INDIANAPOLIS — On today's episode of Locked On Pacers, hosts Tony East and Adam Friedman react to the NBA Draft Lottery, which ended with the Indiana Pacers receiving the 13th overall pick. The Pacers could get a contributor at 13, but the rest of the lottery didn't break the Pacers' way.
The Indiana Pacers will pick 13th in the 2021 NBA Draft
The Indiana Pacers had approximately a five percent chance to jump up in the NBA Draft order from 13 into the top four, but it didn't happen. The odds were not in the Pacers' favor, but crazy things happen in the draft lottery every year. Unfortunately, the blue and gold didn't benefit.
"There's a lot of good players in this draft, so even staying at 13 is an opportunity to pick somebody good, " East said.
How do the actual lottery results impact the Pacers?
The Detroit Pistons, Houston Rockets, Cleveland Cavaliers, and Toronto Raptors jumped into the top four as a result of the NBA Draft lottery. Two of those teams are in the Pacers division, and three of them are in the Eastern Conference, so the lottery results were not kind to Indiana.
"The draft lottery results for the Pacers are not great," East explained
What could the Pacers do with the 13th pick?
While the 2021 NBA Draft has many talented players in it, trades are always something that has to be considered with draft picks. Pacers President Kevin Pritchard will have many options at his disposal with his first lottery pick since he became the President of Basketball Operations.
"There's a lot of good options with this pick," East detailed.
