The Pacers Core (a clinic in how to build without tanking)

[daschysta]

Paul George- 10th pick
Roy Hibbert- 17th pick (Pick acquired for the corpse of Jermaine O'Neal)
Danny Granger- 17th pick
Lance Stephenson- 40th pick
David West- Under the radar FA pickup
George Hill- traded for a mid first round pick

------------------------
Orlando Johnson- 36th pick
Ian Mahinmi- 28th pick
Tyler Hansbrough- 13th pick
DJ Augustine- 9th pick
Sam Young - Mid 1st round pick


Indiana right now is currently closing in on the 2nd seed in their conference, their franchise player is 22 years old and they are the youngest playoff team aside from Houston and Golden State in the NBA and most of their core is young aside from David West, who has a game that doesn't rely on athleticism at all. They should be used more often as an example of quality drafting, building a winning culture through continuity, and making shrewd under the radar moves as an alternative to tanking for teams looking to reboot. Not all front offices can pull it off, but I certainly prefer it to years of endless tanking that yields few Oklahoma Cities for all of the Sacramento's, Washington's, Toronto's, Charlottes (the list goes on).

Having a top 5 pick is nice, but there are tradeoffs if you sacrifice a culture of winning when you tank and throw talent into a terrible situation.

[SweetTouch]

I believe that was all Larry Legend right

[Jake0890]

The Pacers never drafted DJ or Young. They were signed as FAs.

And we traded Kawhi Leonard for George Hill. We didn't necessarily win that trade.

That said, you're right. The Pacers' management has done an excellent job working within a small market and doing extremely well with mid round picks and 2nd rounders in the draft.

[daschysta]

I believe that was all Larry Legend right

Most of it was. Dude knows what he is doing at every level of basketball.

[Jake0890]

I believe that was all Larry Legend right

He resigned in the offseason before DJ and Sam Young were signed. But yes, most of it was his doing.

[SweetTouch]

I believe that was all Larry Legend right

Most of it was. Dude knows what he is doing at every level of basketball.

Greatness at every level

[kasino]

Yea pretty great job

[orangeparka]

Dayum... Kawhi/George woulda been epic.

[lazfa199]

KAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHNNNNNNNNN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Stolen Team Fan]

I believe that was all Larry Legend right

Most of it was. Dude knows what he is doing at every level of basketball.

Greatness at every level

Yeah, take that, MJ!

But yeah, every one of those players were 'meh' picks that plenty of people passed up on (including West). Larry did a great job with the picks given to him. This is why I laugh when people say how crappy a certain draft is almost every year now. And yet every year, one or more players turn out to be good players that become endless fodder for hindsight draft threads. Here is a prime example that the treadmill position isn't a death sentence if the GM is smart about it.

[The MVPlaya]

Is it really a clinic on how to build a team though? Their franchise player isn't a franchise player and they won't be winning any championships with this core.

[daschysta]

Is it really a clinic on how to build a team though? Their franchise player isn't a franchise player and they won't be winning any championships with this core.

Only one team wins every year, the Pacers are as strong of contenders as anyone in the East sans Miami.

George also absolutely has franchise player potential. He's been a 20 pt 8.5 rebounds 4.5 assist 2.1 steals per game player since he broke out in December. He's shot over 55% TS during the period too (38 games). He's also one of the top 2 or 3 perimeter defenders in the entire NBA. He's just 22, and absolutely can be a franchise player in his prime. George can be a top 10 player as soon as next season. Indiana probably has a better shot at beating Miami than Oklahoma City does.

[durden_tyler]

Build what? Mediocrity? When did the Pacers become legit contenders?

[UDRIH14]

pacers benefited from Paul george taking on a bigger role then what he was draft for, now they have another legit scoring option on the team to rely on with the formidable pieces around him....him and granger are interchangeable since the roster is built around perimeter players...

[Sabzi]

A thread to celebrate purgatory.

[carayip]

Is it really a clinic on how to build a team though? Their franchise player isn't a franchise player and they won't be winning any championships with this core.

Reggie Miller era yielded no championship and Reggie was probably never a franchise player. But I don't think Pacers fans complained about that era.

[daschysta]

Build what? Mediocrity? When did the Pacers become legit contenders?

How are they not? Any team that's second in their conference is a legit contender. They also match up with Miami very well. If the Pacers are mediocrity then every single team except for Miami, OKC, SAS and LAC are worthless, because the Pacers have among the best records in the league outside of those.

Indy certainly isn't favorites, but they are contenders. They still have a fringe All-Star player coming back for the first time as well. They have the best defense in the NBA and their offense has come around in a huge way the last 11 too, averaging well over 100 ppg on efficient percentages.

[TheToothFairy]

I would have like a Leonard/George tandem better

[daschysta]

A thread to celebrate purgatory.

A 50+ caliber team that is younger on average than Oklahoma City, who is doing it all without their best offensive player is purgatory? That's news to me... I guess we should all just drop everything and root for Miami, because OKC certainly has a worse chance at knocking them off than Indiana does.

[peja_the_legend]

Build what? Mediocrity? When did the Pacers become legit contenders?

who is a legit contender besides Heat in the East then?At least they are in about 1000 better position than Wizards who according to tank-lovers should already be contenting since they landed that 1st pick and got their franchise player.