Report: Pacers considering taking Daniel Orton in NBA Draft

Jun 19, 2010, 10:10 AM EDT

The Pacers have a lot of work to do to turn their team into a contender. They’re still siphoning off pieces of the former Eastern Conference contenders (while Ron Artest is winning championships for he Lakers) and trying to formulate a new core.

Apparently, one of their moves they may be planning is a little out of the box.

Mike Wells of the Indianapolis Star reports that the Pacers are considering taking Daniel Orton, the high-upside, low-college-production center from the Kentucky Wildcats with the 10th pick.

I’m going to stop this carnival ride for a moment and let you get all the jokes about Orton not being white, not being a college superstar, and not being tremendously undersized out of the way.

Are we good?

Okay.

Orton is actually a pretty great pick at that spot, even with Roy Hibbert on roster. Orton is 6-10 and has crazy amounts of athleticism, something the Pacers need. Putting him in a set with Hibbert would essentially create a super-rebounding machine for the Pacers, and give Danny Granger someone else to run the pick and roll with. You could argue that the Pacers have a bigger need at point guard, but with the slim picking at point in this year’s draft, Orton is a high-upside pick that could work out remarkably well if his game evolves quickly with pro coaching.

Plus, he won’t come in with the expectations of a Tyler Hansbrough, and could allow the Pacers to trade some of their other veteran bigs for younger talent.

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cygnus-x1 - Jun 20, 2010 at 12:27 AM

does it matter who they draft?obrien won’t play them or give them any consistant playing time. look at what he has done with rush and mcroberts.mcroberts can have a triple double and then not play for a week then is expected to do the same thing again or sit another 2 weeks. Larry needs to get rid of him hire a coach who will play the young guys win or lose then they will stop this nonsense of winning at the end of the season when it doesn’t matter and have a shot at the lottery so they can rebuild faster. and please artest is not the reason the lakers won and if he is so great why is he on his 3rd team since the pacers got rid of him?

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