Pacers emerge from NBA Draft Lottery with picks No. 7 and No. 32 set
Wemby-ana was not meant to be, but the Pacers did get some good news out of draft lottery.
The Indiana Pacers rebuild did not get the super boost of landing the top pick in the NBA Draft Lottery, instead standing pat with the No. 7 overall pick. Much of the board went as expected with the biggest shake up being near the top where the Detroit Pistons dropped to No. 5 while Portland jumped up to No. 3.
The big prize went to the San Antonio Spurs as drew the top pick which will also deliver yet another generational big man in Victor Wembanyama to quickly improve the young Spurs team. No to mention, between Wemby and Coach Pop, the team should be able to lure some veteran help for a quick turnaround.
The Spurs winning was great news for the Pacers since they finished the lottery ahead of the Houston Rockets, who fell to No. 4 in the draft. That situation flipped the second pick in the second round, No. 32 overall to the Pacers. Were those places flipped, the Pacers second pick would’ve fallen to No. 50.
So…the Pacers offseason is really real now with their five draft picks set at No. 7, No. 26, No. 29 in the first round and No. 32 and No. 55 in the second round. Of course, Kevin Pritchard would prefer not using all five picks on rookies, instead using those pick in trades to add more established players to the mix while balancing the roster and salary cap.
From the seventh spot, the Pacers will likely have a big wing or two still on the board to choose from, but not necessarily a ready-made answer to the current hole in the lineup. Someone that can help? Absolutely.
The immediate mock draft following the lottery on Tankathon has Cam Whitmore going to the Pacers. The bouncy wing out of Villanova has plenty to bring to the table and is not yet 19 years old. It will be interesting to see how all of these big wings shake out once the measurements and drill analysis is done at the combine in Chicago this week.
But for now, the Pacers are at the mercy of those drafting ahead of them, which means they have to once again, prioritize their top picks and then hope the right guy falls to their pick.
OR…should the Pacers skip all of the young players and use No. 7 for a bigger trade target or two? What do you think the Pacers will do with the No. 7 pick?
That Celtic v Heat game last night... wow, super embarrassing for the Celtics. Assuming they get swept, I wonder what Boston will do this offseason and if they move on from Brown or some other big move. Wonder if the Pacers would want to be involved.
I think 7th pick is very good for the Pacers, because it is psychologically easier to trade it away than lets say 3-4 pick and for some team the 7th pick could be all they need. I think Pacers can get a good established player for it and they should do that.