Indiana Pacers 2001-2002 Season: Rebuilding for the Present

Key personnel losses: Jalen Rose and Travis Best, both traded to Chicago

Key personnel gains: Jamaal Tinsley (drafted #27 overall), Jamison Brewer (drafted #41 overall) Brad Miller, Kevin Ollie, Ron Artest, and Ron Mercer (acquired via trade with Chicago)

I. Season Overview:

Indiana finished the season with a 42-40 record, tying Toronto for third place in the Central Division and was the 8th seed in the playoffs. Despite matching up poorly with New Jersey in the first round, they took the top seeded Nets to the fifth and decisive game. Reggie Miller played well throughout the round, but showed some surprising immaturity in dealing with being ousted from the playoffs. He questioned the heart and desire of the young players on the Pacers, namely Jermaine O'Neal and Jamaal Tinsley, despite O'Neal and Tinsley being a major, if not the major, reason that the Pacers were able to squeak into the playoffs. Regardless of Miller's poor showing of veteran leadership, the Pacers overachieved in many ways this season.

Trading Jalen Rose and Travis Best to the Bulls was an unexpected move in that it gave away more than half of what remained of the Pacers nucleus from the last five years. Rose, Best and Miller had been among the nucleus of the team for a string of playoff runs that included an NBA Finals run in 2000. Rik Smits retired, Mark Jackson moved on, and after this trade, the only consistently contributing member of the 1990s Pacers remaining was Reggie Miller. The trade was also surprising in that it brought over a couple of players with questionable heart and less than certain prospects for the future. Ron Mercer has been a huge question mark throughout his NBA career who has never had a problem scoring, but has often had trouble with the concept of "team." Brad Miller has also been up and down, although more up than down recently. Ron Artest, while a spectacular defensive specialist, has not scored as much during his career as one might have expected after he left St. John's early. Adding Kevin Ollie to the mix gave the Pacers a backup point guard, but not a very good one. The Pacers essentially traded a star in Jalen Rose who could play three positions, and a valuable veteran point guard in Best, for a defensive specialist and three relative question marks. The trade worked out beautifully for the Pacers as it turned out.

Brad Miller teamed with Jermaine O'Neal and, to a lesser extent, Austin Croshere, to form a potent frontcourt. While scoring is not Miller's forte, his defense and rebounding, complementing O'Neal, was extremely helpful in the Pacers late-season run to the playoffs. Artest, by some accounts, should have been the defensive player of the year. His defensive skills, and especially his ability to telegraph passes for steals (just under 3 per game), was vital to the Pacers' success. Artest's offense was also valuable as he chipped in 12 points, 6 rebounds, and 3 assists for the year.

Overall the Pacers season should be considered a success. Not so much for wins and losses as for rebuilding for the future while at the same time not faltering in the present and still making the playoffs, giving the top seeded Nets a scare. Tinsley, Artest, O'Neal, and Miller will be the nucleus of the team for years after Reggie Miller retires (by all accounts in no more than two years). Adding Al Harrington to the mix, who was out for most of the year with a knee injury, the late-season emergence of former lottery pick Jonathon Bender (acquired on draft day), and the hopeful resurgence of Ron Mercer, who averaged in the high-teens in points during the first five years of his career, and the Pacers will have a very strong squad for years to come.

II. Draft History:

• 1992:
  • Malik Sealy, St. John's (14th)
• 1993:
  • Scott Haskin, Oregon State (14th)
  • Thomas Hill, Duke (39th)
  • Spencer Dunkley, Delaware (51st)
• 1994:
  • Eric Piatkowski, Nebraska (15th)
  • William Njoku, Canada (41st)
  • Damon Bailey, Indiana (44th)
• 1995:
  • Travis Best, Georgia Tech (23rd)
  • Fred Hoiberg, Iowa State (52nd)
• 1996:
  • Erick Dampier, Mississippi State (10th)
  • Mark Pope, Kentucky (52nd)
• 1997:
  • Austin Croshere, Providence (12th)
• 1998:
  • Al Harrington, St. Patrick's H.S. (25th)
• 1999:
  • Vonteego Cummings, Pittsburgh (26th)
• 2000:
  • Primoz Brezec, Slovenia (27th)
  • Jaqary Walls, Colorado (56th)
• 2001:
  • Jamison Brewer, Auburn (41st)

The Pacers' recent draft history is less than stellar. Croshere and Harrington were good choices, but many of their picks turned out to be busts. This was, of course, partly due to lower-ended draft picks, but also in part due to poor scouting it seems.

