Pacers GM discusses the NBA Draft this year

INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — The NBA Draft is quickly approaching, but for the Pacers, they have a little big more time to prepare.

The draft starts on Wednesday but this year, it takes a different structure. Instead of it being just a one night event for both rounds, the first round will be Wednesday night and the second round will be Thursday afternoon.

The Pacers have had top 10 picks in both of the last two drafts, but this year they don’t even have a first round pick. They traded that away in the trade that brought back Pascal Siakam.

They do, however, have three second round picks, at numbers 36, 49, and 50.

Chad Buchanan, the Pacers general manager, talked about how the Pacers will attack this draft without a first round pick after the loss to the Boston Celtics in the Eastern Conference Finals.

“We’re limited a little bit because we don’t have a first round pick,” Buchanan said. “But that’s not to say we won’t try to be aggressive if there’s something out there to try to help address some needs that we have.”

When it comes to addressing the needs of the team, Buchanan looks internally before going externally to address those needs.

“So, you’re always looking at your own young guys,” Buchanan said. “What signs are they giving you that they’re going to continue to grow and get better? Are they good workers? Are they committed to putting in the time? Are they committed to, you know, being a good teammate? So, we’re looking for those sings internally which helps you decide do you need to go external to try to add to the team.”

The Pacers have found some success in the draft recently, selecting talented role players in Andrew Nembhard, Bennedict Mathurin, and Ben Sheppard in the last two drafts.

The first round on Wednesday will start at 8 p.m. The second round on Thursday will start at 4 p.m.