Former Pacers Point Guard Says Team’s First-Round Draft Pick is Obvious

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INDIANAPOLIS, IN – APRIL 12: Jeff Teague #44 of the Indiana Pacers shoots the ball against the Atlanta Hawks at Bankers Life Fieldhouse on April 12, 2017 in Indianapolis, Indiana. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement (Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images)

The Indiana Pacers will likely have a top-four pick. Even after beating the Magic on Monday, the team still has the worst record in the league. That win broke a franchise record 16-game losing streak. Next season, the team is expecting to be much better.

Tyrese Haliburton will return fully healthy from his torn Achilles tendon. They also traded for Ivica Zubac at the trade deadline to be the starting center. Those two additions should make the Pacers a title contender, just as they were a year ago.

Indiana only keeps their pick if it falls in the 1-4 or 10-30 range. If it falls in the top four, former Pacers guard Jeff Teague believes their choice should be obvious.

Jeff Teague Says the Pacers’ First-Round Pick Choice is Obvious

There are four candidates who seem to have separated themselves in the draft discussion. A.J. Dybantsa, Darryn Peterson, Cameron Boozer, and Caleb Wilson are all in the discussion to be the number-one pick. Wilson is likely the fourth choice, but the other three are pretty close.

While speaking on the Club 520 Podcast, Teague believes that Boozer is the best choice because he won’t take away from Haliburton.

“Tyrese Haliburton is your star, A.J. Dybantsa come, he’s not your star no more. Even though he’ll be a perennial All-Star, Tyrese Haliburton is a really good player. Cam Boozer fit the mode of like blending in with our star.”

Teague goes on to say that the city and state have an issue bringing in loud personalities.

We have trouble in Indiana with outgoing big personalities. Like, you look at the Colts, Peyton Manning was a low personality. He just did his job. Was really good at his job. He became more popular after he retired. Like, we started falling in love like damn, Peyton funny. You didn’t know that when Peyton played unless you was on his team. Same with Reggie (Miller). You didn’t know, he had a personality in the locker room, but we wasn’t. Now, who he is is way different than when he played. Paul George was a low-key superstar. He ain’t do too much. He was lowkey. We like that here.”

Indiana has a Franchise-Altering Decision to Make

Whoever the Pacers choose will have massive ramifications on their future success. While Boozer’s personality is more of a go-with-the-flow, he plays the same position as Pascal Siakam. Siakam was an All-Star this year on a team that is horrible.

Dybantsa and Peterson can both play the wing spot, which is the weakest spot in the starting five and off the bench. That’s something that the team has to consider. If Indiana winds up with the third pick, they will happily take Boozer and have him as their sixth man.

However, if they wind up with the first pick, they might be tempted to take either Dybantsa or Peterson. Without Haliburton, the Pacers have the second-worst offense in the league. Adding either one of those players would help them have a one-man offense on their own.

Ryan Stano Ryan Stano covers the NBA and College Football for Heavy.com. He has been covering sports since 2017, covering the NFL, College Football, College Basketball, and the NBA. His work has been featured on Yahoo, Bleacher Report, FanSided, and Sports Illustrated. More about Ryan Stano