The 2018 NBA Draft will be held on Thursday, June 21 in Brooklyn.
The Pacers have turned their full attention to the draft, which is set for Thursday, June 21 at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn. After going 48-34 during the 2017-18 season, good for the fifth seed in the Eastern Conference, the Pacers have picks 23 and 50 at their disposal. (They lost a four-way tiebreaker.)
The team’s draft is headed up by Ryan Carr, the Director of Player Personnel. This is a year-round process for Carr, who joined the franchise in 1997 as a video intern Larry Bird’s first team. They must be prepared for any situation because they never know if it will suddenly be possible to move up in the draft, or if a pick becomes available for a affordable price.
“We’re prepared 1 through 60,” Carr has said.
The draft process ramps up in mid-May at the league’s annual Draft Combine. It’s as much about the measurables, which includes a complete physical, as it is sitting with about 20 draft hopefuls to get to know them.
Then, team’s begin holding six-man workouts. This year, the Pacers’ process was delayed several weeks because of the uptick in Pro Days put on by agencies. Those were mostly in Las Vegas and the Las Angeles area.
Last summer, they the Pacers held nine official workouts consisting of six players in each – for a total of 54 guys.
They drafted T.J. Leaf at 18, his UCLA teammate Ike Anigbogu at 47, and then acquired the 52nd pick from New Orleans for cash to take Edmond Sumner. It was clear that the Pacers front office was focused on the big picture, thinking three or four years out. The first two guys had just one year of college experience and the three were 20, 18, and 21 years old.
While they had an active night, the conversation that night still centered on Paul George’s desire to be moved, with Kevin Pritchard — who was promoted to President of Basketball Operations on May 1, 2017 — describing how it felt like a “gut-punch.” That interview session lasted almost 20 minutes and just a few questions about Leaf.
This 2018 draft will be the first full scouting period when Pritchard is the one in charge and having the final call on their picks.
Below is the list of their pre-draft workouts for 2017, which will be updated daily:
No. 1 — Thursday, June 7:
Jaylen Adams, St. Bonaventure
Marcus Foster, Creighton
Nick King, Middle Tennessee State
Yante Maten, Georgia
Brandon McCoy, UNLV
Landry Shamet, Wichita State
No. 2 — Friday, June 8:
Keita Bates-Diop, Ohio State
Gary Clark, Cincinnati
A.J. Davis, Central Florida
Donte DiVincenzo, Villanova
Alize Johnson, Missouri State
Shake Milton, SMU
No. 3 — Monday, June 11:
Bruce Brown Jr., Miami
Devon Hall, Virginia
Džanan Musa, Bosnia
Thomas Welsh, UCLA
Tyler Wideman, Butler
Melvin Frazier, Tulane **Originally scheduled, but did not attend due to injury.
No. 4 — Wednesday, June 13:
Jordan Barnett, Missouri
Marcus Foster, Creighton** (second Pacers workout)
Robert Johnson, Indiana
Quentin Snider, Louisville
Jae’Sean Tate, Ohio State
Yuta Watanabe, George Washington
No. 5 — Wednesday, June 14:
Jalen Brunson, Villanova
No. 6 — Tuesday, June 19:
Rawle Alkins, Arizona
Marcus Derrickson, Georgetown
Arnoldas Kulboka, Lithuania
Kelan Martin, Butler
Elie Okobo, France
Theo Pinson, North Carolina
Josh Okogie, Georgia Tech **Originally scheduled but was replaced by Marcus Derrickson due to conflict.
They brought in 42 players prior to the 2016 draft, but traded their pick at 20 away five hours before the draft in exchange for veteran forward Thad Young. They then took Georges Niang, who is no longer with the club, at 50.
In 2015, they evaluated at least 36 guys in pre-draft workout situations. They ended up taking Myles Turner at No. 11 and Joe Young 43rd overall.
In 2014, without a first-round pick, they brought in over 50 players. Then on draft night, they sold the 57th pick to New York in exchange for cash.