Pacers pick Myles Turner at No. 11, shopping Roy Hibbert
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Roy Hibbert may be moving on after all.
The Indiana Pacers selected Texas power forward/center Myles Turner with the No. 11 overall pick in the 2015 NBA Draft on Thursday night.
In another year, in another draft, in another season, Turner probably would have been in the conversation as a top-five pick. This is a 19-year-old with a 7-foot-4 wingspan, a 9-foot-4 standing reach, and an outside shot that projects to make him the vaunted floor-spacer/rim-protector combination so few teams have.
As it stands, the top of the 2015 draft is strong, and Turner's stock was hurt by questions about a strange running gait (since fixed) and limited freshman production (thanks, Rick Barnes). Turner averaged 10.1 points, 6.5 rebounds, and 2.6 blocks, but shot 45.5 percent overall and 27.4 percent from outside, showing he's still a work in progress.
Turner's upside is significant and worth hopping on at No. 11. He has the length and bounce teams want on defense, and while he needs to bulk up to produce on both ends, he has the skillset to become a versatile offensive piece.
The Pacers have a stated desire to play at a faster pace, which could spell the end of Hibbert's tenure. The incumbent center owns a $15.5-million player option for next season the team expects him to exercise, and they've been working hard to trade him as a result, according to multiple reports.
Failing that, Turner and Hibbert could conceivably play together, especially in Turner's rookie season. Turner needs further development time and has enough of a perimeter game to play alongside the ground-bound prince of the principal of verticality, so a one-year apprenticeship with Hibbert may not be a detriment.
It's unclear if Paul George is happy or upset about the pick.
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