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The 11th pick in the NBA Draft hasn't yielded much in recent years but Larry Bird is convinced that's about to change.
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Of course, it's also the slot that produced Reggie Miller in 1987.
"With the situation we're in I think we need someone who can help us now," Bird said. "We don't have time to wait a couple years and see. I think these young men are going to be good players but it's really hard to tell. A lot of them have a lot of work to do on their bodies to get stronger and they've just got to improve. In our situation, I really feel we have to get somebody right now that can help us. Even if we get another pick, both players have to be able to step in and play some for us."
Bird's words indicate a preference for more experienced college prospects with polish. That could bode well for Texas point guard D.J. Augustin (senior), Georgetown center Roy Hibbert (senior) and Kansas swingman Brandon Rush (junior). It could also indicate an aversion for talented but raw prospects such as big men JaVale McGee (Nevada sophomore), DeAndre Jordan (Texas A&M freshman), and forward Anthony Randolph (LSU freshman).
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"We've got to get a player who can help us to move this franchise forward," he said. "You'd like to get a player who can help you this year but you know he's going to get better and better. That gives you more options with some of your other players if you want to move them."
Bird was the Pacers' coach when No. 5 pick Jonathan Bender was acquired in 1999 and Al Harrington was taken at No. 25 in 1998. That was when the Pacers were among the elite teams in the Eastern Conference, had a roster stocked with veterans and could afford to gamble on very young but talented players that would need years to develop. Harrington eventually emerged into a productive player but Bender was beset by injury problems that forced his premature retirement.
Coming off consecutive seasons without playoff berths, the Pacers have less time to wait and a slimmer margin of error to gamble on potential.
"I was involved in that when I was here the first time when we took Al and Jonathan, both of them very talented players," Bird said. "Jonathan, with all the talent he had, we waited and waited and waited and when he was coming, it was unfortunate that he was injured. So you really don’t know. I think it's very important for us to get some players that can help right now."
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Though he has identified point guard and post players as the roster's biggest need, Bird said he will draft the best player available regardless of position. Rush apparently has been climbing draft boards around the league thanks to a series of impressive workouts, as has the 7-2 Hibbert, who appears to be a Bird favorite.
"He can play for us right now," Bird said of the Georgetown center. "He's skilled, he's big. He doesn't have the quickness that the other kids had but as far as knowing how to play, I thought he dominated that workout (with McGee and Jordan). He's lost some weight and he's moving quicker. Our concern was if you blitz the pick-and-roll can he get back? He proved to us that he could. He's a very dedicated worker and a very fine young man so he's obviously somebody we've got to look at."
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"We've got some possibilities," Bird said. "I think we'll probably be able to get one if we want it. And if it's in the area where we can get a good player, we'll take it."
It promises to be one of the liveliest draft nights in recent years for the Pacers, who will throw their first NBA Draft Party since moving into Conseco Fieldhouse in 2000. Bird said the phones have been "very active" with teams trying to make deals involving picks and veteran players.
"Some teams are trying to get up and get our pick, swap picks, throw players in it," he said. "To say we're going to stand pat at 11, I can't tell you that but I like who's going to be there. I think we've got a chance to get a very special player at 11 so I think it's going to take a lot to move back. Moving up, I don't know. I think we can get what we want at 11. There are two or three players there that are just as good as some of the guys in front of us that are going to be drafted, so we're sitting in a pretty good position."
The Pacers also hold the No. 41 pick in the second round. From the past 10 drafts, nearly as many players taken No. 41 are still in the NBA (five) as at No. 11 (six).
"There's a lot of talent in this draft … It's all over the board," Bird said, pointing out recent second-round finds Carlos Boozer, Gilbert Arenas and Monta Ellis. "There are going to be some guys in the second round, and I watched them play in Orlando, that are very talented players."
