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:
Omar Samhan - C - 6'11" 265 lbs. - St. Mary's University
| Pts/40 | Reb/40 | Ast/40 | Blk/40 | eFG% | FT% | FT/40 | PF/40 | TO/40 | Pts/POS |
| 26.4 | 13.4 | 1.2 | 3.6 | 55.0% | 72.7% | 8.0 | 3.7 | 2.6 | 1.20 |
Strengths -
- Samhan is a very effective and creative low-post scorer. He has a wide array of moves and can score equally well with either hand.
- He has excellent size and strength for an NBA center.
- He draws fouls in the post and makes his free throws at an excellent rate.
- Samhan is very calm and confident in the post. For a big man he is not especially turnover prone. He doesn't average many assists, but it is because he is such an adept scorer, even through double teams, that he doesn't often need to kick the ball out.
- Samhan is also a very good rebounder, especially on the defensive end.
- He has a great work ethic. Samhan has lost weight every season, developing his body and conditioning. He has also improved each years in terms of specific skills.
- A short highlight:
Weaknesses -
- Samhan has very average footspeed and athleticism. This makes him vulnerable defensively against the pick and roll and face-up post players.
- He is not turnover prone, but he hasn't been asked to pass much out of double teams. He is so skilled offensively in the post, and was never challenged much defensively by the teams in the WCC, that he could usually score right through a dobule team. In the NBA he will need to develop his court awareness and be able to kick the ball out to open teammates.
- He has worked a lot on his footspeed and conditioning, but there are still concerns about his ability to play in an up-tempo, full court NBA game.
How he can help the Pacers -
- Samhan could fill some minutes off the bench as a back-up to Hibbert. His bulk and scoring ability could be a real lift to the second unit. He can give the Pacers a consistent scoring threat, and a post option off the bench to run their offense through.
- Besides concerns about his conditioning and athleticism, his skills are very similar to Hibbert's. This could be a benefit, allowing the Pacers to keep consistent offensive sets when they go to the bench. It could also be to the Pacers detriment as they wouldn't have any different options, a different look to throw at opponents from the center position.
More Information -