Indiana Pacers pick Duke guard Cassius Stanley at No. 54

The Indiana Pacers took Duke guard Cassius Stanley with their only draft pick Wednesday night, selecting him with the 54th overall pick.

Pacers president of basketball operations Kevin Pritchard dealt Indiana's first-round pick to Phoenix during the 2019 draft in exchange for forward T.J. Warren.

Stanley started all 29 games as a freshman at Duke last season, averaging 12.6 points, 4.9 rebounds and 0.7 steals before entering the draft.

The 6-foot-6, 193-pound shooting guard joins a team that has been swept in the first round of the playoffs three of the past four seasons and that made a coaching change after its most recent early exit. Coach Nate Bjorkgren was hired in October after spending the previous two seasons as an assistant on Nick Nurse's staff in Toronto. The Raptors won their first NBA title in 2018-19.

It's not clear what role — if any — Stanley will play next season or whether he may spend most of the season playing for the Fort Wayne Mad Ants, Indiana's affiliate in the G-League to work on his game.

Image credits: AP