Indiana Pacers: New Prospect Emerges in Recent Mock Drafts

The 2016 NBA Draft is over two weeks away, but still, newer mock drafts are being released daily. Recent mock drafts are projecting the Indiana Pacers will select University of Washington guard Dejounte Murray.

Murray decided to turn pro this Spring after an impressive freshman campaign at Washington. He averaged 16.1 points, six rebounds, 4.4 assists and 1.8 steals per game for the Huskies.

Draft analysts and scouts list Murray as a late first round talent or an early second round pick at worst. With the 20th pick overall, the Indiana Pacers will have an opportunity to take him if they want.

More from Ink on Indy

For the past couple of weeks, prospects like Stephen Zimmerman, Ben Bentil or Tyler Ulis have been listed as possible first round picks by the Pacers in recent mock drafts. Not even one projection had Murray going to Pacers until recently.

Two sources, CSNNE’s A. Sherrod Blakely and Hoops Habit’s Maxwell Ogden, projected Murray to be the Pacers’ first round selection.

Specifically, Blakely had the Pacers selecting Stephen Zimmerman before his most recent mock draft. Here is what Blakely wrote about why he now thinks the Pacers will pick Murray.

"“The Pacers need to add some punch offensively to their lineup. There are questions about Murray’s game, for sure. But his ability to score the ball isn’t one of them.”"

Clearly, Blakely notices the Pacers do not have a lot of players who can score by creating their own shots. Murray created a lot of scoring opportunities for Huskies in college. Blakely thinks those skills will translate well into the NBA while working with the Paces to improve the other aspects of his game.

Meanwhile, Hoops Habit’s Ogden sees Murray as a fit with the Pacers because of team President Larry Bird’s desire to score more points.

"“Team president Larry Bird has publicly stated a desire to turn the Indiana Pacers into an offensive powerhouse. The first step in that process was promoting Nate McMillan to head coach, and the next is to surround Paul George and Myles Turner with a cast of playmakers. Dejounte Murray has the most upside of any playmaker on the board, which creates inevitable appeal… Murray is always looking to make the big play, and while that may create high turnover totals, it’s also the key to running a high-octane offense.”"

Given his statistics in one year at Washington, it is hard to argue against Ogden here. George and Turner are really the only players who proved they could score on a regular basis this season. The potential addition of Murray would quickly give the Pacers a needed third scoring option.

As mentioned, the main concern about Murray is ball security. He averaged 3.2 turnovers per game at Washington. He likes to take chances and make hard passes rather than taking the simple and easy plays opponents are giving him.

Luckily, Indiana Pacers’ head coach McMillan played point guard with the Seattle Supersonics. He should be able to give Murray a few tips that can help reduce his turnovers per game and increase his assist-to-turnover ratio.

Next: Has Jamaal Charles Lost a Step?

No. 20 overall is certainly best projection Murray has received from most mock drafts so far. Only time will tell if his draft stock stays there or changes again in the coming weeks.

The Indiana Pacers need a scoring point guard to challenge George Hill for the starting point guard role. Murray certainly has the talent and potential to surpass Hill, and he would be a reasonable option for them with the 20th overall pick.

Home/Indiana Pacers