The Indiana Pacers were not going to let one of the titans of Purdue Boilermakers basketball leave the state after an amazing college career, as they worked out a trade with the rival Chicago Bulls that helped them land Braden Smith to their already growing cast of bench players.
The deal helped Smith, which saw Kam Jones, cash, and future pick swaps head to Chicago in exchange for the No. 38 pick, stay in the state. After setting the NCAA record for most career assists, Smith is leaving Indiana with no reason to doubt that his point guard skills will be effective in every sense of the word when he makes the transition to the NBA.
Smith will have some doubters due to his size, but the Pacers have won with small guards in key roles before, and small guards don't come with much more proven production than this.
Pacers keep Braden Smith in Indiana with NBA Draft trade
Even though he is a senior, Smith's historic college production would have gotten him a first-round selection if he didn't face major size concerns. Smith, who averaged at least 8.7 assists per game in each of his final two seasons, was a consensus All-American twice. Smith averaged a tidy 13.0 points per game with the Boilermakers.
Disaster struck when Smith measured at 5-10 and 166 pounds at the NBA Combine, as those numbers likely took him off the board for many teams out there. The Pacers, having seen Smith as up close and personal as any team in the league for most of the last decade, were convinced that measurables would not deter Smith from making an impact in the NBA.
The comparison to TJ McConnell is lazy due to their similar styles of play, but the shoe really does fit here. Indiana has had tremendous success with McConnell giving their second unit a jolt of playmaking on both ends of the floor, and Smith could have a similar career if he doesn't prove to be a turnstile on defense.
Indiana fans will always like keeping homegrown products in the state, and landing someone who literally rewrote the record books in Smith at this point in the draft has to be one of the most joyous occasions for fans of both the Pacers and Boilermakers. If nothing else, Smith's sublime passing will make for a devastating G League team in his rookie season.
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