Pacers make first draft move, swap picks with Nuggets — and why pick 32 was 'powerful'
The Pacers have four picks on Thursday after agreeing to a deal that pushes a first-round selection to 2024.
This wasn’t the moment, but it could have been.
Pacers president Kevin Pritchard staring closely at his phone Monday following the team’s 16th and final draft workout. Two days later, he made his first move for the 2023 NBA Draft.
The Pacers reached agreement with the Denver Nuggets on an exchange of draft picks, as ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski first reported. The deal will not be completed before the draft on Thursday.
The news broke while I was in the middle of hosting a radio show for three hours Wednesday on 107.5 The Fan. You gotta love it.
The Pacers will receive the 40th pick, along with a 2024 first-round pick. It is NOT the Nuggets’ pick, a league source told Fieldhouse Files, which is important because the defending champions will likely have one of the last picks in the first round.
Instead, it is the least favorable 2024 first-round pick of Houston, Oklahoma City, Utah and the LA Clippers.