- Nate Taylor of The Indianapolis Star and Wheat Hotchkiss of Pacers.com explore whether the Pacers should opt for upside or select a safer, more proven commodity with their first-round pick in this year’s draft.
- Former Kansas big man Cheick Diallo will work out for the Pacers today and will display his wares for the Grizzlies on Saturday, Adam Zagoria of SNY.tv tweets.
- Working out for the Pacers today will be Kyle Collinsworth (BYU), Cheick Diallo (Kansas), Yogi Ferrell (Indiana), Brice Johnson (North Carolina), Niang, and Ante Zizic (Croatia), Nate Taylor of The Indianapolis Star relays (via Twitter).
As the 2016 NBA draft rapidly approaches the term draft-and-stash will be mentioned quite often in regard to international players and late second-rounders. While some of these athletes will eventually sign with an NBA team, it seems like the majority of them stay overseas and never make it to the league. Those players in the latter category aren’t without value as they become trade assets for the teams holding their rights.
While many players fail to work out the way teams expect them to, they can at least become tradeable assets for teams that don’t want to part with a future second-round pick in a deal. Each team must give up something in a trade, which is why many swaps include top-55 protected second-round picks. Older draft rights held players who clearly will never come over to the NBA are essentially the same as flipping those heavily protected second-rounders, for all intents and purposes.
Listed below are the current unsigned draftees for the teams of the Central Division:
Chicago Bulls
- Tadija Dragicevic — Selected No. 53 overall in 2008.
- Milovan Rakovic — Selected No. 60 overall in 2007.
- Vladimir Veremeenko — Selected No. 48 overall in 2006.
Cleveland Cavaliers
- Edin Bavcic — Selected No. 56 overall in 2006.
- Ilkan Karaman — Selected No. 57 overall in 2012.
- Milan Macvan — Selected No. 54 overall in 2011.
- Cedi Osman — Selected No. 31 overall in 2015.
- Sir’Dominic Pointer — Selected No. 53 overall in 2015.
- Ejike Ugboaja — Selected No. 55 overall in 2006.
Detroit Pistons
- None
Indiana Pacers
- Stanko Barac — Selected No. 39 overall in 2007.
- Andrew Betts — Selected No. 50 overall in 1998.
Milwaukee Bucks
- Andrei Fetisov — Selected No. 36 overall in 1994.
- Albert Miralles — Selected No. 39 overall in 2004.
- Eurelijus Zukauskas — Selected No. 54 overall in 1995.
- The Pacers have their sixth pre-draft workout scheduled for Wednesday, the team announced. Attendees will include Kellen Dunham (Butler), Jordan Loyd (Indianapolis), Taurean Prince (Baylor), Alex Poythress (Kentucky), Diamond Stone (Maryland), and Goodluck Okonoboh (UNLV), according to the release.
- New Pacers coach Nate McMillan will keep Dan Burke and Popeye Jones as part of his staff, tweets Scott Agness of Vigilant Sports. Agness says McMillan seems to have decided on a third assistant, but no announcement has been made.
Despite possessing solid assets like Paul George and Myles Turner, the Pacers are a team in search of an identity entering the summer, Keith P. Smith of RealGM writes in his offseason primer for Indiana. Given the team’s stated desire to play at a faster speed on offense, the scribe questions the hiring of Nate McMillan as head coach since McMillan’s teams have consistently ranked near the bottom of the league in pace.
- The Pacers will bring in Robert Carter (Maryland), Julian Jacobs (USC), Marcus Paige (North Carolina), Gary Payton II (Oregon State), Dyshawn Pierre (Dayton), and Isaiah Whitehead (Seton Hall) on Thursday for pre-draft workouts, the team announced.
- Thon Maker‘s previously-reported workout with the Pacers will take place on Wednesday, and the seven-footer will be joined by five other players, according to Zagoria (Twitter link). Jake Layman (Maryland), Retin Obasohan (Alabama), Shavon Shields (Nebraska), Fred VanVleet (Wichita State), and Stephen Zimmerman (UNLV) will also participate in the workout.
- Shooting guard Isaiah Whitehead will work out for the Pacers on Thursday and the Knicks on Saturday, Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders tweets. The Seton Hall sophomore is ranked No. 39 by Ford and No. 57 by Givony.