NBA Draft Review: Pacers, Indy welcome Jarace Walker and Ben Sheppard

The Pacers top picks are hard not to like. If they deliver on the court they will be loved by the locals.

The newest Pacers had fun celebrating their move to Indy.

There were smiles all around at the St. Vincent Center on Friday afternoon when the Pacers officially welcomed first round picks, Jarace Walker and Ben Sheppard. With the life altering event of being selected to play in the NBA next season less than 24 hours prior, both draft picks were thankful and quick to smile while soaking in the adulation along with questions about their journey thus far.

We know the draft is an inexact science, but if these guys can produce as expected then they will fit in with this team and the community quite nicely. Walker will turn 20 in early September and you could tell he was a bit younger with the way he was bouncing around during their photo shoots. Sheppard has a boyish grin, but will turn 22 in a few weeks. The Pacers hope the continual growth of his game he showed in college will, well, continue against the higher level of competition in the NBA.

Seeing Sheppard in person, gives hope that once they figure out the NBA game, the Pacers will have guys who can guard the 4 and the 3. The rook out of Belmont is a good 6’6 and should fit nicely as a small forward, 3 and D wing.

Also, Chad Buchanan confirmed reports about local legend, Trayce Jackson-Davis preferring the Pacers not draft him in he second round with a two-way spot as an option. Also, Buchanan said he called every team starting at pick 10 to try to work a trade for Cam Whitmore, but were unable to make it happen. Mostly due to teams not wanting to give up the chance to select other players they had targeted.

There was not much discussion of the second round picks, Isaiah Wong and Mojave King other than they like both players. ESPN’s Jonathan Givony mentioned he expected King to be stashed in the Australian league next year which would make sense considering the current roster situation which would also keep Kendall Brown in the mix.

We’ll have more each player, but for now I wanted to share some of the local media assets with the new players during their whirlwind day being introduced to Indy.

Both Jarace Walker and Ben Sheppard join JMV on The Ride with JMV.