NBA Draft Winners and Losers: David Griffin is back, Suns not shining, where OKC Thunder land
By Rylan Stiles
The Indiana Pacers were big winners on Thursday Night. Their draft class featured two first-round talents, Goga Bitadze, and KZ Okpala who they traded to the Heat for three future second-round picks in an upcoming NBA Draft.
The Pacers grabbed a future second from the Utah Jazz as well when they dealt the 50th pick, Jarrell Brantley, to Utah.
Prior to the NBA Draft, the Pacers were able to land TJ Warren and the pick that netted them KZ Okpala.
Warren is an extremely productive bench player. Warren improved from a 23 percent three-point percentage his rookie year, to hitting the 3-ball at a 42 percent clip last season on 4.2 attempts per game. In the last two years, Warren has poured in 19 and 18 points per game.
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He has been a double-digit scorer every year of his career outside of his rookie campaign.
Goga Bitadze is one of the most interesting prospects in the NBA Draft, with an even more interesting landing spot as the Pacers play host to Thaddeus Young and Domantas Sabonis, a pair of really good big men. Bitadze’s fit is interesting, but the talent is there.