ESPN\u2019s latest mock draft<\/a> has Sharp being picked 56th overall.<\/p>\n\u201cNot really,\u201d Sharp said when asked if it crosses his mind that he\u2019s working out for a team without a draft pick. \u201cEverywhere you go, you\u2019re being evaluated. That\u2019s how I approach it. It\u2019s not whether the team has a draft pick.\u201d<\/p>\n
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KANSAS CITY, MO – MARCH 15: Houston Cougars guard Emanuel Sharp (21) smiles after making a three in the second half of a Big 12 tournament semifinal game between the Texas Tech Red Raiders and Houston Cougars on Mar 15, 2024 at T-Mobile Center in Kansas City, MO. (Photo by Scott Winters\/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)<\/p>\n
Icon Sportswire via Getty Images<\/p>\n
Workouts will continue for the Pacers in the coming week. Despite not presently owning a pick, they could acquire one \u2013 and they\u2019ve been an active trade team in recent drafts. In both 2025 and 2024, they traded into the second round or moved up within it while not possessing a first-round selection. They\u2019ve moved second-round picks several years in a row, even beyond those two. Even though they do not currently own a2026 selection, the Pacers could ultimately land one.<\/p>\n
That makes studying the prospects all the more important. Over the years, the Pacers have seen most of the to-be rookies play. They have a general understanding of their abilities. But meeting them, seeing how they respond to coaching and certain drills, and testing their conditioning provides additional insight.<\/p>\n
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North Carolina\u2019s Seth Trimble described the Pacers workout setting as fast paced. There were shooting drills, too, and various sized scrimmages. Trimble praised the efficiency and structure of the workout, which was his second with an NBA team.<\/p>\n
Trimble, and other prospects who spoke with gathered media after their Pacers workout, also pointed to communication and conditioning as skills he felt were important throughout the workout. Those traits are generally important on any NBA roster, but perhaps more so with Indiana. They play fast and have a tight-knit team environment.<\/p>\n
The intensity of the pre-draft sessions stands out as the prospects talk to reporters. They are often dripping with sweat and still catching their breath as they reflect on what the Pacers just put them through. \u201cIt was pretty tough,\u201d MJ Collins said of his Pacers workout. \u201cIt\u2019s a blessing to make it through\u2026 you\u2019re just trying to push through. It\u2019s a job interview.\u201d<\/p>\n
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In that way, the Pacers are making their pre-draft workouts as valuable as they can. They need to know who is right for their system and culture \u2013 both for the present if they do add a rookie, and for the future if they acquire one of these talents down the line. For the prospects, it adds to the pressure that NBA legend and franchise consultant Larry Bird is sitting courtside to watch while they audition.<\/p>\n
\u201cI wasn\u2019t expecting him to come through,\u201d DeVries said. \u201cIt\u2019s pretty special.\u201d<\/p>\n
The NBA Draft, now a two day event, will take place on June 23 and 24. Whether the Pacers make a selection or not, they\u2019ll be prepared.<\/p>\n
This article was originally published on Forbes.com<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"INDIANAPOLIS \u2013 As May approaches its conclusion, NBA teams are finalizing their pre-draft preparation ahead of the 2026…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":749050,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3774],"tags":[6251,7,670,3467,14883,568,292,2811,113,6523,126,3866,6,12,1408,114,471,7952],"class_list":["post-749049","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-indiana-pacers","tag-aaron-holiday","tag-basketball","tag-brooklyn","tag-draft-pick","tag-emanuel-sharp","tag-getty-images","tag-houston","tag-houston-cougars","tag-indiana","tag-indiana-hoosiers","tag-indiana-pacers","tag-indianapacers","tag-nba","tag-nba-draft","tag-nba-teams","tag-pacers","tag-portland-trail-blazers","tag-tucker-devries"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nba\/116670899408740818","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/749049","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=749049"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/749049\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/749050"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=749049"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=749049"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=749049"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}