Who the Indiana Pacers should target with their second-round picks
By Ryan Stano
The Indiana Pacers sat out round one of the 2024 NBA Draft. They didn't have any first-round picks to use and they didn't trade back into the first round to take anyone. Those first-round picks that they did have ended up going out as part of the Pascal Siakam trade.
Thursday is the second round of the NBA Draft and the Pacers have three picks to use. They have the 36th, 50th, and 51st overall picks. Historically, you don't get great value from players in the second round. Indiana is hoping to change that and should target these three players with their picks.
Three players the Pacers should target with their second-round picks
With the 36th pick, they should look at Kyle Filipowski from Duke. The center was a former five-star recruit before playing two years with the Blue Devils. He can score, rebound, and shoot from outside. That's something that Indiana needs from a backup center. He's also stronger than Jalen Smith, which is why he would work.
Indiana clearly needs a backup center who has some girth to him that can rebound. Filipowski would give them just that. He's also very talented and can develop into a good player. If he's still around at 36th, the Pacers should be very happy to draft him.
With the 49th pick, Indiana should look at taking Jalen Bridges from Baylor. He's a small forward who stands at 6'7 and is someone who has length for defensive purposes and can shoot the three. Bridges shot 41% from deep last season. He'd be an excellent three-and-D guy from off the bench if he can consistently hit shots.
At the very least, he's someone who will defend at a high level from the very start. He played four years of college basketball, so he's very experienced and is ready to play immediately. He's a little bit like Ben Sheppard, whom the Pacers drafted last year.
With that 50th pick, the Pacers should draft Bronny James. Even if they don't like James that much as a player, they can hold him as an asset. If the Lakers are serious about making LeBron happy, they could trade something for Bronny. Why not draft him and extract an asset from the Lakers?
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That's especially true of a team that won't sign all three second-round draft picks to anything more than a two-way deal. Why not use one on Bronny? It would be a smart idea.