T.J. Leaf, the Pacers’ first-round pick in the 2017 NBA Draft, arrived in Indianapolis on Friday.
He toured around Bankers Life Fieldhouse with Kevin Pritchard, the Pacers’ president of basketball operations, and then answered questions from media at an introductory press conference.
Watch his comments from that, and a breakout session, below:
VIDEO: Kevin Pritchard on Leaf
First reaction: Pacers coach Nate McMillan on Leaf…
Pacers President of Basketball Operations Kevin Pritchard spoke with reporters after the 2017 NBA Draft late Thursday, into Friday morning. The Pacers had drafted three players, including UCLA’s T.J. Leaf at No. 18. It was his first draft with the organization as president, elevated to this role after Larry Bird decided to step down.
But for more than 17 minutes, the conversation centered around Paul …
At No. 18, the Pacers drafted T.J. Leaf out of UCLA. He was born in Tel Aviv, Israel while his father played professionally basketball. Leaf, who played just one year of college basketball, met with the Pacers Draft Combine in Chicago and then came to Indianapolis for a workout on May 23.
Leaf’s father, Brad, attended Lawrence North High School and he has roots in …
When you think of Harry Giles, you think about potential. That’s what a draft is about more than anything, in some cases, right?
Giles is 6-foot-10, 232 pounds and incredibly skinny. The concern with him is his health. He’s had multiple knee surgeries already, and he’s just 19. So he understands the importance of availability.
After one underwhelming year at Duke, where he was sidelined …
If he’s still available at 18, when the Pacers are on the clock, John Collins would fill a need and be a guy the Indianapolis community would embrace.
Collins, a 6-9, 225-pound forward, puts his nose on the ball with a great rebounding instinct. It’s hard to teach that. He averaged 9.8 rebounds per game during his sophomore year at Wake Forest, up from 3.9 …
James Blackmon Jr. completed his final pre-draft workout Saturday morning for his hometown team, the Indiana Pacers. He estimated that it was his 14th or 15th workout. It’s easy to lose count during the process, and when he worked out for six different teams over the last six days.
“I just tried to bring the same energy, the same effort, and just show how competitive …
Donovan Mitchell will be in the Green Room for the upcoming 2017 NBA Draft. He’s fired up about that.
Even more so, he’s looking forward to the next chapter in his basketball career. Mitchell is first-round talent, coming out of a great Louisville basketball program. He praised coach Rick Pitino for the program, his intensity and level of detail at which they operated.
[Donovan Mitchell …
Justin Jackson opted to forego his final year in Chapel Hill to enter the NBA Draft one year earlier. The 22-year-old is an intriguing option.
He stands 6-foot-8 and has plenty of pounds of muscle to be gained, currently at 201. He averaged 18.3 points and 4.7 rebounds last season with North Carolina en route to 2017 NCAA Championship.
One characteristic Jackson has is a …