If the Indiana Pacers' first-round pick this year lands between 1-4 (or 10-30, but that's clearly not happening at this point), they will get it back and not have to send it to the Los Angeles Clippers as part of the Ivica Zubac trade.
In a recent episode of "The Zach Lowe Show," Lowe suggested that this pick could be an "interesting trade piece" for Indiana, but in a stacked class like this one, the team may be better off just hanging on to it and drafting someone who can help them compete for a championship now and for the long haul.
"Indiana, as a small-market team, I think, would probably lean toward just using the pick and trying to draw two timelines at once. Real interesting trade piece, depending on where it falls, given that they clearly are going into next season in a win-now mentality," Lowe said.
The Pacers shouldn't trade their first-round pick... again
The Pacers' decision to trade the pick in the first place was a controversial one, even with the heavy protections. Everybody expects them to re-enter the title picture as soon as next season anyway, and potentially losing out on the opportunity to have a high draft pick in one of the best classes in recent years as a risk many believe they shouldn't have taken. Even if it secured them a new starting center in the process. (Not to mention that trading Bennedict Mathurin, Isaiah Jackson, and a handful of other picks to Los Angeles could have been enough to make it happen anyway).
However, as it stands, Indiana has a 52.1% chance of landing a top-four draft pick (and a 14% chance of getting No. 1) and ultimately keeping its pick, according to Tankatahon.com.
If they can get their pick back, the Pacers need to keep it and essentially treat it as a sign. There are some very, very talented players in this year's draft, and missing out on every single one of them would be a major lost opportunity.
The Pacers have some intriguing options in this year's draft
This year's NBA draft is stacked, but it's largely because of how elite the top of it is.
There are three clear-cut top prospects who are all worthy of being drafted first overall: AJ Dybantsa of BYU (my personal favorite in this year's class), Darryn Peterson of Kansas, and Cameron Boozer of Duke. All three of these players are potential franchise players in the NBA, and adding them to a team that is already capable of competing for a championship would be a dream come true for Indiana.
Additionally, UNC forward Caleb Wilson is widely considered the fourth-best prospect in the draft, and the Pacers would be happy with him as well.
There is a noticeable drop-off after Wilson, but there are still a lot of appealing names on the board, such as Houston's Kingston Flemings, Arkansas' Darius Acuff, and Illinois' Keaton Wagler.
The Pacers may have blown a unique opportunity to add a franchise-player-level guy to a championship-caliber roster. But if they can get it back, they have a pretty clear decision they need to make.