Pacers Reveal Intriguing Plan for Braden Smith’s Rookie Season

INDIANAPOLIS -- Braden Smith spent four years at Purdue being asked to run a basketball team. His first professional season will require him to learn something different.

How to make an impact when he isn't always the one in control.

Indiana Pacers general manager Chad Buchanan and assistant general manager Ted Wu met with reporters Thursday afternoon for their annual preseason press conference, touching on a number of topics with training camp approaching.

Among them was the development plan for Smith, the former Purdue point guard who Indiana selected with the No. 38 pick in June.

Smith is expected to spend much of his rookie season with the Noblesville Boom, the Pacers' G League affiliate. Both Smith and Buchanan have acknowledged as much in previous interviews this summer.

The question now is what Indiana wants those months in Noblesville to look like.

At Purdue, Smith rarely left the floor. He averaged nearly 38 minutes per game during his senior season and was responsible for initiating the offense, creating opportunities for teammates and controlling the tempo.

That won't be his role with the Pacers, at least not initially.

Buchanan has previously discussed Smith learning from veteran guard T.J. Mcconnell, whose value comes from his abilitly to enter a game and immediately change its complexion. McConnell doesn't need 35 minutes to find his rhythm. He can play six or seven minutes at a time, push the pace, pressure the basketball and give Indiana productive minutes before returning to the bench.

That creates an intersting developmental question for Smith.

Should the Boom attempt to replicate the role Smith may eventually have with the Pacers, using him in shorter stretches off the bench? Or is there greater value in giving him as many minutes and possession as possbile while he devleops?

For Buchanan, the answer is the latter.

"Yeah, I always feel like the more you play, the better it is for development,' Buchanan said. "I totally understand what you're saying. Do you want him to play the same role with the Boom as he would likely play for us? I think the more reps he gets with the Boom, the more it prepares him for whatever minutes he would eventually get with the Pacers. So, I'd like to see him play as much as he can when he's with the Boom."

The Pacers aren't asking Smith to use the G League to perfect a limited role. They want him to use it to expand his game and adjust to the speed required at the professional level.

That, Buchanan said, is an important part of Smith's transition.

"One thing I go back to with his development is learning to play fast with us," Buchanan said. "I think that's something he's trying to adapt to, is playing faster than he was accustomed to maybe at Purdue. But I think that's where you get those reps in a Boom game."

Smith played fast at Purdue in the sense that he could push the ball and create in transition, but the Pacers operate at a different speed. Decisions have to come quicker. Passing windows disappear faster. There is less time to survey the floor, and Indiana's offense places a premium on advancing the basketball and attacking before the defense can get set.

The G League should provide Smith with an opportunity to make those adjustments without sacrificing playing time.

And Indianan appears to want plenty of it.

"Over the course of, if he gets 40, 45 games with the Boom, you get that many minutes, that many possessions, "Buchanan said. "That'll prepare him for the future when he has to step into a role that's different than that."

That final point may be the most important.

The Pacers know Smith's eventual NBA role won't resemble the one he had at Purdue. He won't arrive on the floor and immediately be handed control of the offense for nearly 40 minutes.

But Indiana doesn't believe the best way to prepare him for a smaller role is by giving him fewer opportunities.

For now, the Pacers want Smith playing, handling the ball, making decisions and learning to operate at their preferred pace. If the day comes when they need him for a six-minute stretch off the bench, the hope is that hundreds of possessions in Noblesville will have prepared him for it.

Smith's role may eventually become smaller, but the Pacers want his developmental workload to be anything but.

You can follow me on X @AlexGoldenNBA and listen to my daily podcast, Setting The Pace, wherever you get your podcasts.

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