The Indiana Pacers are good enough to win now. Even though the rest of the Eastern Conference had issues staying healthy in the playoffs, Indiana still was an Eastern Conference Finals team. They have a team that is still talented enough to contend for an NBA title.
In order to do that, the Pacers need to rethink their approach in one certain area. Indiana has a mix of young guys and guys who can help them win now. With their franchise player being just 24 years old and locked up on a supermax contract, they have some leeway with the rest of the roster.
Pascal Siakam is a win-now player. Bringing him back in free agency will be key. As for the rest of the roster, they need some more win-now players for at least the next couple of seasons. That means Indiana also needs to rethink their approach when it comes to the Draft.
The Pacers need to draft players who are ready to win now instead ones with upside
Jarace Walker was a player that Indiana drafted with upside. Ben Sheppard was the rookie who was ready to play right away because he had played four years of college basketball at Belmont. He was in the rotation starting after the All-Star break and never relinquished that shot.
The Pacers should start drafting guys who are ready to play now instead of having massive upside. They will have three second-round picks in this year's Draft and those are the picks that they can use on four-year college players with a lot of experience. Those are win-now players who can fill into a rotation.
When they have a first-round pick again next year, they can draft some guys who are NBA-ready immediately as well. They have already traded three first-round picks to just get one guy so they may not be motivated to trade too many future first-rounders.
Now is the time to push all of the chips in the middle to win a title. This team is good enough. They just need a few more pieces to nudge them over the edge.