INDIANAPOLIS — The 2024 NBA Draft begins next week, and the Indiana Pacers just wrapped up their final pre-draft workout on Thursday. They are trying to prepare for an odd reality in which they have three picks, yet all of them are in the second round.

This year is the first in which the NBA Draft will hold the draft over two nights. It will be on June 26 and 27, and the blue and gold will make their selections on night two, barring trades. “We’re not approaching it any different as far as our preparation,” general manager Chad Buchanan said of the draft late last month.

Indiana will first pick at 36th overall, then will select twice in a row at 49th and 50th. They may be able to get a rostered player with their best pick, but their draft night could largely be about two-way contracts, draft rights, or finding future draft picks in deals.

“With pick 36, we’ll probably try to get the best player we can get,” Buchanan said. The team understands that they are limited in some ways.

Because the Pacers don’t pick until later in the proceedings, there hasn’t been much in terms of reporting or rumors from connected insiders about their draft strategy so far. However, with one week until the selections are made, news will continue to leak out about Indiana, and other franchises, in the coming days.

Here is what has been reported about the Pacers so far ahead of the 2024 NBA Draft.

Mock drafts

Many mock drafts have come out in recent weeks, which is the case every draft cycle. A quick glance over many of them reveals some themes and repeated names.

Report(s) from 2023 say the Pacers are high on Bobi Klintman

A report last year from Michael Scotto in HoopsHype explained that some figures at the 2023 NBA Draft combine believed that the Pacers were high on Bobi Klintman, who played at Wake Forest during the season prior. The Swedish wing dropped out of that draft cycle despite reports of the Pacers giving him a draft promise and is now eligible for the 2024 NBA Draft.

The Pacers have their own picks and many extra future picks to make a trade if they are so inclined since their roster is largely full. This post will be updated.

The Indiana Office of Community and Rural Affairs (OCRA) announced Thursday that over $300,000 dollars in planning grants will be distributed across five Indiana communities.

The funds, which come from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s Community Development Block Grant Program, will go toward long-term community development planning and utility improvements.

OCRA said $87,280 in water infrastructure planning grants will go to the city of Rushville, $60,000 to the town of Sweetser in Grant County, and $90,000 to the town of West Terre Haute. The money will be used to study potential issues in drinking, wastewater, and stormwater infrastructure.

The town of Eaton in Delaware County and the town of Moores Hill in Dearborn County are each
being awarded $50,000 in Community Planning Grants, which are intended to evaluate and address needs regarding land use, public services, placemaking, economic development, housing, transportation, agriculture, natural resources, broadband access, and historic resources.

“Congratulations to these five communities on their hard work to earn Planning Grant funding,” OCRA Executive Director Duke Bennett said in a news release. “I encourage more communities to look into the many benefits of utilizing Planning Grant funding to best prepare for community development projects.”

OCRA planning grants are issued quarterly, and rural Indiana communities may apply for funds to support infrastructure improvement and planning projects.

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Buc-ee’s, a chain of travel centers with fuel and charging stations, a variety of foods and “the cleanest restrooms in America,” is popping up in some areas not far from the Hoosier state.

Hoosiers may not have their own location, but Buc-ee’s is just a road trip away.

Buc-ee’s The second Buc-ee’s store in Kentucky is opening sooner than you think. Here’s when

Buc-ee’s locations near Indiana

As previously reported by The Courier Journal, a second Buc-ee’s location is set to open in Kentucky in Smiths Grove near Bowling Green on June 24. There’s also one in Richmond that opened in 2022. Here’s how far of a drive it is to get to these locations from downtown Indianapolis.

Is Buc-ee’s coming to Indiana?

As of Thursday, June 20, Buc-ee’s has no immediate plans to open travel center locations in Indiana. The chain is introducing a second location in Kentucky on Monday. According to the company website, the chain plans to add stores in the following locations.

• Amarillo, Texas 2025
• Harrison County, Mississippi 2025
• Brunswick, Georgia 2025
• Rockingham County, Virginia 2026
• Boerne, Texas 2026