Quick Thoughts on the Pacers’ universe
By CHRIS GOFF
ISL Correspondent
How surprising was the Pacers’ selection of Solomon Hill in the NBA draft? Put it this way: When they made the pick I began humming Led Zeppelin: “Dazed and Confused.”
Almost nobody alive is more experienced at running a draft room than Donnie Walsh. Kevin Pritchard mastered the event when he was GM of the Trail Blazers. While all teams and all executives make mistakes in the draft, doubting Walsh and Pritchard is usually ill-advised. At the very least, keeping the No. 23 pick was a savvy decision, as Hill is a cheap asset. Per the rookie salary scale of the CBA, Hill will make $1.04 million, $1.09 million and $1.1 million in the next three seasons, respectively. That makes him worth a shot.
Who is Hill? A leader, for one thing. He isn’t great at any particular aspect of basketball. But the 6-foot-7 forward can at least dabble in a lot of different things. The term “jack of all trades” was first used to describe him by Sean Miller, Hill’s coach at Arizona.
The Pacers say they got the player they wanted. They like guys who played at successful schools and Hill went to the Sweet 16 as a senior and Elite Eight as a sophomore. He should see some action next season. The front office is banking on his ability to defend and shoot. I just don’t know if he has much upside going forward. His production in college was fairly ordinary. There’s no star potential. And he had poor ballhandling numbers.
To become a solid player in the NBA, Hill really needs to keep developing that 3-point shot. Most draftniks had Hill as a second-rounder. He is intriguing as a long, defensive-minded small forward. But if nothing else, he’s a body who you hope can be an energy guy.
On talent, the obvious choice was to take Jamaal Franklin of San Diego State. All in all, Hill is a bit of a dice roll. Shooting guard talent was the best asset at that point in the draft and yet the Pacers took a pure small forward. I would have preferred Reggie Bullock to Hill, who is an almost complete unknown in these parts. Hill may struggle to get minutes. He strikes you as a 10-minute-a-night player. He’ll get some chances to play, but he wasn’t a highly ranked prospect.
The Pacers have yet to confirm reports that Nate McMillan has decided to join the team as a lead assistant. If true, they would come out smelling like a rose not long after losing associate head coach Brian Shaw to Denver. McMillan has 12 years of head coaching experience and also played 12 seasons in the NBA in Seattle. He was on the coaching staff of the U.S. team that won the gold medal in the 2008 Beijing Olympics. Portland fired McMillan late in the 2011-12 season. Earlier in his Rip City tenure, McMillan had worked for Pritchard, who would hit a home run by bringing “Mr. Sonic” to Indiana.
J.J. Redick would be a perfect fit on this Pacers team with his outside stroke and ability to play shooting guard. But it’s not meant to be.
There’s death, taxes and the old familiar rumors that link Carl Landry to the Pacers.
Of all the floating names, Tony Allen – who’s 31 with beat-up knees – might make the least sense. The Pacers already field the league’s best defense. Do you really want to blow through your midlevel exception on a 2-guard who turns the ball over and can’t make a jump shot?
The secrecy from the Pacers over whether qualifying offers were submitted to Tyler Hansbrough, Jeff Pendergraph and Ben Hansbrough is just silly. The league office ought to require transparency for fans’ sake. Even the secretive San Antonio Spurs released such information on Sunday.
The new-look Brooklyn GarNetts (©) join the Pacers, Bulls and Knicks on the second tier of challengers to two-time champion Miami in the Eastern Conference, which is suddenly better at the top, especially with the return of Derrick Rose.
The Pacers’ gold uniforms are surprisingly polarizing. Fans seem to either adore them or loathe their existence.
Having Larry Bird, a big winner, back in the fold is – what else? – a big win.
