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The Indiana Pacers have a chance to pick near the top of one of the best NBA Draft classes in recent memory.
AJ Dybantsa, Darryn Peterson and Cameron Boozer highlight an incredible group of prospects that the Pacers could potentially land.
But it's just a chance, because there's also a chance the lottery goes against the Pacers and they end up with no one.
That's because their first-round pick is currently top-four protected. If it ends up in the top-four, Indiana keeps it. If it drops to fifth or sixth, it goes to the Los Angeles Clippers, according to ESPN's Jeremy Woo, who adds that Indiana has a 52.1% chance of keeping their pick based on lottery odds.
In Woo's latest mock draft, he has the Pacers getting the No. 2 pick and taking Darryn Peterson out of Kansas. That would be huge, as it would give Indiana another star to pair with a returned-from-injury Tyrese Haliburton and Ivica Zubac.
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But missing out on a top pick entirely in this draft class would be painful.
"The Pacers will sweat out the next few weeks in anticipation of a lottery that will alter the path of the franchise: There is a 52.1% chance their pick lands in the top four, and they keep it," Woo writes. "If not, it will go to the Clippers, who could wind up selecting fifth or sixth. Adding Peterson's elite shooting and bringing back a healthy Tyrese Haliburton could easily vault the Pacers back into the playoff picture next season."
The Clippers would clearly love to snag the fifth or sixth pick. It wouldn't land one of those big three, but this is a loaded class.
Of all the machinations during the lottery, this will be one of the most interesting, and the Pacers will be keeping their fingers crossed for a good outcome.
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