The Pacers didn’t have a first-round pick in the 2020 NBA draft, yet three lottery picks from that summer led their shocking comeback over the Knicks in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference finals Wednesday.
Tyrese Haliburton was selected by the Kings as the 12th pick. Aaron Nesmith went to the Celtics at 14. Five years later, they were ripping New York’s heart out while wearing Pacers jerseys.
It was an iconic win for the Pacers and yet another endorsement of their shrewd approach to roster building. Up and down Indiana’s roster are second-draft guys.
What’s a second-draft guy? Someone who was drafted by one team and traded to another while on their rookie contract.
Haliburton was traded in his second season as Sacramento rebuilt the team around Domantas Sabonis and De’Aaron Fox. Nesmith was traded after riding the bench in Boston for his first two seasons.
Since then, Haliburton has emerged as a superstar and Nesmith has blossomed into Indiana’s best wing defender, who also happened to make six straight 3-pointers in the fourth quarter of the opening bout of the Eastern Conference finals.
But it doesn’t stop there. Closing the game alongside Haliburton and Nesmith was Obi Toppin, the eighth pick in the 2020 draft, who was traded after his third season with the Knicks.
Toppin closed the game over starting center Myles Turner, a traditional big who struggled to defend Karl-Anthony Towns for most of the night. With Toppin and Pascal Siakam in the frontcourt, the Pacers were able to switch on defense and slow down New York’s offense.
The Pacers sought out Haliburton with the belief that he could become the face of the franchise and lead a high-octane offense. They added Nesmith and Toppin for their versatility and athleticism.
And now they are up 1-0 in their second Eastern Conference finals in as many seasons.
What it means for the Heat
So, what does this have to do with the Miami Heat?
As a team short on draft capital, the Heat can learn from Indiana’s team-building strategy. Remember, the Pacers didn’t have a pick that summer, but over the next three years, they traded for three of the top 14 picks and signed them to new contracts. The players deserve a ton of credit, but so does the front office for its vision and the coaching staff for its development.
Miami’s world-class development program helped turn overlooked prospects like Duncan Robinson, Max Strus, Gabe Vincent and Caleb Martin into viable NBA rotation players. Imagine what it could do with the type of talent associated with lottery picks.
We already saw one example: Davion Mitchell. The ninth pick in the 2021 draft, Mitchell came over to the Heat in the final year of his rookie deal and established himself as an essential part of the rotation. He instantly became the team’s best perimeter defender, a leader on the court, and helped fuel the Heat’s overtime win in Atlanta to advance past the play-in tournament and into the playoffs.
The Heat are motivated to re-sign Mitchell, who is a restricted free agent this summer. They also know that the roster is in need of an influx of talent, with or without a star-level addition.
This summer’s free agent class leaves a lot to be desired. Sure, the Heat could take a chance on a journeyman or a vet hanging onto his career, but that won’t deliver the cheap, moldable talent that this team needs longterm.
Instead, the Heat should look for their next Mitchell. Their version of Nesmith and Toppin. Players on rookie contracts who haven’t popped or are buried on the depth chart for their current teams.
As the Pacers have shown, sometimes it's a matter of environment and circumstances. Like the Pacers, the Heat can offer young players an opportunity to grow. The Heat have worked hard to build one of the best player development programs in the league. Taking chances on second-draft guys might be the best way to leverage that strength.