A few days have passed since the draft and I want to take a look at what Tyler Hansbrough will bring to the Pacers.  I also want to take a look the Pacers decision to bring Hansbrough on board.

When I was watching the draft and running the live blog here, I kept thinking that the Pacers would trade back, like the rumors had been speculating the whole week leading up to the draft.

The most prominent rumor I was hearing was the Pacers trading the 13th pick to the Bulls for the 16th and 26th picks.  This would have been a great evening for the Pacers.  I discussed with a few of my friends that Hansbrough was rumored to be in the Pacers' sites and would be a solid pick at 16.  I also said that the possibility of going with a point guard at 16 and a big man at 26 was pretty high....if this trade had actually gone through.  However, in the long run, I think Hansbrough at 16 and then a point or the best available player at 26 would have been the best fit.

So, imagine my surprise when the Pacers picked TH50 with the 13th pick in the draft.  All I could think of was the huge opportunity missed by the Pacers.  Then, the Bulls selected James Johnson and Taj Gibson with the 16th and 26th picks, respectively.  I started to think, "Maybe the trade is still on."  It wasn't on.

The other scenario that started running through my head was when Minnesota selected Ty Lawson with the 18th pick, making him their third point guard on the night.  I started to think that maybe we would trade for the 18th and 28th picks from Minnesota.  That did not happen either, so I went back to stewing on WHY the Pacers didn't make a trade to better their positions.

In an earlier post, a reader said that I had wrote off Hansbrough already.  My thoughts on Hansbrough (as stated in that same post) are that I like his game and that he will be solid player for the team.  However, at the 13th pick, there were a few better options than Hansbrough.  That is why I don't like what the Pacers did with this pick.

Here are a few players that I valued higher than Hansbrough with the 13th pick:

• Ty Lawson
• Jrue Holiday
• Eric Maynor
• James Johnson
• Earl Clark

Lawson, Holiday, and Maynor were all solid point guard prospects and a much better fit for the team with the 13th pick.  Now, if the Pacers wanted to draft for potential, then Holiday would have been the pick here.  I've never been a guy that likes to draft on upside, so my pick would have been Lawson.

Johnson and Clark are/were intriguing to me, because of their ability to play the three and four.  They are both athletic and can take over games for stretches, but the downside is that they also tend to disappear for stretches during the game.  Still though, they had much more value in the draft at the 13th pick than what Hansbrough did.

Ok, I've spent enough time complaining about the pick, so let me give this kid his due credit.  Hansbrough is probably going to go down as one of the greatest college basketball players ever.  Read that again...one of the greatest college basketball players ever.  What is it about this kid that makes him so good?  In my opinion, it is his work ethic.  He is determined to work harder than most anyone else and that shows when he hits the court.  He isn't a one-on-one playground legend and you won't be seeing him in any dunk competitions, but his all around game is very solid.  He has a decent jumper, he can work the low post, he can take a hit and finish, he rebounds well, and runs the floor as fast as he can on every play.  You won't see Hansbrough taking plays off, because that is not what he is about and I absolutely LOVE to see that on the court.  He will be the guy that you want diving for the ball, but you don't want your guy in the pile with him, because nine times out of 10, your guy will lose.  He will be the guy that opposing fans love to hate and the Pacer fans will applaud his hard work and hustle on the court every time.

All-in-all, I like Tyler Hansbrough and I think his addition to the team is good.  I just can't get over the fact that we couldn't improve our team a little more with a move.  Because in the end, that is how teams improve.  You can't hope to sign all the best free agents and blockbuster trades don't happen all the time...outside of this summer so far.

Welcome to Indianapolis Tyler.

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