As the credits rolled on ESPN’s 30 for 30 about the rivalry between Reggie Miller and the New York Knicks, I can’t say I was alone in feeling a panging lack of closure. Those of us who watched as Miller’s Davids battle the Goliaths of New York took special interest in the self-proclaimed “basketball state” even if our own NBA loyalties ultimately lay elsewhere. However, with Miller’s departure and Larry Bird’s inability to create a lasting roster in the wake of Ron Artest’s follies, the atmosphere in Indiana has jailed Pacers fans in the dungeon of the NBA world.
With the exception of Tyler Hansbrough and Roy Hibbert, the Pacers draft picks in the last five years have been a veritable who’s “who?” of interchangeable projects and bench players. Unable to follow in the footsteps of Oklahoma City and Portland, the Pacers have had to look elsewhere for support. Their on-court performance has mirrored the failures of the front office. The Pacers haven’t averaged a positive point disparity with opponents in the last three years and in all other team statistical categories they’ve been absolutely inseparable from the other bench. That stands with good reason as the Pacers have finished 8th, 9th and 10th in the Eastern Conference in consecutive seasons. For all the bad roster moves and draft day decisions, the Pacers have been horribly, terribly average.
That’s not to say the Pacers haven’t been able to scavenge some semblance of hope. Drafting Danny Granger in 2005 was a great choice and he’s played reasonably well even as his usage rate skyrocketed in 2007-2008. The management in Indiana has done a great job keeping salaries down while being able to make it to the playoffs last year. Indiana has the third-lowest team salary for the upcoming season and has just $29.9 million to players on-contract in 2012-13.
To add to the positives, the Pacers worked a little magic at the NBA draft this year securing George Hill in a deal that sent their first and second round draft choices to the San Antonio Spurs. We’ve entered an era of point guard uber-importance in the NBA and the Pacers move to shore up that spot shows they mean business. Hill was an Indiana legend in college and his addition to the roster cost the Pacers a middling draft choice in a weak draft.
That they’ve gone to the well and cleared up both front-office and bench positions is reassuring, too. Frank Vogel was hired on as coach again after spending last year in Indiana and Larry Bird added Phil Jackson protégé Brian Shaw to his bench. Grabbing from the bevy of former Portland Trail Blazer executives out on the market, Bird signed Kevin Pritchard to help out around the office. Vogel, Shaw and Pritchard are all legitimate, big-name hires for the relative obscurity of Indiana and lends me think that the Pacers are finally showing some signs of life after being knocked out cold during the “Malice in the Palace.”
The Pacers roster is ready to make some big moves. Although Bird has said that Roy Hibbert is untouchable, oddly, it seems that he, Darren Collison, Brandon Rush and Tyler Hansbrough are all legitimate trade pieces that could be packaged for someone else – an Andre Iguodala or a Chris Kaman – if the opportunity arose. Even if the Pacers absorbed in the area of $8 million dollars in trade difference they have such a healthy cap situation they would be able to put their remaining space to good use.
The New Orleans Hornets’ David West opted out of his contract to become a free agent in the upcoming offseason and figures to be first on Larry Bird’s list. West’s value is the source of some question due to injury and age concerns but it has been reported that the Pacers are looking to pursue him anyway. Indiana has the biggest chunk of change to spend on West out of most anyone in the league and as we’ve seen in years past, those who don’t conspire together go where the money is better.
The Pacers already have a solid core of reasonably paid role players, a starting point guard and serviceable forward in Granger. As a cherry on top they have a lump of cash to spend on a free agent this offseason. Combine that with the confidence instilled in Frank Vogel and the trade deadline/draft night wizardry of Kevin Pritchard, the Pacers may well return to glory in the next two years. Given their current roster, management and cap space, how could anyone in Indiana at least not be hopeful?
It seems as if fans and indeed, the NBA world has dismissed the Pacers after basking in the bright stage lights cast upon them during the turn of the century as they duked it out with the Knicks. As the Pacers licked their wounds and began to rebuild their franchise, their ownership has finally found their time to pounce after laying in wait for so many years. It’s not sexy for anyone outside of the Pacer fan base to talk about Indiana being a major player in the Eastern Conference, certainly not as the Knicks and Heat begin to form super-teams. Whether big-market fans like it or not, the boys in Indianapolis will once again be threatening the empiric entities of the NBA landscape.
The newest edition to The Hoop Doctors writing staff, Dane Carbaugh is the editor and lead writer of the popular new basketball blog A Young Sabonis. Dane is a published research author and also writes for Dime Magazine and Bleacher Reprt. He can be found on Twitter at @DaneCarbaugh
