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The Indiana Pacers are in as good a position as any rebuilding team entering the 2023 NBA Draft. Even though the lottery gods didn't find favor in them, with the Pacers having to settle for the seventh pick, they have four other picks that they can use either to add to their collection of talented youngsters or to package in a trade for a player who can expedite their contending timeline.
The Pacers' trades of Caris LeVert and Malcolm Brogdon have netted them the 26th and 29th picks of the 2023 NBA Draft. While those are not the most appealing picks in the world, those picks could help grease the wheels in potential deals for the Pacers to move up in the draft.
It'll certainly be interesting to see which direction the Pacers front office takes with their late first-round picks. With the Pacers likely to select a power forward at #7, with the likes of Jarace Walker and Taylor Hendricks still likely to be on the board by the time of their selection, it looks improbable that the Pacers would be using the 26th and 29th picks to move up in the high lottery.
The more plausible outcome for the Pacers would be to convince a team drafting in the late teens or early 20s to trade down in exchange for more assets. It will now be a thing to watch come draft night which team decides to come to an agreement with the Pacers.
Whatever the case may be, expect the Pacers to, at the very least, be picking for another team when the time comes for Adam Silver to announce either the 26th or 29th pick of the 2023 NBA Draft.
Here is a last-minute prediction for what the Pacers do with those aforementioned late first-rounders.
Pacers trade #26, #32, #55 and Jalen Smith to the Brooklyn Nets for #22, select Leonard Miller
What the Pacers do with the rest of their picks may very well depend on which player they select with the seventh pick. Conventional roster-building wisdom dictates that the Pacers will be taking a power forward with that pick, but nothing is set in stone. Nevertheless, one of head coach Rick Carlisle's earlier proclamations this offseason was that the Pacers would want a forward with length who can guard multiple positions.
Funnily enough, a player who may be available at #22 fits that bill. Enter Leonard Miller.
In ClutchPoints' Brett Siegel's latest mock draft, Miller was still on the board at #23, with the Portland Trail Blazers taking the 19-year old combo forward out of G-League Ignite with that selection. But it might be in the Pacers' best interest to swoop in for the combo forward who projects to be a versatile two-way weapon.
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For starters, the Nets will ask for both the 26th and 29th picks for them to even start discussions with the Pacers about a trade for the 22nd pick. But in place of the 29th pick, the Pacers will be offering the 32nd as well as the 55th pick along with Jalen Smith instead. Smith has clearly worn out his welcome in Indianapolis, as the Pacers opted to start Aaron Nesmith, the 6'5 wing, at the four instead of him, so a change of scenery may do him a world of good.
Given how close the talent levels are of the prospects around the 21 to 30 range, it makes sense for the Nets to parlay their spare first-rounder for a few more assets, especially if none of the players on the board at 22 particularly entice them.
Meanwhile, the Pacers will be reaping the benefits of drafting Leonard Miller, as he could be someone who develops into a multi-positional wrecking ball with a workable three-point shot — someone who may very well flourish alongside talented playmakers such as Tyrese Haliburton, Andrew Nembhard, and TJ McConnell.
Pacers stay put at #29, draft Tristan Vukcevic
Will drafting Tristan Vukcevic at 29 be worth keeping the pick instead of just including it instead of Jalen Smith in the aforementioned Nets trade? It's hard to tell. After all, Vukcevic may be available at 32.
But Vukcevic's offensive upside may be too high to take a chance on him falling to the second round. Vukcevic's jumpshot is butter, and he could form a dangerous inside-outside duo with backup center Isaiah Jackson from day one.
Sure, his defense will need a lot of fine-tuning. His offensive game, outside of perhaps catch-and-shoots, may not be NBA ready from the jump, as he needs to clean up his handle for him to open himself up as a dangerous dribble handoff conductor. He may well end up being the next TJ Leaf.
But at the back-end of the first round, taking the risk on the sweet-shooting Serbian is far from the worst idea.
