RealGM

I think it would be a good idea to start discussing draft prospects for the Pacers. I think we can all agree that our front courst may be our biggest priority this upcoming draft. However, I also believe that you should pick the best player available in some cases. Here are a few guys that we should definitely take a look at come draft time that may be available:

PG/SG Alec Burks (Colorado)- The guy is a scorer and if a Danny Granger trade does happen to acquire a Millsap type player then this is a guy I would highly consider. A shooting guard who has enough handles to play the point.

PG/SG Brandon Knight (Kentucky)- The guy has a lot of talent and potential so why not take a swing if he's available.

PF Marcus Morris (Kansas)- Would add to the front court and could come in right away and be productive.

PF/C Donatas Motiejunas (Lithuania)- His comparison to Pau Gasol really intrigues me. He can play multiple positions which I believe could benefit us greatly.

PF Kenneth Faried (Morehead St.)- Faried is one of the best college rebounders ever. Tough hussle guy who can play D. Could be a great pair with Hibbert.

PF John Henson (UNC)- This would be my first option if he was available at our pick. Extremely long and athletic and is a beast at blocking shots. Still has much to improve on, but now that he has been getting time this season he has definitely blossomed.

PF/C JuJuan Johnson (Purdue)- He has shown such improvement and leadership that I think he is going to fly up the draft board. Long, athletic, and skilled... needs to add some size, but has a lot to like about him.

Feel free to post more prospects that you feel the Pacers should take a look at... and discuss!

1. Henson - I would trade our pick and Hansbrough to move up to get him. I think he's gonna be an all-star.

2. Johnson - He's small, but will still be a good defensive player in the NBA. He's quick so he can front and stay in between post players and the ball. That's an easy way to cause turnovers and get easy steals. I think he'll be a good shotblocker too. I also like his offensive potential. Where is supposed to get picked at? Late 1st or early 2nd?

3. Faried - Pretty much what MUpacersSIC said about him. Good hustle player. With him our problem with giving up too many offensive rebounds will be fixed. He's a great rebounder. Unlike Hansbrough or McRoberts. Before people go crazy saying Hansbrough is a great rebounder, he's a great offensive rebounder, but not that great on the defensive end. He's actually pretty bad. PG is a better defensive rebounder than him.

All I know is the Pacers need to draft a polished pf. Hans is a sixth man at best.

From watching the Big 12 this year, I don't think Burks has much chance of playing pg in the NBA. He looks to me like a small forward. Seems like a good pro prospect, but I'm not sure what the Pacers would do with him.

Morris also looks like an NBA prospect, but I think Hansbrough is better. I wouldn't be too excited about the Pacers drafting Morris.

A frontcourt upgrade would be great, but a pure two guard would be nice too. I don't really know yet who I want to see the Pacers get, but I hope someone good slips into the mid-first-round range.

mizzoupacers wrote:From watching the Big 12 this year, I don't think Burks has much chance of playing pg in the NBA. He looks to me like a small forward. Seems like a good pro prospect, but I'm not sure what the Pacers would do with him.

Morris also looks like an NBA prospect, but I think Hansbrough is better. I wouldn't be too excited about the Pacers drafting Morris.

A frontcourt upgrade would be great, but a pure two guard would be nice too. I don't really know yet who I want to see the Pacers get, but I hope someone good slips into the mid-first-round range.

What is your thinking behind Morris being better than Tyler? I'm just interested because Morris has all of the tools to be a good 4 man (size, strength, postskills, midrange game, rebounding,defense).

I think we are young enough, I wouldn't mind making a trade and making our 1st round pick available. Get a good piece in a trade package, with the 1st included, and add a PF in the free agent market, with David West being the number 1 target. Now that Jeff Green is in Boston i don't see them letting him go, but he was my top guy prior to that trade.

