Posts tagged ‘Larry Bird’

Well I went on my off-season break…rather abruptly I must add and I apologize for not warning you.  Well with the one month off.  There hasn’t been a lot that has changed with the Pacers situation until today.

Herb Simon supported Larry Bird’s claim that Jamaal Tinsley will no longer be a Pacer. (Finally!) This was already stated by Coach O’Brien as well.  It looks like Tinsley will not play for Indiana next year, there will be no buyout of his contract, but Tinsley will not be sitting at home either.  Those three add up to the Pacers having to trade Jamaal.  The asking price will be very low since the Pacers are stating all of the above.

The Pacers schedule also came out today with a tough start to the season at Detroit, home v. Boston, home v. Pheonix and then at Cleveland.  I like a tough start better than an easy one like the Washington, Miami, Memphis start they had last year.  Nothing out of the ordinary in this schedule.

The next episode will be coming out this week!!

Now the New Era of the Indiana Pacers OFFICIALLY starts.

After weeks of beating around the bush and avoiding questions because of possible league dealt fines, the Pacers can confirm and welcome in the 7 new faces that will now start to shape this franchise.  The Brawl and off-the-court incident riddled team that have been the Pacers over the last half a dozen or so seasons is now completely over with. Larry Bird and David Morway had goals this summer and so far have done well in trying to accomplish them.  They say they still have moves to make, which would be nice since this team is still far from a championship. I am truly excited for next season to see the makeup for this team.  The franchise has brought in high class guys as well as high class players that all fit different roles for the team and will work well with Jim O’Brien.

The Pacers are not going to have Jamaal Tinsley back next year either.  On local talk show Kravitz & Eddie, Coach O’Brien basically reiterated that he could not depend on Tinsley and that he would not be back with the team next season.  This means the Pacers are prepared to buy out the $21.4 million left on his contract if they cannot find a trading partner, which is unlikely.  The GM Morway said they’re multiple teams interested in Tinsley, but I doubt that.

Another rumor being shot around is that even Mike Dunleavy is being shopped around to see what the team could get.  I have no problem with this because Dunleavy had the best season of his career last year, meaning his trade value is high.  Also, the Pacers just picked up another 3 year contract with TJ Ford and Dunleavy has 3 years left with over $29 million to be paid.  If they can get EQUAL value for him this would be another good trade to open up cap space and take advantage of his rising stock.  The franchise must get equal value for him though becuase this team is not nearly as good without him on the  floor.  If a talented or young (or both) big is available I could see the Pacers biting on the deal since they are deep on the wings but struggle in the front court.

In the Next Episode:

-Around the NBA free agency period.

-Tribute to Jermaine O’Neal and where he ranks among Pacer greats.

-Why this Pacers team is closer to winning a championship than people think, but still has work to do.

Well the Pacers might just go against my suspicion of no big deals in the off-season and pull one off.  One that would help their future quite a bit.

J.O. to Toronto for TJ Ford and Rasho Nesterovic (and likely Maceo Baston) and the #17 pick the upcoming NBA draft.

This would hurt the Pacers in the near future but greatly help them in the long run.  If they bring JO back next year, this team will be a decent playoff team in the Eastern Conference, but in a couple seasons they will be worse off than theyare now.  They must go into rebuilding mode right now and getting rid of JO’s huge contract is a big part of that.

This trade would allow the team to see Jamaal Tinsley’s role dwindle a bit because O’Brien says he cannot depend on him.  TJ Ford is a solid starting point guard when he is healthy.  Sadly this team will have to take a chance on him staying healthy. At the end of last year he played with a little more caution than the wreckless abandon he played with his first couple years and was just as effective.  This will have to be his mindset if he is to stay healthy throughout his career.  He is a player that is very skilled at running an offense especially an up tempo one like the Pacers have. What better way for an undersized Texas point guard to learn than from someone with similar hurdles?  (Meaning I think the Pacers will take DJ Augustine no matter if this trade is made or not)

Rasho Nesterovic maybe the best part of this deal.  Playing wise, he will give the Pacers another big body to contend down low since David Harrison is so unpredictable.  He will help this team defensively on the blocks, but he is nothing special on offense to say the least.  Nesterovic is due to get $8.5 million next season, but his contract expires after next season.  That is the part I love best about this deal.  The Pacers need cap room in order to bring in some big free agents or a host of young players.  They already have two other huge contracts in Troy Murphy and Mike Dunleavy who are both signed through the 2010-2011 season along with Jamaal Tinsley right there only a few million behind them.  Murphy and Dunleavy will be near impossible to move in a trade. (Combined they are owed over $22 million in 2010-2011)  I don’t think Tom Cruise could even pull that mission off.

If the Pacers make this trade, They will only have $47.9 million in contracts past next season (Both Baston and Nesterovic’s contracts expire after next year).  They will have a team option on Marquis Daniels, but I doubt they’ll pick that up.  This will leave them in prime shape to sign a big free agent in ‘09 or ‘10, both off-seasons that will have a lot of stars available.

Here are possibilities to sign after next season: Andre Igoudala, Andre Miller, Stephon Marbury, Steve Francis, Shawn Marion, Mike Bibby, Kevin Martin, Carlos Boozer, Gilbert Arenas, Josh Smith, Al Jefferson, Emeka Okafor, Ben Gordon, Drew Gooden, Allen Iverson, JR Smith, Rasheed Wallace, Baron Davis, Andris Biedrins, Elton Brand, Shaun Livingston, Lamar Odom, Kevin Garnett, Jason Kidd, Dwight Howard and Jameer Nelson.

