Could UW’s Davis join Haliburton in Indy?
INDIANAPOLIS - The shoes were teal, and the shoelaces purple. Unless the shoes were aqua, and the laces magenta. Hard to say what, exactly, was on the feet of 6-foot-5 Wisconsin guard Johnny Davis during a private workout with the Indiana Pacers this week. Hard to say what, exactly, we were looking at.
That’s what these workouts are all about. NBA draft prospects come to town, roughly the same size and shape, and it makes you wonder: What’s the difference between teal and aqua? Purple and magenta? Johnny Davis and A.J. Griffin?
The Pacers will make that decision June 23 at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, the date and location of the 2022 NBA draft, and their decision with the No. 6 overall pick won’t be limited to Johnny Davis vs. A.J. Griffin, the 6-6 Duke freshman, who was also in for a workout this week. The Pacers clearly want a backcourt running mate for point guard Tyrese Haliburton – another Wisconsin native, from Oshkosh – and other candidates include 6-6 Bennedict Mathurin of Arizona and 6-6 Dyson Daniels of the G League Ignite, who also have been in for workouts. Two other possibilities: 6-5 Shaedon Sharpe of Ontario, Canada, and 6-8 Keegan Murray of Iowa.
Jaden Ivey of Purdue? Only if the Pacers, who have more assets than usual, trade up to get him. Ivey definitely won’t be there at No. 6, probably not at No. 5, and might not at No. 4. The top three overall draft prospects are bigger forwards: 6-10 Jabari Smith of Auburn, 6-10 Paolo Banchero of Duke and 7-1 Chet Holmgren of Gonzaga.
Among shooting guards, the 6-4 Ivey is the closest thing to a sure thing in this draft. After Ivey it’s a question of taste and preference. It’s magenta unless it’s purple unless it’s mauve.
Davis could be better than Griffin. Mathurin could be better than both. Sharpe could be best of all.
Then again … maybe Johnny Davis’ shoes weren’t aqua or teal. Maybe they were turquoise.
So hard to know.