Larry Bird and Tyler Hansbrough Don't Care What You Think

But answer me this…if Danny Granger doesn’t MIRACULOUSLY fall to us a few years ago, how bad is this team? Wouldn’t Bird be long gone by now?

I’m frustrated as a fan and it’s not just this draft. This just happens to be my tipping point. I’ve disagreed with every draft pick outside of Granger that this team has made since I’ve been a fan (‘97). Every single one. And you know what? With the possible exception of Al Harrington, I’ve been correct in questioning them (though I’ll point out he cost us a two 1st rounders and I’ll reserve judgment on Hibbert).

Additionally, I’ve disagreed with almost every post-Brawl trade (the only ones I’ve agreed with were my least favorite pick ever [Shawne] being shipped and dumping an injured O’Neal). And guess what? The trades haven’t worked out either.

Sure, I hope I’m wrong and this is a great draft class we just had, but why be optimistic? What proof do we have that this team is even an adequate judge of talent. My gut has been right so much more often then theirs that they’re essentially guilty until proven innocent at this point in my books.

And what’s worse is I cheer for equally inept front offices in other sports. The Mariners paid top dollar to the Richie Sexsons, Carlos Silvas, and Jerrod Washburns of the world while trading their entire farm system for Eric Bedard. The Broncos just traded away one of the best QBs in the league when their strength was offense and their holes were on defense. Why do I invest so much of myself in such inept franchses?

I hate sports sometimes. I really do.

Tyler is not going to be the player people think he will be.

Tyler is too slow to play professional defense. I expect to see him embarrassed regularly for several years on the court. Imagine how Dwight Howard will be blocking his shot off his forehead regularly.

AJ Price?!!?!!? are you kidding me, won’t even make the team, he cant shoot and he is too small and slow to play defense

It was a bad run Larry, sorry JOB you’re only as good as the players you have to work with.
We now have the least athletic team in the league.

Thank G that both of them have no more year on their contract. I really hope we can get a GM and a coach that will keep Danny Granger here after his contract is up. Because I don’t see a winning run back to the playoffs after last night.

That’s great that Bird doesn’t care what I think about his draft, it’s apparent that the Pacers have more than enough fans who will pay to see their product on the court. Wait, never mind the team is going bankrupt isn’t it? Oh so maybe they should care what the fans think of their draft pick, they are wanting my money, aren’t they?

Personally I think they can take this draft and shove it. They got nothing in either round I care to see on the court. A.J. is a scumbag who has been arrested multiple times and Hansbrough was loathed by almost every non-Carolina fan in the country. I can’t even fake an interest in watching these two guys play basketball.

At this point I’m starting to wonder if my unconditional love of the Pacers is a good thing or not. Maybe I shouldn’t be so loyal to this franchise. They’ve never won a title and they haven’t even been relevant in four years. Why should I be bound to this team just because I’m from Indiana. So I think I’m going to become a free agent fan this year. I’ll still follow the Pacers but I’m entertaining the notion of moving on. It’s obvious at this point the Pacers and I want different things in life. I want titles and it wants to be a borderline playoff team. It’s probably time I start at least playing the field a little bit.

Right now I got my eyes on the Thunder. Yeah their name sucks and the city isn’t much better but I like how they carry themselves. They’re young and have a lot of nice players, including two former Hoosiers who I so badly wanted to see in a Pacer uni. Maybe they can lure me away from Pacer land. I’m not sure, but I’m willing to let them take me on a few dates, buy me some drinks and see where it leads. I’m not saying I’m gonna go to bed with them, but I’m entertaining the idea.

But, I can’t abandon the Pacers. I’ve been with them too long to quit. (Maybe I just need an extra shot of aboslute in my morning coffee and I’ll be ok.)

I think it’s wise to actually let Hansbrough fail before declaring him a failure. But I’m just rational that way.

