If you'd like to pose a Question of the Day to Conrad Brunner, submit it along with your full name and hometown to Bruno's_mailbag@pacers.com. Brunner’s opinions are his own and do not necessarily reflect those of Pacers players, coaches or management.

QUESTION OF THE DAY Conrad Brunner

The second part of the question is what is the purpose of having a second round in the NBA draft? It seems as though the majority of the time second-round players do not make the teams that drafted them. Has the NBA given any consideration to a one-round draft that you know of? It seems they are limiting the options of a lot of players that may be able to become free agents and choose the team that might best fit their skills. (From Travis in Marion, IN)

A. Though Jones did play well in the summer league, leading the team in scoring (15.2) and going 10 of 20 from the 3-point line, he still faces an uphill battle for playing time. Though Al Harrington’s departure opens up some minutes at small forward, Jones is considered more of a swingman who can play that position as well as shooting guard depending upon the matchups. That just happens to be the profile of the player acquired in the trade for Harrington, Stephen Jackson. While Jones has demonstrated that he has NBA range, he must improve his skills with and without the ball. A willing defender, he could be very solid with time but isn’t there yet.

Your second question raises some interesting points, though you underestimate the impact of second-round picks. Since 1990, seven of the Pacers’ 13 picks in the second round spent at least one full season in the NBA. The group includes Antonio Davis (1990), Fred Hoiberg (1995) and Mark Pope (1996), who have enjoyed long careers. From last year’s draft, Luke Walton, Steve Blake, Willie Green, Keith Bogans and Kyle Korver all were products of the second round. Because there’s so little pressure on the player to step in and contribute right away, teams can take a chance in the second round, often on an international player who might not come to the NBA for a year or two, or a player with a specific talent who might be rounded into a more complete player with development time.

When I first began covering the NBA in 1985 (for a suburban daily in the Atlanta area on the Hawks beat), the draft was seven rounds long. That was a laborious, tedious exercise that was largely a waste of everyone’s time. It was reduced to three rounds in 1988 and two in 1989, and has stayed in that format since. Would the elimination of the second round free more players to choose their best opportunities? Would it encourage more of the increasingly young players to head to the NBDL for a year or two of seasoning, rather than sitting on the end of an NBA bench? Would it discourage NBA teams from taking on long-term, risky projects with their first-round picks? If it would accomplish any of those things, it certainly would be worth consideration.