With the NBA Draft fast approaching, and the Early Entry List set, it's time to examine more in depth some of the players who could be available for each of the Pacers three picks. (I am operating under the assumption Dallas will be sending us their 2nd round pick this year, not next, to complete the Shawne Williams deal. June 1st is the final deadline for Dallas to decide.)
Obviously, the Pacers 1st Round pick is the most exciting and has the most potential for value. As we need a lot of improvement in all areas, I will be looking at players who should be available for all three picks. My plan is to post two profiles a day, for 2nd rounders, until the Draft Lottery on May 18th. After the team's first round position is finalized, I'll begin profiling 1st Rounders.
These profiles cover players I believe have some value to offer the Pacers next season and in the future. These profiles are not intended to advocate for one player over another, just examine their strengths and weaknesses, and discuss in some detail what they have to offer. For each profile I provided Ten Important Statistics to guide the discussion. When discussing how each player can help the Pacers I will try to specifically reference the team needs I identified in Setting the Table for the Pacers Summer. Here is who we will be looking at today:
Derrick Caracter - PF - 6'9" 265 lbs. - University of Texas at El Paso
| Pts/40 | Reb/40 | Ast/40 | Stl/40 | Blk/40 | eFG% | FT% | FTA/40 | PF/40 | TO/40 |
| 21.1 | 12.1 | 1.7 | 1.4 | 1.3 | 57.0% | 67.2% | 6.6 | 4.6 | 4.1 |
Strengths -
- Character's strengths are simple: he is a force in the paint.
- He boasts excellent strength, footwork, and a well developed set of crafty post moves. All of these combine to make him an excellent scorer close to the basket.
- Caracter is also a terrific rebounder at both ends of the floor.
- Some highlights:
Weaknesses -
- Caracter has struggled with weight issues and it has a significant impact on his quickness, leaping ability, and conditioning.
- His lack of height and leaping ability will make transitioning his scoring ability and rebounding to the NBA difficult. Right now he gets by with strength and skill level, but those won't be such large advantages for him in the pros.
- Caracter struggles with double teams in the post, and can be very turnover prone.
- His lack of quickness and athelticism make him very foul prone as a defender.
- He will really need to improve his free throw shooting to take full advantage of his post skills.
- There are serious issues about his effort, will and off-court decision making after several suspensions at Louisville forced him to transfer.
How he can help the Pacers -
- The Pacers' roster is filled with frontcourt players, but most don't have the post scoring chops of Derrick Caracter. He has the potential to come off the bench, provide some scoring, and give the offense a different weapon besides the long contested jumper.
- If he is able to get his head right, and put in the work to get his body right, he has the potential to develop into a more capable all around player. He is never going to be an All-Star, but he could carve out a career as an off-the bench post scoring specialist.
More Information -