Pacers pick

[DJessen33@aol.com]

Pacers look to improve position


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By Mark Montieth / Indianapolis Star/News 

INDIANAPOLIS (June 20, 1997) -- Owning the 12th pick in the NBA draft is like
arriving midway through the meal. You run the risk of getting stuck with
leftovers. 

That's why the Indiana Pacers want to explore the possibility of an earlier
arrival for next Wednesday's banquet in Charlotte, N.C. They're too hungry
for change. 

The Pacers have never, in their ABA or NBA history, made a draft-day move
upward, although they made a pre-draft trade last summer that brought the
10th pick, which was invested in Erick Dampier. 

That possibility looms larger than ever this year because of the Pacers'
needs and the uncertain nature of the teams making the selections ahead of
them. Seven of the 11 teams who pick before Indiana have a new coach or
general manager, if not both, or are lacking one of the two. Larry Brown and
Rick Pitino are new in Philadelphia and Boston, respectively. Vancouver has
no coach. Denver has a new coach and general manager. Golden State has a new
coach and an apparent lame-duck GM, Milwaukee has no GM and Sacramento has a
new coach. 

"There's a lot of wild cards ahead of us, and we don't have a feel for them
and how they're approaching it," Pacers director of player personnel Billy
Knight said Friday. 

Still, the Pacers are willing to jump in and play. 

"We've got to test the waters and see what's out there for us," team
president Donnie Walsh said. 

A trade with Philadelphia, which owns the second pick, might seem like a
natural since Brown and Walsh are good friends and Brown knows Indiana's
personnel from having coached here the past four seasons. Walsh doesn't see
it happening, however. 

"First of all, you have to catch Larry on the right day and even then after
you've talked to him, it might change the next day," Walsh joked. "I think
Larry's going to keep his pick, or stay close to it. He's not going to go
back to 12 because he can't make an impact that way." 

The Pacers are more likely to move up to the middle of the 13 lottery picks,
and appear to have particular interest in Villanova's Tim Thomas, Utah's
Keith Van Horn and high school phenom Tracy McGrady. 

McGrady and Thomas were brought in for interviews, but did not work out
because of minor injuries. 

"People (around the NBA) are just kind of waking up and saying, 'Gosh, in two
or three years these guys could be better than all of them,' " Walsh said of
the two. 

Thomas, who left college after a freshman season in which he averaged 16.9
points and six rebounds per game, had a positive visit with the Pacers and
spoke enthusiastically about the possibility of playing for coach Larry Bird.


"It would feel funny, in a way, but it would be great," he said. "Just
meeting him felt so funny, just being next to Larry Legend. We talked about
the games between him and Magic and when Mike (Jordan) put 63 on him (in the
playoffs). 

"We had a good time out there. He's very nice and that would be a good place
to play." 

One rumored trade has Indiana sending Travis Best and the 12th pick to Denver
for the fifth pick, but Pacers officials would only say Denver is shopping
for a point guard. 

"We didn't offer anybody, it was just discussed that way," Knight said.
"They're calling around and asking everybody if they can get one of their
point guards." 

A trade downward remains a possibility as well, should the right offer come
along. Nor would Walsh mind acquiring a second-round pick, although players
taken in the second half of the draft have about a 50-50 chance of survival.
This year's second-round selection was sent to Denver in the February deal
that retrieved Mark Jackson. 

Should the Pacers wind up keeping their 12th pick, they'll leave the door
open for more gusts of wind after the draft. 

"This is the beginning point of putting our team together for next year and
trying to solve the problems we hav