Four aspects where Johnny Furphy can help the Pacers in the present and future

Conclusion

With all this being said, the question remains. Can Johnny Furphy contribute to the Indiana Pacers right away?

I think he can. Like most prospects, Furphy's potential as a creator will need an optimal development environment, and the Pacers may be the best fit. He would work best in a team with cemented creators and a DHO big, and Indiana has exactly that.

Creators like Tyrese Haliburton and Bennedict Matuhrin will help mask his clear limitations as a ball handler, while DHO bigs like Myles Turner and Pascal Siakam can find him on cuts and in handoffs as a shooter, both of which he excels at. After Furphy becomes comfortable as an off-ball scorer and shooter, his self-creation and movement shooting may improve, and he can be more confident attacking defenses with his explosiveness and finishing ability.

Furphy's shooting, finishing, explosiveness, and hustle will fit right in with Indiana's culture offensively, while his defense can get a chance to improve in an NBA environment and strength trainers at his disposal. His ability to play on and off the ball, and his current development curve give Furphy a chance to contribute to most NBA teams with the ability to develop as a creator slowly but surely.

He will not have to handle the ball much, if at all in Indiana, with playmakers like Tyrese Haliburton and T.J. McConnell doing the work for him and limiting his sloppy ball handling and turnovers as much as they can. This will let him play to his strengths more and give his weaknesses time to improve. The best part about Furphy coming to Indiana is that he has teammates to mask his offensive weaknesses.

As for the defensive end, that comes down to improved lateral quickness, a stronger lower half, and better stability in general. It is important to note that Furphy suffered shin splits before his season at Kansas started, and Pacers fans saw shin splits hamper Aaron Nesmith's movement and shooting ability during the season and playoffs as well. The main thing the Pacers need to work on with Furphy is his strength, lateral quickness, and screen navigation. The awareness and hustle are there, everything just needs to be polished.

All in all, you can't ask for a better pick with Indiana's circumstances than Johnny Furphy. It is not often that a player projected to go top-10 by some lands in the lap of a team with the 36th pick, and the Pacers should take advantage of this.

With Indiana's wing rotation being more or less set for this upcoming season, Jarace Walker getting more playing time, and Rick Carlisle's mindset of bringing rookies along slowly, we may not see Johnny Furphy getting serious minutes this season, but he can certainly make an impact when called upon, and especially in the future.