5-foot-11, he is a solid defender for his height. (And, knowing what we know now, he can be a solid shooter at the NBA level as well as he is currently shooting 37.9% from deep in his rookie season with the Dallas Mavericks).
Second, if they weren't going to draft Nembhard, I didn't think Indiana should've drafted another guard. They had just drafted Kam Jones earlier in the second round, and they already had Andrew Nembhard, T.J. McConnell, Quenton Jackson, RayJ Dennis, and Tyrese Haliburton (technically) on the roster. If anything, they should've used that pick to take a chance on a big man in case Myles Turner left in free agency (spoiler alert: he did).
And third, Peter himself wasn't on anybody's draft boards. Nobody even knew who he was, and the Pacers probably would've been able to just sign him as an undrafted free agent anyway. (In hindsight, this was definitely just more of a nitpicky take. It was a late second-round pick...).
Regardless, the Liberty alum has proven me wrong multiple times already, and it's probably going to keep happening.
Taelon Peter is a great fit for the Pacers
In his last two games, Peter has averaged 15 points, 4.5 rebounds, 2.5 assists, and 1.5 steals while shooting 43.5% from the field and 42.9% from deep in 25.9 minutes. It's a small sample size, but when the Pacers needed him to, he stepped up. And that's not even the end of yet.
Across four Summer League games, he averaged 9.5 points, 2.2 rebounds, and 1.8 assists while shooting 57.1% from the field. His numbers weren't jaw-dropping, but he certainly passed the eye test. He looked very comfortable on both sides of the ball, brought a lot of energy (especially in transition and cutting to the basket), and his athleticism and physicality were on full display.
I'm not going to act like I've done a full 180 and now think the soon-to-be 24-year-old is the next coming of Reggie Miller, but he's at least way better than I initially thought he would be. And now, I 100% see the appeal. He is a great fit in Rick Carlisle's run-and-gun system, and he can be a real contributor moving forward as he further develops his game.
Peter has what it takes to be a real asset in Indiana for a long time. And personally, I'm excited to see where he goes from here.