Recent Indiana Pacers draft picks have come and gone without producing a really impactful player. Jarace Walker and Ben Sheppard are both fine but nothing special. Andrew Nembhard is the sole breakout option since Indiana took Myles Turner in 2015. From second-rounders to lottery selections, the Pacers have simply not used the draft well.
However, a huge part of pick success is development. Considering how good Indiana has been since they picked seventh (and ended up trading down) in 2023, the Pacers themselves have not had the space to play their talent.
This should leave a void for the Noblesville Boom, the Pacers' G-League affiliate, to fill. Instead, they have given the Pacers little to work with.
Either the players are not very good, or the staff in Noblesville has struggled to put them in a position to succeed. The most likely option is somewhere in between.
The only player on the roster currently who inspires hope is Jalen Slawson, who sits on a two-way deal after an impressive summer league campaign. Even worse, Taelon Peter, the team's fourth-leading scorer, was cut this offseason.
Adding to the issues, Ethan Thompson is also now gone after signing with a Serbian team and demanding his own release.
Players don't tend to stick in the G-League for long. That is the nature of being a fringe prospect in a minor league. However, you'd think Indiana could get some value out of there as other teams have.
They have not.
G-League success stories have defined title-winning teams
When the Oklahoma City Thunder won the NBA title, they did so with multiple rotation pieces that had spent significant time in the G-League. Lu Dort, Isaiah Hartenstein, Alex Caruso, Isaiah Joe, and Aaron Wiggins had all become rotation-level players by proving themselves against lesser talent.
Years earlier, it was the Toronto Raptors developing current Pacer Pascal Siakam as a late first-rounder and Fred VanVleet as an undrafted free agent. The two developed their roles and on-ball abilities by being thrown into the fire that was a larger role on a worse team.
The Boom, by comparison, has kept former Golden State Warriors swingman Jordan Bell around for over three years now.
If there's anyone whose lack of growth can be most blamed on the failure of the G-League team, it is Jarace Walker, who should have developed into what he was pegged as coming out of Houston. If a team like the Raptors can pull that off with Siakam, it seems pretty miserable that the Pacers have not come close with Walker.
Funny enough, the Pacers have not been without their outlier developmental stories. Tyrese Haliburton proved to be capable of being a number-one option on a title-winning team when he nearly pulled it off in 2024-25. Aaron Nesmith went from a non-rotation player with the Boston Celtics to an excellent three-and-D wing in Indiana. Andrew Nembhard was a second-round pick!!
Still, teams are defined by their farm systems (or NBA equivalent) while the second apron is in play. Cheap talent is hard to come by and harder still to shape into cheap impact. The Pacers have struggled to do so, and the Noblesville Boom deserve some of the blame.
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