A lot of those players are coming off of their rookie contracts and are unlikely to sign with other teams, but if the price is right, you never know. Others are likely to never leave because their team will outbid any other teamt oget them, but there are still very good options.

If the Pacers choose to pass on a big free agent after next year, even more stars are available after th 09-10 season: Lebron James, Joe Johnson, Josh Howard, Dirk Nowitzki, Rip Hamilton, Al Harrington, Tracy McGrady, Cuttino Mobley, Kobe Bryant, Mike Miller, Dwyane Wade, Andrew Bogut, Chris Paul, Hedo Turkoglu, Amare Stoudamire, Steve Nash, Tim Duncan, Manu Ginobili, Ray Allen, Chris Bosh, Deron Williams and Andrew Bynum.

That class obviously has more stars available and might be the best path for the Pacers, especially since they would only have 4 players under contract beyond 09-10.

To round out this trade is the #17 pick which will probably be used for a big man.  If Darrell Arthur slips down to there, which I doubt, I think the Pacers would take him.  Bird says he is the most talented big man outside of Beasley.  Other option are Roy Hibbert (I hope not!), Kosta Koufos (good fitin offense), DeAndre Jordan (Huge upside but little motivation), Javale McGee (Huge Upside but raw), and Mareese Speights (same as McGee).  At least one if not more of those big man should be available at #17 if this deal gows down.

Summary: This trade may cost the Pacers a playoff spot next season and maybe even the year after that, but a couple years down the road, they will have room to make some huge moves and revamp this franchise with the use of cap space and draft picks.  This trade could be the cornerstone of future franchise success.  Hopefully, this will go down, but there is still the possibility that Larry Legend will come up short of expectations yet again with off-season moves.  Will he be remembered as a Isaiah Thoms or a Danny Ainge type of Player-GM?

When has Larry Bird ever brought this franchise luck??  Never to my recollection.

The NBA Draft did not go as well as hoped but the Pacers did end up with the 11th pick overall.  The sad part is the prospect of possibly facing Beasley or Rose for the next decade or so in Chicago.  That could not get any worse for this team.  The rest of my post lottery reactions and predictions will be up tomorrow in the next episode of the pacerscast.  Make sure you check it out.

Donnie Walsh is leaving after this year. I realize he was looking at leaving the Pacers for a few years now but it seems to me he chose the worst time to leave. He was ana amazing GM and CEO that led the Pacers to 6 Eastern Conference Finals and the 2000 NBA Finals. He constantly revamped the lineup keeping the team competitive. He assembled one of the best and most loved roster in Pacers history with Mark Jackson, Reggie Miller, Derrick McKey, Antonio Davis, Dale Davis and Rik Smits. Also, he did a good job of working in young players like Al Harrington and Jalen Rose into the mix as the group aged. After the 2000 finals, he pulled a move that would again revitalize the franchise. A move the franchise is still relying on. He traded Dale Davis for Jermaine O’Neal, which in hindsight is an obvious benefit for the Pacers but at the time it wasn’t so clear. O’Neal was unproven at the time and Dale was loved by the people of Indiana. Walsh trusted his scouts and his ability to see talent (i.e. 1987 draft: Reggie Miller over Steve Alford) In 2002, Walsh again traded aging veterans for young talent and made it pay off when he got rid of Travis Best, Jalen Rose, Norm Richardson and a couple draft picks for Ron Artest, Brad Miller, Kevin Ollie and one other. This would be the start of the Pacers climb back up to the top of the Eastern Conference with a roster with Reggie Miller, Stephen Jackson, Ron Artest, Jermaine O’Neal and Brad Miller. They constantly challenged Detroit for the Beast of the East title. All-in-all Walsh was a great GM and CEO that had a knack of bringing in young talent and making it pay off in Ws. It is the end of another era for the Pacers leaving the franchise wide open to make a new legacy (good or bad) for itself.

Now enough of the nostalgia, the real question is whether this is good for the team. I would say an emphatic NO. The Simons left Larry Bird with all the player personnel power, which I do not think is a good idea because of his track record. He brought in Sarunus Jasikevicius and guaranteed him a three year deal and now where is he? Back in Europe where he should have been all along. You remember the play of James White?? Neither do I. Probably becaus he never starred for the Pacers even after Bird gave him a guaranteed two year deal for a 2nd round pick. Now he’s brought in Travis Diener to be the backup for Jamaal Tinsley. I have never really been a fan of Diener because he does not have the ability to score or defend consistently in the NBA. In my mind, those are three bad decisions solely on Bird’s shoulders. None of those give me confidence. If his best move as GM so far is bringing in Travis Diener, that’s not much to hang your hat on. Bird said he always had people doubting him when he played and the pressure hasn’t changed now, but I don’t think people questioned his decision making when he led the Celtics to multiple championships.

If it isn’t obvious yet, I would have prefered Walsh to stay and Bird to go. I realize shakeups needed to be done but I wish this was not what was going to be shook up. Bird has done nothing besides be “Larry Legend” during his time as team President. Just like M.J. and Isaiah, I don’t think Bird is cut out for being in the front office. Hopefully he proves me wrong and makes some moves in the off-season to help this team.