INDIANAPOLIS — Tyrese Haliburton turned down the opportunity to be the Pacers’ on-stage representative at the NBA Draft Lottery in Chicago on Sunday because the All-Star point guard felt like he was bad luck the last time he had the job. The Pacers are simply sending another point guard.
Veteran point guard T.J. McConnell will be the Pacers’ on-stage representative in Chicago when the lottery results are announced at 3 p.m. ET Sunday on ESPN. The 34-year-old McConnell just finished his 11th season in the NBA and his seventh season with the Pacers. Though Indiana finished the season with the NBA’s second worst record and the worst record in franchise history at 19-63, McConnell had one of the most productive seasons of his career averaging 9.4 points and 5.1 assists per game, shooting 53.8% from the floor. He averaged a career-low 17.2 minutes per game as the Pacers took it easy on his sore hamstrings in a lost season, but his 10.7 assists per 36 minutes led the team and his 19.6 points per 36 minutes were second only to All-Star forward Pascal Siakam among players who appeared in at least 30 games with the Pacers.
With a bottom-three record, the Pacers have the best possible lottery odds — a 14% chance to earn the No. 1 overall pick and a 52.1% chance to earn a top four pick. However, they conditionally included the pick in the trade with the Clippers that brought center Ivica Zubac to Indiana. They only get to keep the pick if it lands in the top four. If it does not, the Clippers get the pick.
If the Pacers do get to keep the selection, they would be picking in the top four for the first time since they took Rik Smits with the No. 2 pick in 1988. They also chose center Steve Stipanovich with the No. 2 pick in 1983 and forward Wayman Tisdale with the No. 2 pick in 1985. They took Rick Robey No. 3 in 1978 and Chuck Person No. 4 in 1986, but they have never had the No. 1 selection since joining the NBA.
This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: The Pacers have picked their representative at NBA Draft Lottery; do you feel lucky?
Reporting by Dustin Dopirak, Indianapolis Star / Indianapolis Star
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
