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All the talk leading up to the final week of the NBA Draft has been that the Indiana Pacers have the ability to move up from the seventh spot to third if they feel like Brandon Miller will be there and if the price is right. Would Portland take their three first round picks to move four spots back? I don’t think so.
Indiana just extended Myles Turner during last season, so you figure that Rick Carlisle wants the front office to keep their elite rim protector. Chris Duarte‘s value is at the lowest it could possibly be. That leaves Buddy Hield, Jalen Smith, T.J. McConnell, and Isaiah Jackson as the pieces that could be shipped out.
The most realistic trade the Pacers could pull off would be to move picks 26 and 29 for a pick in the middle of the first round. The team I would be calling up if I am Kevin Pritchard is the Los Angeles Lakers because of how few picks they have. Another option would be to add Jalen Smith or Isaiah Jackson and a future second round pick in order to get near pick 12. Here are the players the Pacers have worked out that have been mocked in that 12-17 range.
- Leonard Miller (SF/PF from G League Igniteo)
- Gradey Dick (SG/SF from Kansas)
Now it’s worth noting that Dick’s workout was an individual workout unlike Miller’s where he was with a group of players. If there is a player in that range that Rick Carlisle, Chad Buchanan, and Kevin Pritchard like, then they are keeping their cards close to the chest. Could their focus be on trying to package picks 26 and 29 with one of the players mentioned above to acquire a veteran? Perhaps.
On Thursday’s edition of the Fan Midday Show with Brian Noe and Jimmy Cook, Pacers beat reporter for the IndyStar in Dustin Dopirak gave his thoughts on what the Pacers could do and the following topics:
- Which prospects he is most intrigued by
- How the Pacers needs don’t match the team’s ahead of them in the draft
To listen to Jimmy Cook and Brian Noe’s conversation with Dustin Dopirak, download the podcast containing the conversation below! You can always listen to the Fan Midday Show from 12pm-3pm on 93.5/107.5 The Fan, but you can watch and interact with the show by going to the 107.5 The Fan YouTube Channel.
