Bennedict Mathurin (Photo by Dylan Buell/Getty Images)
Qualify Trade: Pacers Surprising Top 3 Pick in 2023 NBA Draft
We knew the Pacers were going to move some of their picks, and now we know, at least in part, what they decided to do with them. Per ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, the Pacers and Nuggets have made the following trade:
The Denver Nuggets are trading the 2024 first-round pick and the 2023 No. 40 pick to the Indiana Pacers for Nos. 29 and 32, sources told ESPN.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) June 21, 2023
So the Pacers essentially re-arranged their first-round picks this year for a possible higher first-round pick next year from the Nuggets. But just because something is a first-round pick doesn’t really tell the story of how good the asset is. In reality, we need to know exactly where the pick the Pacers received could fall. Pacers writer Tony East was able to expand on what Denver’s pick was and where it could fall:
The 2024 first-rounder the Pacers receive from DEN is the one DEN just received from OKC, per source. Is 2024 the first which is worse than:
Houston (1-4 protected)
Utah (1-10 protected)
LA Clippers (unguarded)
Oklahoma City (unprotected)
Choose 40 in IND, 29 + 32 in DEN.
— Tony East (@TonyREast) June 21, 2023
Since some of those picks might not make it to Denver via Houston and Utah, there’s a chance the pick could be much better than the 29th and 32nd picks the Pacers traded away.
This comes after several years Kevin Pritchard making excellent use of our assets in our relationships with other teams. The Pacers almost always seem to come out on top when it comes to trades, and we should be surprised by the front office’s ability to use our draft assets wisely.
Add that to another point in the winning column for the Pacers’ reception.
The pick, in theory, could be a lottery pick we just got for some final players, so it’s entirely possible, and maybe even likely, that the Pacers come out way ahead in this trade. At this point, it’s unknown what the Nuggets want in the draft with the picks, but it appears they were motivated to get into the first round. Good for Kevin Pritchard for taking advantage of it for the Pacers.
