Indiana Pacers Need Prospect Who Helps Them Win Now
By Kyle Nishida
The Indiana Pacers will have a lot of draft prospects to pick from with the 20th overall pick. No matter who they choose, their draft pick needs to help them win immediately.
First round prospects like Tyler Ulis, Brice Johnson, and Patrick McCaw were all effective players in college but do not have huge star potential in the NBA. Meanwhile, on the other side, first round hopefuls like Thon Maker, Stephen Zimmerman, or Chieck Diallo have NBA star potential, but their skills will not be fully developed for two or three seasons.
Most of these players will probably be available when the Indiana Pacers pick at No. 20. So what should the they do? Take the proven commodities or draft a project to groom into a star? After analyzing the Pacers’ franchise, they should look at prospects with proven statistics over ones with untapped potential.
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Whether people admit it or not, the Pacers are in a win-now mode. At age 26, Paul George is entering his athletic prime, and the team cannot afford to waste his prime years slowly developing a championship-level team.
Also, the Pacers are already a playoff team. They are coming off of a grueling playoff series loss to the Toronto Raptors.
Even though the Pacers parted ways with head coach Frank Vogel, the expectation is the Pacers will make the playoff again. In fact, most expect the now Nate McMillan-led Pacers to advance further than the first round next season.
With these factors in mind, the Pacers’ first round pick should pick the players with proven production. A player with proven production has a better chance of helping the team immediately.
Meanwhile, a player with untapped potential will take some time to be a reliable NBA player. Normally, those players take two or three years to develop. The Pacers cannot wait two or three years for their first round prospect to be a star.
Paul George is not interested in waiting that long. Heck, he can opt out of his contract after the 2017-18 season if he wants. That is only two years away from possibly happening. The Pacers need to show George that the franchise can be a title contender soon. Otherwise, George could choose to leave them and chase a title elsewhere.
On occasion, there are unproven commodities that can develop faster than others. However, it is unlikely the Pacers will draft a player like that with the 20th overall pick.
Next: Indiana Pacers: 5 Possible Second Round Options
The NBA draft is the Indiana Pacers’ first step towards rebuilding a title-contending team. Ultimately, their main goal is to draft players who will help them win now (next season). As a result, they should target players who displayed excellent skill in college over ones who are unproven commodities.