Pacers ready for 2nd round picks and 2-day NBA draft format

INDIANAPOLIS — With no first-round picks and three second-round picks, the Pacers’ 2024 NBA Draft will look a lot different than their previous two when they had top-10 picks. The franchise will look to add complementary pieces to its team for the Eastern Conference Finals rather than signing someone who could change the team.

After trading the 19th and 29th picks in the draft to acquire Pascal Siakam – who reportedly agreed to a maximum four-year extension – the Pacers and vice president of player personnel Ryan Carr hold the 36th, 49th and 50th picks heading into the draft next week. The team won’t be picking from top talent, but that doesn’t mean they can’t find legitimate players in the second round.

“You’re looking for something that will allow each of them to come into the league and stay in the league,” Carr said. “In the second round, you’re probably not going to get a guy who doesn’t have any warts, a guy who doesn’t have any weaknesses. So you’re just looking at all these guys, looking at how they could get in – how they could stay in – the league.

Carr acknowledged that in the draft range the Pacers will select, many younger, unique-type players tend to be left off the board. That’s why the youngest Indiana player who practiced in his six pre-draft workouts was 20 years old. Most of the players recruited by the Pacers have completed more than three years of university studies (or high-level studies abroad), some with up to six. . This team’s rebuilding phase is behind it, and the approach to pre-draft workouts is proof of that.

In addition to experienced players, the Pacers also want guys who can play at their speed. The Pacers reached the Eastern Conference Finals thanks to their efficient and fast-paced offense that sometimes gave even the future champion Boston Celtics fits. According to NBA.com, the Pacers played at the second-highest pace in the league during the regular season.

If any of the Pacers’ rookies want to get significant playing time in 2024-25, they’ll need to take the court with the rest of the team. Throughout their practices, the Pacers ran numerous transition drills. They conducted these drills to assess players’ endurance, athleticism and on-the-fly decision-making.

“The goal of coaching is to see them do things more like the Pacers, rather than just these other places where they do more standard things or someone else directs them,” Carr said . “Obviously if you play here you’re going to have to run the field. So it gives us a chance to see that and see how the guys react.

What makes this project different from others is the fact that it will be divided into two days. The first round of the draft will take place on Wednesday, June 26 starting at 8 p.m. ET. Round two will take place on Thursday, June 27 starting at 4 p.m. ET. That means if everything goes as planned, the Pacers won’t even make a pick on the first night of the draft.

Carr sees the new format as an advantage for the Pacers. He believes this will be an opportunity to “reset the board and just formulate a plan.”

“It gives you a chance to breathe, to have the conversations you want to have with the agents without, in the background, the countdown to your choice where you can have four minutes, two minutes, whatever.” , Carr said. “So that will allow a little more time for those conversations.”

With Indiana’s first pick being the sixth in the second round, its front office will have about 17 hours to adjust to the events of the first round and reconsider who their top targets are with pick 36. Instead of only having a few minutes to think about, the team will have even more time to do their due diligence before making this choice.

Now that a second max contract is in effect, every decision the Pacers make becomes even more important. For a young team that showed promise throughout the regular season and playoffs, finding the right pieces to overcome the obstacle is now the goal.

So even if the organization doesn’t have a first-round pick in this year’s draft, what the Pacers do in the second round will still have consequences.