Lance Stephenson left the Pacers because he felt slighted by the 5-year, $44M offer. That would’ve paid him roughly $9M per year. Instead, he took the Hornets’ 3-year, $27M offer which will pay him $9M per year. His rationale was that he didn’t way to make so little for such a long period of time. At the end of the day, his next contract will probably pay him…$9M per year.
In response to Lance’s departure, the Pacers have signed Rodney Stuckey to fill that void. Stuckey is very talented and should help out immediately.
With Lance Stephenson signing with the Charlotte Hornets and the Evan Turner experiment ending up as a disaster last season, the Indiana Pacers now have a huge hole to fill in their backcourt. Stephenson was a huge part of the team’s attack on both ends of the floor and with the East being so wide-open with the change of the landscape following LeBron’s decision, the Pacers can’t squander a potential opportunity here. They’re looking toward a former Detroit Pistons’ guard to fill that void.
Marc Stein of ESPN.com is reporting the Pacers are expressing interest in guard Rodney Stuckey to join George Hill in a suddenly thin backcourt. Stuckey has spent all seven seasons of his career so far with the Pistons, but with the new direction the team is taking behind Stan Van Gundy, the guard from Washington State has been made expendable.
H/T: CBS Sports