III. Players:

Roster

Salaries

IV. Team Needs and Possible Offseason Moves:

The Pacers are in need of a backup point guard for Jamaal Tinsley, who proved himself a capable NBA starter this past season. However, I don't think drafting another point guard is the way to deal with this need. Aside from the problem that no decent rookie point guard is going to want to play behind a second year stud, another young point guard is not what will most benefit the already young Pacers lineup. They need a veteran that can come in when Tinsley is showing his youth, like he did in the playoffs this year, giving Tinsley a chance to catch his breath physically and regain his composure mentally. Kevin Ollie was a fine backup point guard on the Sixers. But that was because he was backing a veteran in Eric Snow. He wasn't forced to play through crunch-time, and wasn't asked to help in the maturing process of a rookie starter. The Pacers would be wasting a pick if they drafted a point guard with the 14th overall. They should instead pursue a quality, playoff-experienced veteran point guard in free agency.

Reggie Miller is still one of the most clutch players in the NBA. But how much longer will he be suiting up? He's getting on in years, and the Pacers really can't expect him to play for more than two or three more years. That said, drafting a shooting guard would make sense with the 14th pick overall. Unfortunately, outside the likely top 10 in the draft, there aren't any sure thing shooting guards. Should Caron Butler or Mike Dunleavy miraculously drop this far, the Pacers would be foolish not to snatch one of them up. The chance of either of them being available at #14 is extremely slim, however, so shooting guard is a position that might be difficult to fill with their position in the draft. However, because they will need a shooting guard desperately in the next couple of years, it wouldn't be out of the question for them to gamble on a player like Kareem Rush, Roger Mason Jr., or Casey Jacobsen. The latter two are likely second round picks though.

Small forward is probably the position where the Pacers are the most stacked. With the acquisition of Ron Artest and Ron Mercer, along with Jonathon Bender and Al Harrington, the Pacers have four small forwards (although Harrington is better suited at power forward) under age 26. Clearly small forward is their position in least need of support.

Jermaine O'Neal became one of the best post players in the NBA last season. And there is no reason to expect that he will not continue to perform at the level of other elite NBA power forwards. There has been talk that he would like to extend his game to the perimeter and become more of a small forward/power forward, but for the time being the Pacers should consider him a power forward only. Harrington is a suitable backup for O'Neal, although somewhat undersized to take on significant minutes in the post. The Pacers could use additional bulk in the paint, and drafting a power forward with good size and decent athleticism would be a smart move.

The addition of Brad Miller gave the Pacers a true center that they previously lacked. Jermaine O'Neal was given a good deal of the centering duties prior to Miller's arrival. Although Miller is the only true center on the Pacers squad (Jeff Foster is better suited to power forward, and is very replaceable), center is a position that the Pacers do not need to address immediately. As summarized in the previous paragraph, adding a solid power forward would be the best move for the Pacers with the 14th pick. Not only would it provide a backup for O'Neal, but it would also enable O'Neal to fill in for Miller when he is in foul trouble or on the bench. Right now, without Miller in the post the Pacers are athletic, but not big. They could really use another presence in the post, but there will not be any promising centers available to them with the 14th pick, so they will be best suited to draft a big-bodied power forward or else go a different route, by drafting a shooting guard to replace Reggie Miller.

V. My Selection:

Jiri Welsch: Although somewhat of a gamble, the possibility of tackling two major needs with one pick is too attractive to pass up. Given time, Welsch will be able to play both the backup point guard and starting shooting guard positions, making him an invaluable part of the Pacers' future along with Tinsley, Harrington, O'Neal and Bender. That's a very versatile and athletic foursome.

VI. Other Players Considered:

Jared Jeffries, Indiana University, SF/PF: Jared Jeffries is one of the players in the draft with the most potential to further develop his game. With players like Jay Williams, Drew Gooden, and to some extent Caron Butler, you know exactly what you're getting. They will definitely improve over the years ahead, but they are already at a high level that doesn't allow for much surprising growth. On the other hand, players like Mike Dunleavy, Dejaun Wagner, Chris Wilcox, and Jeffries, have phenomenal upsides that can't really be accurately predicted. Jeffies looks somewhat sleight to play power forward, but seeing him completely shut down Carlos Boozer in the NCAA tournament showed that he makes up for his relative lack of size by playing smart, position defense. He has very long arms, and deceptive strength, that allow him to block or alter a lot of shots by players bigger and stronger than he is. The only question mark attached to Jeffries is his jump shot. However, he has shown a good shot from out to about 18 feet, and at times looks fluid shooting three pointers. Jump shooting is one of the areas that can most easily be improved at the next level, so his possible shooting inadequacies (which are, in my opinion, unfounded) should not be cause for concern. Overall, if Jeffries is available to the Pacers, they would be foolish to pass him up, despite not having a glaring need for someone in his position. (ALREADY SELECTED)

