THE 2023 NBA Draft is set to take place later this month, with the next crop of potential superstars set to join the world’s most prestigious basketball league.

With plenty of hype around the talent in the 2023 draft class, thanks to a French phenom locked in as the number-one pick and lots of depth later down the order, June 23 (AEST) will change the future of the league in a big way.

Rookie Me Central will be continuing the NBA Draft Team Preview series, taking a look at each participating side’s draft hand and some potential options at each selection. The next side on the agenda are the Indiana Pacers.

The Pacers have one of the strongest hands in the draft, with a plethora of picks set to boost the team’s youth stocks.

Although Indiana could make some trades to add some veteran presence to the team, it could also hold onto its selections and add a wealth of young talent.

Indiana Pacers

Draft selections

7, 26, 29, 32, 55

Contracted players

Myles Turner, Buddy Hield, Daniel Theis, TJ McConnell, Bennedict Mathurin, Jalen Smith, Tyrese Haliburton, Chris Duarte, Aaron Nesmith, Jordan Nowra, Isaiah Jackson, Andrew Nembhard, Nik Stauskas, Juwan Morga, Malik Fitts

The Pacers have plenty of young talent as it is, and will be able to add even more with a whopping five picks in the upcoming draft.

With pick seven, the Pacers are likely to add to their forward stocks, given they have secured their backcourt of the future in Haliburton and Mathurin. Luckily for Indiana, there are a fair few options that fit that bracket.

One player that could slot into Indiana’s lineup nicely is Cam Whitmore, who may address some areas of concern for the team. A versatile wing, Whitmore is exactly the type of player the Pacers need, given his defensive capabilities and his ability to play the two through the four. Indiana needs a defensive stopper in a big way to take the big matchups, and Whitmore’s offence should improve as his time in the NBA rolls on.

Another player for the Pacers to consider is Taylor Hendricks, who could be inserted into the lineup as a three-and-D power forward. Next to Turner, the duo would create plenty of trouble for opposition players looking to score in the paint. His offence will only improve with the passing of Haliburton, which lifts all of his teammates.

With their pick later in the first round, the Pacers could target another wing such as Dariq Whitehead, who was a top 10 chance before struggling with injuries later in the season that saw his stock drop a bit. Regardless, his potential is still up there with the best given the glimpses he has shown as a perimeter threat and lockdown defender.

In the second round, the Pacers could look to boost their frontcourt stocks further by potentially selecting Gregory Jackson II, who proved himself as a solid scorer during his freshman year with the South Carolina Gamecocks. However, their collection of picks around this mark could see the team facilitate a trade.

The Pacers have one of the biggest collections of picks of any side in the NBA ahead of the 2023 draft, and look set to be one of the key players with four selections inside the top 32.