ESPN analysts on Pacers considering options at No. 7 in NBA Draft, Jackson-Davis, Edey
ESPN held a Zoom media conference with draft analyst Johnathan Givony and front office insider Bobby Marks on Friday, allowing reporters to ask about the draft after this week's NBA Draft Combine in Chicago. I was one of about a dozen reporters on the call and asked about the Pacers' state of affairs, as they hold the Nos. 7, 26, 29, 32 and 55 picks. I also asked about Indiana's Trayce Jackson-Davis and Purdue's Zach Edey.
For context, Marks mentioned as a response to an earlier question about the Knicks lacking a first-round pick that Pacers president of basketball operations Kevin Pritchard has said repeatedly that he does not plan to use all five picks and intend to trade some of them. My questions and their answers follow.
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Dustin Dopirak: It seems like the consensus out there is that at No. 7 it makes sense for the Pacers to take a defensive-oriented power forward, someone like Jarace Walker or Taylor Hendricks. Does that make sense to you guys? Is there another direction you think they should go? Bobby, you mentioned all the picks they have and that Kevin Pritchard is looking to move them. What kind of value do you think they could get with all the assets they're looking to move?
Givony: I spent some with Kevin Pritchard and (Pacers general manager) Chad Buchanan this week. They were disappointed not to move up. They were telling me they were incredibly close with their lottery combinations or whatever. It was the day after the lottery and they were still picking up the pieces from that. It seems like they were looking at a lot of different things. They're looking at guards. They're looking at wings. They're looking at forwards. I think that they're at the stage of their rebuilding right now where they can go in a lot of different directions. I don't think they're going to be hamstrung by position. Knowing KP for a while now, he's always been a guy who is focused on talent. He wants to make sure that five years from now he's coming away with the best player he can in this draft. Rosters change. Guys come. Guys go, but, like, you want to make sure that you're getting the best player possible. I think there's going to be a decent sized group there. Guys like the Thompson twins (wings Amen and Ausar from Overtime Elite). I'm certain they'll be looking at them. (Villanova wing) Cam Whitmore. (Arkansas guard) Anthony Black. (Houston forward) Jarace Walker, (Central Florida forward) Taylor Hendricks, (Kansas wing) Gradey Dick. I think there's not a lot of separation in that 4-10 range. I think that's kind of where people look at the drop-off in this draft. You have the first tier, which is Victor (Wembanyama). The second tier which is (Alabama forward) Brandon Miller and (G League Ignite guard) Scoot Henderson. Then that third tier is pretty wide with the Thompson twins, Whitmore, Jarace Walker, Anthony Black, Hendricks, Gradey Dick. I expect the Pacers to explore all of those guys and just select the guy who they think is going to be the best player for them five years down the road because they have a lot of versatility. When you have a guy like Tyrese Haliburton, you can do a lot of things with your roster. I think they're in pretty good shape here.
Marks: The flexibility they have with all of those picks, 26, 29 and 32 ... there's a lot of different options here. Is it moving one of those to pick up something in the future? A lot of it is going to be what their board says. Does 26, 29 and 32 move you closer if you see somebody that's still there at, let's say for example, 20? No. 55 is probably less of value just because A: There's only 58 picks this year. Is a team willing to buy that pick knowing maybe they can get that same player undrafted once the draft is over. I'd be stunned if they walked away with five picks the night of the draft. You look at where their roster is. They really only have three free agents with (Oshae) Brissett, (James) Johnson and George Hill. It's the quality over quantity, which is what they're looking at.
Dopirak: Wanted to ask about Trayce Jackson-Davis and Zach Edey. Obviously each of those guys have some questions about how they'll fit and translate at the next level. I wanted to ask about how you thought each of them helped themselves at the combine and where they stand at this point.
Givony: Trayce Jackson-Davis didn't play in the scrimmages so I don't think he necessarily moved the needle either way. He shot the ball in drills. It was about what you would expect. He made some. He missed some. I don't think that's a huge part of his game. I don't think he made a 3 in college. He's a sub-70% free throw shooter. That's a part of his game he's going to have to continue to work on. He has a pro day today with his agency. So we'll see how he looks there. I was out yesterday watching them do kind of a run through for that. To me, Trayce Jackson-Davis is a 5-on-5 player. I think the best thing he brings to the table is his passing ability. I don't know that you're necessarily going to see that in the drills or in a pro day. But there's so much film on him. He played in 32 games this year. He had a fantastic year. He was an All-American and he was one of the best players in college basketball. The book on him is pretty well known at this point.
Edey, he also did not play in the scrimmages. A lot of the things I said about Trayce, you can say about Zach. The best player in college basketball. The most interesting things we got out of this week was his measurements. He's 7-foot-3 barefoot, 306 pounds, 7-10 1/2 wingspan, 9-7 standing reach. I mean, holy cow, you can count on one hand the amount of human beings on this planet that would have that kind of measurements. And game too. He was incredibly productive this year, 22 points and 13 rebounds a game. Purdue was the No. 1 team in college basketball for much of this season. They were a No. 1 seed. He decided not to play in the scrimmages. His agency probably made that decision. I kind of understood that just because you're kind of exposing what is probably his biggest weakness, which is probably his biggest weakness, which is is his pick-and-roll defense. They really ask a lot out of the big men here in terms of hedging out to the perimeter, switching. There's some drop mixed in here and there. That's the big question NBA teams have had about Zach Edey. My understanding that he is testing the waters right now. He's looking for some assurances that he'll be both picked and be in a favorable enough spot that he gets a guaranteed contract. If he doesn't get those assurances, I think we could see him back at Purdue next season.
Dopirak: Do you think Trayce is safe to get drafted and what kind of role do you see for him at the next level?
Givony: I have Trayce at No. 34 in my top 100 now. Right outside of the first round. I would be very, very surprised if he doesn't hear his name called on draft night. The fact that he sat out the scrimmages, I think that tells you they're pretty comfortable with where he's projected to be picked right now. He's probably just going to hand pick some teams he wants to go work out for, give them a better look and try and tailor his game to an organization that makes sense for him in terms of their roster and their style of play and all of that. How does he fit? He's not like a prototype. He's 6-8 barefoot. He's right between the 4 and the 5 and he doesn't shoot 3s. But any time you have a guy like him who has that kind of passing ability, that type of feel for the game, the ability to grab a rebound and push it off the defensive glass, that's a guy you can find a role for in the NBA. I think it's a great story. A year ago he probably wasn't going to hear his name called if he stayed in the draft. He comes back for his senior year. I don't think he even wanted to do that, but he had COVID and he was kind of forced to go back to school and now he might be a first-round pick. Guys that are testing the waters need to look at that and say like, OK, maybe this might not happen as fast as I would like it to happen but there is some benefit to going back to school, to having a great year. I spent some time with him in the pre-draft process and he had a tremendous college experience. He comes into the NBA ready to help someone from Day 1.
This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: NBA Draft 2023: ESPN analysts say Pacers have lots of options at No. 7
