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I know, it's ridiculous to assign a grade when the test hasn't even begun--we'll know the REAL grade in maybe about two or three years. But hey, it's fun, and what else NBA-related is there to do the rest of the summer?

Here's ESPN's Chad Ford to start us off:

INDIANA PACERS GRADE: B+

Round 1: Tyler Hansbrough (13)

Round 2: A.J. Price (52, via Mavericks)

Analysis: I like the strategy Larry Bird and David Morway have been employing the past couple of years in Indiana. Instead of swinging for the fences in the draft, they are trying for singles and doubles and they're connecting.

No, Hansbrough wasn't as sexy a pick as Earl Clark or Jrue Holiday, but he will be in the league for 10 years, maybe as a starter, and he brings a toughness and energy the Pacers really need.

Price isn't going to wow anyone either, but he's steady and can be a solid backup for the Pacers.

Eventually the Pacers will need to find one more star to pair with Danny Granger. And when they do, they'll have built a terrific supporting cast around them that should be able to compete deep into the playoffs.

B+ is about how I feel about it too...can't give the Pacers an A, because I don't think they aced the draft, but I do think they came about as close as was possible given what they had to work with.

Honestly, who did we pass on that's worth getting worked up about? The only guy picked after Hansbrough that I think is better than 50-50 odds to be a solid pro is Maynor, and maybe Lawson too. And their "ceilings" probably aren't any higher than Hansbrough's. Everyone else is risky or has some fairly big question marks--including Holiday, who is nowhere near ready to help an NBA team and for all we know might not ever develop into a legit point guard. Sure, someone picked after #13 will probably turn out to be very good, but if you take them one by one...I wouldn't give odds on anyone in particular.

Nice single, Mr. Bird. Let's hope Hansbrough can stretch it into a double.

A-

I'll give them a solid B.

*waits for the whiners to come in and say the team deserves an F-*

I'd give it a C+. The Pacers got an average player who will probably play in the league a long time, but won't be more than a role player.

Dunthreevy wrote:I'll give them a solid B.

*waits for the whiners to come in and say the team deserves an F-*

Dunthreevy: F for being a ****.

Draft: C+

cdash wrote:

Dunthreevy wrote:I'll give them a solid B.

*waits for the whiners to come in and say the team deserves an F-*

Dunthreevy: F for being a ****.

Draft: C+

D - Totally unimaginative draft. Bird can't scout. He's totally sold on 4-year guys based on 'gut' - in other words nothing. Statistical analysis does not support drafting seniors. Hansbrough is an OK pick - if Bird looks at Hansbrough and see himself, then hell, go for it. But our 2nd rounder was an atrocious pick - Price clearly doesn't belong in the NBA. First, injury concerns - knees and brain; second, character concerns - stolen laptop scandal; third, talent concerns - he is slow and severely vertically challenged. There were far better prospects available. Almost every pick following ours in the 2nd round was really solid. Personally, I was really high on Nivins and Hudson - but Mills or Vaden would've been totally understandable and solid picks as well. Price? Well, the selection of Price just shows a lack of competence and really puts a damper on the draft. Hopefully, it's just a 2nd round thing (evidence points that we are bad late), but I think more likely, our 1st round success has generally been luck.

I like the duo we drafted last night. I would rather have a known than an bust or boom type player. Tyler will be an upgrade over Foster wo has turned out to be a solid pro. IF...he can be a presence on the offensive side of the ball, get to the line and knock down free throws as well as grab boards and hustle...we have made a great selection. He won't wow you like Amare would, but he will do all of the little things to help this team win.

AJ is another decent pick. I don't know that he is the perfect pick for this team with our style of play, but he fits better than Diener imo. As a reserve he will be fine, but I don't see him being the type that will ever be great. I do like his range, and ability to knock down mid range jump shots. COuld be the ideal role player.

D-

Bird needs to end his white guy fetish so we can win some games.

