Pacers’ scrutinized draft night decision suddenly looks a lot worse

Back in June, the Indiana Pacers drafted Taelon Peter with the 54th overall pick. While a late second-round pick doesn't typically make headlines (unless you're Bronny James), there was still some discourse surrounding Indiana's decision to select the Liberty guard.

Heading into the draft, few had Peter on their radar. In fact, the general consensus was that he was going to be an undrafted free agent. Following the Pacers' selection, Sam Vecenie of The Athletic wrote that, while some analytics execs were impressed with Peter, he personally didn't view him as an NBA talent.

"I don’t see an NBA player here, but a few analytics execs saw his name pop in models with how efficient he is as a scorer and became fans of him during the process. He’ll likely be on a two-way," Vecenie said about Peter.

Many criticized the Pacers' decision for two reasons.

First, they had already landed a guard in Kam Jones in the draft via a trade with the San Antonio Spurs, and they didn't draft a big man, which was going to be a need regardless of what happened with Myles Turner in free agency.

And second, he wasn't Ryan Nembhard, who many Pacers fans wanted instead. The Canadian native ultimately went undrafted and signed with the Dallas Mavericks.

It's way, way, way too early to say anything definitively, and it's important to remember that we're talking about one second-round pick. However, after Nembhard's performance on Monday night, there are reasons to second-guess Indiana's draft night decision.

Ryan Nembhard had a breakout performance for the Mavericks

During Monday's victory against the Denver Nuggets, Nembhard (in his ninth career NBA game and third career start) recorded 28 points on 12-for-14 shooting, three rebounds, 10 assists, and zero turnovers in 35 minutes.

The Gonzaga alum showed flashes as a legitimate playmaker (which was one of his strengths entering the draft), but he was confident and decisive, and he showed that he can hit some shots himself as well.

This isn't just a one-game masterclass for Nembhard either. In his three games as a starter, he is averaging 17.7 points on 66.7% shooting from the field and 60% from deep, 2 rebounds, 5.7 assists, and 1.3 turnovers. The 22-year-old is playing good basketball right now. It remains to be seen whether this is sustainable or not, but for now, Dallas should be incredibly happy he is on the team.

As for Peter, he is averaging 1.8 points while shooting 25.9% from the field and 24% from beyond the arc, 1.2 rebounds, and 1.1 assists in 13 games. Additionally, he has logged single-digit minutes in nine of those games.

A lot of this is because Rick Carlisle typically doesn't play rookies, and Peter did miss some time with a groin injury. Still, Nembhard's breakout performance on Monday just gave Indiana a glimpse of what it missed out on, and the team's controversial draft choice is beginning to age poorly.