This may not be popular with the rest of you, but if he is there I think we should daft Donatas. We have the caproom to sign a starting pf and could have hans backing him up, and we have hibb..so this guy would have time to develop while backing up hibbert. He's only like 18 and has potential through the roof. And we def. need bigs more than anything. To have him as a backup and maybe becoming the starting pf next to hibb one day, like a dirk type, I think that is too good a chance to pass up. He's not an impact player immediately, but as a backup C his first year, I do believe he's an upgrade over foster and obviously over jones, with the potential to be great.

If we move to PG to his natural spot at the 3, we should look at Jordan Hamilton from Texas. Good scorer, great shooter with an effortless stroke from 3. He was projected to be around where we would probably be picking.

*prays for Jan Vesely to drop*

I don't expect us to keep this year's pick though.

most drafts have Johnson in the second round. maybe he'll drop to us there.

I like the two euro-centers but expect them to be gone. I don't see point guard as the issue unless we drop into the lottery and get lucky.

Mirotic has climbed up the draft express board in a hurry.

I want Kemba Walker or John Henson to drop, or maybe we could drop to them. A little tanking never hurts.

Indy2thaWindy wrote:I want Kemba Walker or John Henson to drop, or maybe we could drop to them. A little tanking never hurts.

Last year I was all for it, but this year I wanna make a playoff push. Help build some confidence w/ the guys too.

I was waiting for someone to post about Kemba after that game yesterday.

paulgeorge24 wrote:I was waiting for someone to post about Kemba after that game yesterday.

I like him before, but after that shot, and the crossover , I want to draft him. People say Kyrie Irving reminds them of Chris Paul. Kemba reminds me of Chris Paul when he came out of Wake Forest.

Id say Walker would probley be the best fit for us,DC is starting to look like a better fit as a backup so it looks like finding a PG might be at the top of the list once again,Id still like to find a backup 5,that can score thou.

I like about 4 of the Euros ( Enes, Jan, Donatas, & Jonas). Enes will be a good player from day one, but the others are no guarantee. If you hit on one of them, it could be a huge payoff, imagine getting the next Pau or Dirk, also imagine getting the next Milicic.

If we keep it up we might be able to take a look at PJones. Baylor suspended him and now he is dropping, but it'll only take one team to come to their senses. At 6'11" 235 lbs, he has the most potential in the entire draft. His scouting report mirrors Jon Bender's, except he is 50 lbs heavier. He could drop to possibly the 8-10 range. He makes me think it would be ok to tank, even if he is gone you'd still have a shot at Henson in that 10 range.

If we draft a pg I'd prefer Knight over Walker, strictly because he is two years younger, & 3 inches taller. Also his averages of 18/4/4 almost compare to Kemba's 23/ 5.5/ 4, but if you compare freshman seasons it's all over. I have no doubt Brandon would produce amazing stats if he stayed at Kentucky for three seasons. Kahlid el-Amin and now AJ Price have soured me on UCONN pg's, on the other hand UCONN sg's are great. Is Kemba a pg or a 6' sg?

Knight's gonna be a SG. You can't really look at assists numbers in college tho, because most of the time you would be lucky if your teammate could hit a jumper.

Chris Paul averaged 6 his last year.
Deron Williams averaged 6 his last year.
Rondo averaged 4 his last year.

Walker is averaging 4.

It would be in the best interest of all sub-6'4" players to learn how to distribute and handle.

You don't think Kemba will end up similar to Ben Gordon? Hopefully UCONN makes a run so I can evaluate him more closely.

Boneman2 wrote:It would be in the best interest of all sub-6'4" players to learn how to distribute and handle.

You don't think Kemba will end up similar to Ben Gordon? Hopefully UCONN makes a run so I can evaluate him more closely.

Definitely, but a lot of the best distributors in the NBA were primary scorers in college. I don't think Knight has the court vision to be a point guard tho.

Deron Williams was not the point guard at Illinois. I forget who was. Luther Head was the small forward. it was a three guard offense. 6 assists a game on that team was pretty big.