Right now I'd give the Pacers a B to a B+, that of course could go up into the A's or down to the D's based on what Tyler gives us. I think we could have done some kinda of a deal, it would have been nice to bring in a Jeff Teague or Maynor but right now I'm ok with it we were drafting 13 you draft for a need we need a PF not a PG. Holiday may blow up and become a stud in 2 or 3 yrs but who knows.

C

I don't see Tyler filling our need for a defensive minded, shot-altering big. Energy and hustle is great but I thought we were grooming McRoberts for that role. He said he gained 20 lbs of muscle too so wouldn't that make him bigger than Tyler? Yeah, Tyler is proven but he's proven in college. There's been plenty of players who have proven themselves in the college and couldn't translate it to the NBA because players are faster, bigger, stronger and smarter. He should be a pretty good role player though. Yay. (Can you sense my excitement?)

F.

ahartleyvu wrote:D-

Bird needs to end his white guy fetish so we can win some games.

When did Bird get this "white guy fetish"? The only white guys he's brought to this team are Psycho T, McBob, and Diener. The other 3 were here before he took over. I'm pretty sure he drafted 2 black guys last year, and traded for another 3.

Bird was the guy who got Dunleavy and Murphy...

Grang33r wrote:Bird was the guy who got Dunleavy and Murphy...

I thought that was during Donnie's tenure as GM. None the less, I don't think Bird has a white guy fetish. For as long as I can remember, the Pacers have always had more than the average amount of white guys on our team. I wouldn't say that it's intentional though.

Some of your expectations for the draft are way too high. How many future stars come out of each draft? Five, in a good year? If 5 years from now you have a player who is a solid contributor to your team then you've won. All this talk about Holliday; he had more turnovers than assist in college, how does that translate to the NBA, he has bust written all over him. It's very likely Hansbrough could become a double-double guy, and that's not good enough? Seriously, what are you guys expecting?

Whenever I here people talk about a guys "potential" and "upside" all I think is future bust. There seems to be this opinion that if a guy stays all 4 years then he is done improving his game. All it means is that he probably has less to improve in his play to be a good player. And with as hard as he works, he will improve.

Don't really care either way about the Price pick, second round picks rarely matter. Although I do have a problem with them drafting a guy with character issues, which is the last thing this team needs.

Right now: Solid B

D

I like Tyler as a college player, but just really doubt him in the NBA...I hope he proves me wrong though.

D+ and only cause a.j. got drafted..i guess we had a trade set up 2 get 2 picks and it not working out i give effort for that...tyle will not be anything in the nba...his ability to get to the free throw line was bc the refs loved him and gave him favortism i believe..dont see that happening in the nba...he will be a lesser jeff foster...
i really hope we keep a.j. and move ford somehow during FA

I'll give it a B. Larry Bird loves guys that are going to work hard, and I think if you work hard in the NBA you can outlive your expectations. Too many talented players never live up to the potential because they don't have the drive. Hansborough is going to put in just as much or probably more effort than Granger and Rush (guys that work super hard). I think this will all work out. I don't care that he isn't the "sexy" pick and I'm very interested to see what happens next season. Go Pacers!

I'm going to be bland and give it a B as well. To be honest I do think that Hansborough was a great fit for the team, possibly the best pick we could have made at 13. My biggest problem was that I thought we could have traded down and still got him. Maybe we just wanted to make sure. The white guy fetish comments are going to drive me up a wall, though. If you honestly believe anybody in the position to make this kind of decision would draft a player because of his race and give up millions of dollars in the income generated by winning, you're absolutely out of your mind. Did you ever think that possibly some white players are better than some black players? Dunleavy was our leading scorer a year ago and Murphy set a Pacers record for double-doubles last year, and some people want to call Bird a racist for making that deal. Seriously, would the next person that has the notion to bring the subject up just smack themselves instead? This is getting more annoying than hearing about Michael Jackson these last couple of days.