Pacers’ team president Kevin Pritchard said they do not plan on keeping all five of their draft picks

The Indiana Pacers were not a playoff team last season, but their core showed a lot of potential. They finished 11th in the East with a 35-47 record. Moving forward, the Pacers need to continue to build around the core players they have. One way they can get that done for cheap is through the NBA draft. As it stands, they currently have five draft picks. However, team president Kevin Pritchard said the Pacers do not plan on keeping all five. 

Pritchard has emphasized that his team will not be making five draft picks this year. The Pacers have a number of options that could happen. They could burn a later pick to trade up in the first or even have a team reach out to them to acquire the pick.

As a front office, the Pacers intend on receiving a lot of offers for those picks. Sources have linked a few players to the Pacers via trade this offseason. The Nets, Sixers, and Hawks are all in contention.

Pacers Don’t Plan To Keep All Five Picks In 2023 Draft https://t.co/MYCmUzJI5T

— RealGM (@RealGM) June 21, 2023

The Indiana Pacers don’t plan on keeping all five of the 2023 draft picks

In the 2023 NBA Draft, the Pacers are slotted to pick at 7, 26, 29, 32, and 55. That is three first-round choices and two second-rounders. With their #7 pick, the Pacers are in the market to land an extremely talented prospect. After that, there’s a significant drop-off from #7 to #26.

That’s nearly another 20 choices before they pick again in the first round. This could be a spot where Indiana burns one of their later draft choices to move up in the first round. After the first 10-15 picks, it’s hit or miss on the right draft choice.

It’s been reported that the Pacers have hosted at least 62 different players ahead of the draft. Their five picks have them spread out in the draft and in the running for a mix of talent levels.