Braden Smith is staying out of college and moving ahead with his pro career after a judge ruled this past week to extend college eligibility from four years to five.
That ruling only added to the confusion around college basketball, where international players, former NBA players and now even recently drafted prospects can all end up back in the college game. Smith, though, won’t be part of that wave. Even with the chance to return to Purdue, the NCAA leader in assists will not use the fifth year and will instead continue with the Indiana Pacers.
There had been some concern that Smith might leave the NBA path entirely, especially since he still has not signed a contract. He is one of the few remaining drafted players in that situation. The Pacers took him with the 38th overall pick just a few weeks ago, sending Kam Jones and two pick swaps to get the diminutive guard they believe can serve as a third-string answer behind TJ McConnell if needed.
They are basically the same height at least.
Smith, listed at 5'10, did not exactly lock down that role at Las Vegas Summer League. The Pacers weren’t expected to make much of a run, and their 2-3 record reflected a roster short on real NBA talent. Smith was part of that issue.
For now, the Boilermaker legend is expected to spend most of the next year or more with the Noblesville Boom, Indiana’s G-League affiliate. Even so, he could still become a difference-maker. Summer league results have never been a reliable way to measure who can actually play at the NBA level.
But the bigger picture is where this gets messy.
College basketball is already drifting into strange territory, and there doesn’t seem to be a clear stopping point. Former first-round picks are going back to programs they faced years ago.
Players in their late 20s are coming over from Euroleague play to chase NIL money. Recently drafted prospects are backing out of the NBA to spend another year in college.
It’s a wild setup.
For the Pacers and the NBA more broadly, the draft pool is getting thinner, and fast. The middle class of the NBA draft, as one way to put it, has basically vanished.
Some will frame that as the end of the one-and-done era and a return to longer college commitments, but that’s not really what’s happening. It’s an evolution.
The best players still go to the draft to become lottery picks and chase their pro dreams. The late first-round and early second-round types, though, are no longer just one- or two-year college players trying to land the right contract and situation.
They’re increasingly players who have simply aged out of college eligibility.
That creates an odd irony: lottery picks become even more valuable, while late first-round picks start looking a lot like second-rounders.
At some point, it becomes either the end of the NBA draft sleeper, or the end of age as an important part of the evaluation process.
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Andrew Nembhard has become one of those players every contender hates to think about losing, the kind of steady, valuable guard who tends to matter more than his box score. For Indiana, though, this summer may be less about appreciation than arithmetic. The Pacers are trying to balance a roster that still has room to grow with a financial picture that is getting crowded fast, and Nembhard sits right in the middle of that squeeze.
Multiple extensions are coming due, and the choices the front office makes on one player could ripple into the next decision. Indiana also has to weigh the cost of keeping its core intact against the need to preserve flexibility, which is why a player as useful as Nembhard is suddenly part of a much bigger conversation than just on-court fit. Even with his importance clear, the Pacers may not be able to keep every piece they want. [Read more 🡒]
Pacers Rookie Braden Smith Just Made His NBA Future Clear
Braden Smiths path to the Pacers was already unusual enough before the latest wrinkle. Indiana took the rookie point guard with the No. 38 pick after acquiring that selection from the Chicago Bulls, and he arrived with a college resume that made him one of the more intriguing backcourt bets in the class after setting the NCAA Division I assists record at Purdue.
Now Smith has made his direction clear. Even with an injunction opening the door to a fifth year of eligibility for the Class of 2022, he is leaning fully into his NBA future and keeping his attention on earning his place in Indiana. For the Pacers, that removes one lingering question about a young guard whose passing ability has long been his calling card, and it lets the team move forward with a better sense of where his focus is headed. [Read more 🡒]