The Indiana Pacers made a calculated move during Thursday's NBA Draft, ascending one spot to secure Kansas' Johnny Furphy at the 35th overall pick, as the team executed a trade with the San Antonio Spurs, forgoing their 36th pick, Juan Núñez, in exchange for the rights to the sharpshooter; this was reported by FOX59.
At 6’8″ and 189 pounds, the former Jayhawk standout contributed an average of 9 points and nearly 5 rebounds per game during the 2023-24 season and his journey in collegiate basketball, which was short-lived as he entered the NBA after just one freshman year, attracted attention with many pundits suggesting a first-round placement, which slid to the second for the Pacers to shine their pick on him as ESPN Draft Expert Jonathan Givony characterized Furphy with a "willingness to play with intensity" in his game-changing performance for Kansas’ offense, remarks found in his analysis on the draftee. Indiana didn't stop with Furphy, as they continued to bolster their squad through their subsequent second-round selections, adding two more players, a guard, and a forward, to their roster.
Following Furphy into the Pacers camp, they grabbed Newton with the 49th pick, a point guard whose successes include back-to-back national championships with the UConn Huskies and personal accolades such as the Big East Player of the Year; Newton stacked an impressive 15.1 points, 6.6 rebounds, and 6.2 assists per game, according to WANE.com.
"I can contribute to the game in so many ways," Newton stated, revealing his readiness to flex his all-around skill set, he rather humbly expressed his desire for a robust game rather than a scoring-centric focus which may seem like an approach that counts defense, assists, rebounds, steals as well as he conveyed this in a pre-draft workout for Indiana on June 18, sentiments echoed in a story by NBA.com.
Completing the Pacers' draft moves, Enrique Freeman out of Akron was snatched up with the 50th pick, the 6-foot-7-inch forward having led his team with 18.6 points and a notable 12.9 rebounds per game during the past season, a statistic that hints at the expanding talent base Indiana seeks in the nurturing of its team's competitive edge for the upcoming NBA campaigns..