Curtis Borchardt, Stanford University, C: Borchardt is still considering removing his name from the draft, but if he stays he will prove to be the best center in this draft. Yao Ming included, who has such a tremendous amount of risk associated with drafting and developing him, Borchardt is the most NBA ready seven footer available this year. He is compared to Zydrunas Ilgauskas for a few reasons, some good, some bad. First the bad. He has been injury prone during his years at Stanford. As any Cavs fan can tell you, having a talented seven footer who plays sparingly because of repeated injuries is extremely frustrating. But on the good side, he is a very graceful and athletic seven footer who can shoot with either hand, dribble the ball, and distribute nicely. He needs to bulk up, but an NBA weight room regiment will improve his size quickly. The Pacers don't really need a center, as they have Brad Miller, Jermaine O'Neal, and Jeff Foster, but drafting Borchardt would allow O'Neal to drift out a bit and play the perimeter, something he has said he hopes to do. It would also give the Pacers some trade leverage. Lots of NBA teams, especially western conference teams, would like to have a huge body like Brad Miller to play against Shaquille O'Neal. (ALREADY SELECTED)

Bostjan Nachbar, Slovenia, SF: The Pacers don't really need a small forward, but if you subscribe to the theory of drafting the best player available regardless of position, Nachbar might be the guy. He combines great athleticism with good intelligence and is a very smooth player with offensive skill and court sense. He has a great understanding of the game and plays under control and with great competitiveness. Unlike a lot of good shooting prospects, Nachbar can create off the dribble very well and his ball handling ability is good and looks like it can become very good. He is compared to Peja Stojakovich, who is rapidly becoming one of the best small forwards in the NBA. Similar to the prospect of drafting Borchardt, taking Nachbar would give the Pacers the leverage to make some moves, possibly involving Ron Artest, Al Harrington (who has a tremendously high value at this point), or Ron Mercer. If he proves to be the player that Peja is, every team will regret having passed him up, and with the fourteenth pick it doesn't make sense to risk passing up his talent.

Jiri Welsch, Czech Republic, PG/SG: Welsch is a team player who handles the ball with ease and has a sweet stroke from downtown and an exceptionally well developed mid-range game. Jiri is a great defender, as he takes advantage of his fast legs and hands and his body strength. He likes to attack the basket and makes great decisions off the dribble drive. With excellent court sense, he is a consistent high-percentage shooter and 3-pt shots are no exception. The Pacers could really address two needs with one pick here were they to choose Welsch. At 6'7", 205, he has plenty of size to play shooting guard in the NBA. And given his point guard pedigree, he could develop into a backup for Jamaal Tinsley as well as a replacement for Reggie Miller in a few years. Although this pick would be risky, as almost any European pick is, it might make the most sense logistically.

Kareem Rush, University of Missouri, SG: Rush will be the most pure shooting guard available to the Pacers with the 14th pick. He's also the only shooting guard prospect that will be available who would not be considered a major risk. Roger Mason Jr, Casey Jacobsen and Juan Dixon are far from sure bets, and while Rush is not sure thing either, he is a much better pro prospect than the others. He has good size at 6'6", 215 pounds. He is compared to Allan Houston, who in turn could be compared, in many ways, to Reggie Miller. All are spot up shooters who are more successful shooting off the pass than creating their own shots. That isn't to say any of these three are incapable of creating shots, Miller is very good at it and Rush may be as good as Miller. But his primary skill is shooting the ball, and given a good distributing point guard like Tinsley, Rush could find a long-term home in Indiana.

Marcus Haislip, University of Tennessee, PF: Haislip is one of the strongest players in the draft, and also one of the better power forward prospects. He is a leaper and a shot blocker who has the potential to become a defensive stalwart at the next level. He isn't the most polished offensive player, but his moves tend to produce, even when they lack grace. He bench-presses 400+ pounds, something that, combined with his 6'10", 230 pound frame, could make him a very formidable post presence in the NBA. He is compared to Marcus Camby, but stronger, and while a comparison to Marcus Camby might be misconstrued as a death sentence at the next level, Haislip will likely be a force in the league for years to come.

Melvin Ely, Fresno State University, PF: First and foremost, Ely has great size. He's listed at 6'10", 255 pounds, and is an athlete. He can block shots and has very good explosiveness and leaping ability. He has built his strength and size up well and will come into the league with the added experience of playing through his senior season at Fresno State under Coach Tarkanian. The only major question mark on Ely is his heart. Some scouts have questioned his desire to excel at the next level and wonder whether he'll turn into a player like Derrick Coleman, who has all the tools but lacks the motivation to put them together. Coleman has come on late in his career, but the Pacers are looking for a player to help them next year, not in ten years.

VII. Likely Pacers Selection:

Kareem Rush: He's a more certain pick than Jiri Welsch, and will almost definitely provide a shooting guard for the future. At the very worst, Rush will be a solid and reliable replacement for Miller. At best, who knows, he could be the next Miller. And you know the Pacers would love to have another Reggie for the next 10 years or so.