2016 NBA Draft

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Playmakers are in vogue in the NBA these days. The one-dimensional specialists are giving way to the more versatile talents who can thrive both offensively and defensively in a game increasingly dominated by pick and rolls.

With that in mind, the Pacers drafted Iowa State's Georges Niang with the 50th overall selection in Thursday's NBA draft, adding a 6-foot-9 four-year collegian who they hope can step into the rotation immediately and bypass the detour to their Development League affiliate in Fort Wayne.

RELATED: Georges Niang Bio + Video Interview »   Photo Gallery »

Niang stood out in the final group workout against the likes of potential first-rounders Brice Johnson and Cheick Diallo, which went a long way toward convincing the Pacers to invest in a player they didn't expect to be available to them.

"You look at some of the teams and how they're playing that are going deep into the playoffs," general manager Kevin Pritchard said. "The spread four is really important. And then the other thing is you have to have four guys who can make plays. We thought Niang is really one of the best playmakers in college basketball.

The pick-and-roll game is (big). If your four man can dive but also pick and pop and shoot the ball, drive the ball and make quick decision plays, that's what we saw in that workout. Against bigger guys. Believe it or not that workout was really important to us. I don't know if it was 20 percent of it or 30 percent of it but it was an important workout."

RELATED: Story from Niang's Pre-Draft Workout »

Niang earned second- and third-team All-American honors last season at Iowa State, along with the Karl Malone Award as the nation's best power forward. He averaged 20.5 points on 55 percent shooting, 6.2 rebounds and 3.3 assists. He was a college 3-point threat, hitting 39 percent of 4.1 attempts per game.

He was widely regarded as a borderline draft pick because of his lack of athleticism, but the Pacers believe his skills and IQ will make up for that.

"The game is athletic, but I think he's always gotten by and been successful because he's super crafty," Pritchard said. "My boss (Larry Bird) is pretty crafty, too...He knows how to use his body, he's got the spin moves, he does all that and he knows how to be in the right position on defense, too.

"We needed that. At the end of the year we said we really need to improve our overall team IQ."

Pritchard added that the Pacers made some attempts to obtain a late first-round draft pick after the draft began, but were unable to work a suitable trade. He said one early selection changed the entire draft, but declined to identify it.

"It was a very unique draft this year," he said.

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Pacers Pick Up Playmaker in Niang

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Pacers Draft Georges Niang

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The Indiana Pacers have drafted Iowa State forward Georges Niang with the 50th overall pick in the 2016 NBA Draft. Niang, a 6-9 forward, averaged 20.5 points, 6.3 rebounds, and 3.3 assists per game as a senior for the Cyclones.

"We thought Niang (was) really one of the best playmakers in college basketball," Pacers general manager Kevin Pritchard said about the pick. "They pick-and-pop him, they give him the ball, he makes a lot of assists, he can shoot it...We didn't think he'd get to 50. We had him a lot higher on the board."

Niang worked out for the Pacers in their seventh and final pre-draft workout on Friday, June 17.

"The pick-and-roll game is (big). If your (power forward) can dive but also pick-and-pop and shoot the ball, drive the ball and make quick decision plays, that's what we saw in that workout," Pritchard said. "Against bigger guys. Believe it or not, that workout was really important to us."

"He's super crafty," Pritchard added. "He knows how to use his body. He's got the spin moves, he does all that and he knows how to be on the right position on defense, too."

SEE ALSO: Story from Niang's Pre-Draft Workout »

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Pacers Draft Georges Niang with 50th Overall Pick

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UPDATE: Pacers General Manager Kevin Pritchard will be speaking in place of Larry Bird.

Earlier post: Pacers President of Basketball Operations Larry Bird will speak with the media following the conclusion of the 2016 NBA Draft.

You can watch a live stream of Bird's press conference in the video player above.

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Post-Draft Press Conference with Kevin Pritchard

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Final 2016 Pacers Mock Draft Projections

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Reliving Past Draft Nights

The Pacers appear to have finished their collective eyeballing of prospects for Thursday's NBA draft. So what do we know?

Not much, really, unless we are a member of the Pacers' basketball department, and we aren't. The list of candidates the team has lured for workouts at Bankers Life Fieldhouse doesn't reveal everything in the grand scheme of things, and we certainly don't know what teams drafting ahead of them are planning, not to mention trade possibilities.

DRAFT CENTRAL: Video and Stories on 42 Prospects at Pacers.com/Draft »

The best outsiders to the process can do is try to get a handle on the caliber of player who might be available to the Pacers with the 20th pick. Perhaps you've seen the list of previous No. 20 draft picks, published here on Pacers.com. All it tells you is what you already know, namely that it's a hit-or-miss position from which to select a player. Teams are fortunate to get a player who can earn a spot in their rotation for awhile. Many 20th picks wash out of the league after two or three years, never to be heard from again.

Still, you never know. Sometimes players from the second round wind up having great careers, and with so many 19-year-olds feeling the draft these days, a team might get a little lucky and land one who blooms into a major contributor.

Scan the mock drafts, and you can find at least 17 players predicted for the Pacers with the 20th pick. Fewer than 10 of them came in for group workouts in recent weeks, but not for lack of trying on the part of scouting director Ryan Carr. Agents for some of the no-shows refused to send in their clients, believing they'll be selected before the 20th pick.

"It happens every year to a certain degree," Carr said. "You're trying to get as many guys as you think could get to you in the draft, and agents are trying to not send them to workouts where they feel they won't be picked. There's always back and forth."

Ideally, Carr would be able to bring in every player projected to go above the Pacers' pick, to have as much information as possible. But team president Larry Bird and his staff won't eliminate someone because they didn't come.

"We work really hard to have as much information as we can," Carr said. "We've been watching these guys since when they were freshmen."

Carr flew to Treviso, Italy two weeks ago to attend the three-day adidas Euro Camp to watch prospects for this and future drafts. The Pacers' choice could come from that group as well.

While the 20th pick doesn't offer much hope for landing a future All-Star, the Pacers have made some of their most successful selections in the mid- to lower region of the first round. Former general manager and team president Donnie Walsh, who directed the Pacers' draft from 1986 through 2003, often felt more comfortable drafting in that region.

"You can't make a mistake when you're in the top 10," he said. "If you do, you've really lost an opportunity. You've got to approach it the same way from 10 to 20. There are guys who will be left out of the top 10 who should be in the top 10. It's so much easier to take those guys when you're (drafting) 11 or 12, and that's where I had my best picks."

Walsh had four top-10 picks in his era. Chuck Person went fourth in 1986 and was voted Rookie of the Year. Rik Smits went second in 1988 and became the franchise's second all-time leading scorer. But George McCloud, who was seventh in 1989, was set back by the death of both parents early in his career and wound up having his best years for other teams. Erick Dampier, taken 10th in 1996, was traded for Chris Mullin after his rookie season.

It could be argued Walsh and Bird have fared better overall outside the top 10, with picks such as:

A fundamental of later first-round picks, Walsh said, is to draft for talent rather than need. Bird was famously given an F by one draft analyst after drafting George because it didn't appear the Pacers needed a player at that position. Obviously, it has worked out all right. The Pacers passed on future All-Star Kawhi Leonard in 2015, though, because they already had Granger and George at that position. They selected him at San Antonio's request and traded him for George Hill, who has started the past 4 1/2 seasons.

"I think you make a mistake if you're in the top 20 drafting for need," Walsh said. "The minute you do that, you make a major mistake."

So there you have it. The best indications are that the Pacers will draft a player at any position, from any country and who might or might not have been in for a pre-draft workout. Assuming, of course, they don't trade the pick.