The Pacers traded into the second round of the 2025 draft to get backcourt depth. Now they're trading the guard they got in that draft to get into the second round of the 2026 draft to get another point guard
The Pacers traded Kam Jones -- taken with the No. 38 pick in the 2025 draft after the Pacers acquired that selection from the Spurs -- to the Bulls along with two pick swaps for the No. 38 pick in the 2026 draft and used that selection to take Purdue All-American, Westfield High School star and 2022 Indiana Mr. Basketball Braden Smith. Smith led Purdue to Sweet 16s in each of his last three seasons and finished with an NCAA Division I record 1,103 career **** ists, 8.8 per game.
The Pacers had hoped that Jones would be a fixture as a bench guard after he earned second-team All-America honors as a senior at Marquette, but a lower back injury derailed the early portion of his rookie season and the Pacers didn't see as much progress as they would have liked once he got on the floor. Jones averaged 4.4 points per game as a rookie on 40.2% shooting including 29.3% from 3-point range. He averaged 3.2 **** ists per game against 1.0 turnovers.
In Smith, the Pacers get the shortest and lightest player who was invited to the NBA Draft Combine at 5-10 1/4, 166 pounds. However, they've seen in T.J. McConnell that undersized point guards can be effective, especially in a bench role. With McConnell now 34 years old, the Pacers have to expect they'll need to replace him in the rotation at some point and it's still helpful to have four point guard options on the roster.
Like McConnell, Smith is limited in the defensive matchups he can take, but he can take ball-handlers at the point of attack and he's one of the best distributors in college basketball history. He can also get to the rim and shoot from outside so Smith can also brings points as a depth piece in the backcourt. He averaged 15.8 points per game as a junior and 14.3 per game as a senior, earning first-team All-America honors in each of those two seasons.
The Pacers traded Kam Jones -- taken with the No. 38 pick in the 2025 draft after the Pacers acquired that selection from the Spurs -- to the Bulls along with two pick swaps for the No. 38 pick in the 2026 draft and used that selection to take Purdue All-American, Westfield High School star and 2022 Indiana Mr. Basketball Braden Smith. Smith led Purdue to Sweet 16s in each of his last three seasons and finished with an NCAA Division I record 1,103 career **** ists, 8.8 per game.
The Pacers had hoped that Jones would be a fixture as a bench guard after he earned second-team All-America honors as a senior at Marquette, but a lower back injury derailed the early portion of his rookie season and the Pacers didn't see as much progress as they would have liked once he got on the floor. Jones averaged 4.4 points per game as a rookie on 40.2% shooting including 29.3% from 3-point range. He averaged 3.2 **** ists per game against 1.0 turnovers.
In Smith, the Pacers get the shortest and lightest player who was invited to the NBA Draft Combine at 5-10 1/4, 166 pounds. However, they've seen in T.J. McConnell that undersized point guards can be effective, especially in a bench role. With McConnell now 34 years old, the Pacers have to expect they'll need to replace him in the rotation at some point and it's still helpful to have four point guard options on the roster.
Like McConnell, Smith is limited in the defensive matchups he can take, but he can take ball-handlers at the point of attack and he's one of the best distributors in college basketball history. He can also get to the rim and shoot from outside so Smith can also brings points as a depth piece in the backcourt. He averaged 15.8 points per game as a junior and 14.3 per game as a senior, earning first-team All-America honors in each of those two seasons.
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