An actual e-mail I received from a buddy this morning,

“In other news from the Indiana Pacers war room, Matt Kleinmann, 5th string center from the University of Kansas, has been signed to a 3-year guaranteed free agent deal. Said, Larry Bird, Pacers president of basketball operations, “We really couldn’t believe that a player of Matt Kleinmann’s ability went undrafted. It was hard to pass on him in the second round, but the team really could use some new laptops and I felt A.J. Price was someone who could definitely step up and help us in that department from day one. Getting three players of the quality and/or character of Tyler, A.J. and Matt should put us over the top next year.”
 
At least this brought a laugh to the situation.

Hansboro
Rush
Hibbert

Should be able to fill out the 6th,7th and 8th spots in an NBA rotation.

Now we just need to find 4 starters to put around Danny Granger.

I think we have to be honest here that the Pacers are no where near ready to play for a championship. What sense does it make to draft a high risk player when the pieces around him are not in place? Look at Cleveland. LeBron James is arguably the best player in the NBA, depending on who you ask. But Cleveland hasn’t been able to win a championship because there is no support cast. That is what I think the Pacers are doing. Getting their pieces in place before moving on to the high-risk player. Drafting a bust can set a franchise back years, and it has happened to the Pacers over and over. When you are rebuilding, you play it safe and you don’t gamble. This is a good pick. I would rather have Hansbrough than another Jonathan Bender.

So with the light of day, I figure this pick as it is, and what it is, and why it is.

To look at this optimistically, as strange as it feels as I read Candide by Voltaire again, what I see is a draft I was never big on. I hated this draft. I thought it was a terrible draft from the outset, and it’s a terrible draft in hindsight. We were largely fed this “possible upside” for various players, but it was a shallow draft, a draft where even the #1 pick probably won’t go higher than 5 in 07 or 08.

There are some players that have a shot at being really good, but the issue is that they were all gone. All of them. I never much cared for DeJuan Blair. I didn’t get the fascination beyond his rebounding ability, and Indiana has rebounding ability. The only player I really felt I wanted to use a late lottery pick on was Brandon Jennings, and when he went off the board, I was scrambling. I had no backup plan for Jennings, because I didn’t like anyone that was going to be there except for Jennings.

So when Jennings went off the board, my entire draft went off the board. I didn’t really want Jrue Holiday, but I could’ve been convinced he was our guy. I didn’t really want Blair, but I could’ve been convinced he was our guy. I didn’t want Lawson, I wasn’t really excited about Maynor or Teague. I just…didn’t like this draft.

The real shock of course came when it was Tyler Hansbrough, the one guy I wanted less than any other. And it had nothing to do with his ability to perform. Unlike other guys, who are a beacon of potential, Tyler is the anti-potential. And there’s a lot of fun in the draft for pulling for potential.

It’s going to be a slow process, but we’re working with depth with higher picks in bad drafts. There will be players drafted above Hansbrough that are going to be gone before him. It’s not a fun way to build a team, but I feel I can be at peace with the pick for the long term.

First off…the draft was amazing last night, and this year marked the beginning of a long streak of me-going-to-drafts, i can guarantee that. I know I have said it a million times that I am a Carolina Fan, and i watch as much as I can of them on national TV and read up on them and blah blah blah. my mind was in a tornado last night when this pick was announced. My favorite college player getting picked by my favorite pro team, except i didnt want him necessarily. (i compared it to getting kicked in the balls but still ejaculating, you figure it out) I loved Hansbrough to death, and have probably argued pro-Hansbrough 8 million times over the last 4 years. Here’s the deal with him (IMHO). The guy is a MUCH better basketball player than he has ever been given credit for, the records he has broken (most notably all-time acc leading scorer), the touch from the line, the WAY IMPROVED mid range jumper, and even the ability to hit those crazy ass ugly shots. I used to think those were alot of luck, but u know what? After seeeing it time and time and time and time again, it is not luck, this is how he plays. That is how he shoots, and it is hard to argue with the results. But, even though it has been discussed at length, his tenacity. I literally have never seen anyone at any level goes as hard as he goes at all times. It sounds so cliche, but I really believe it this time. If you were a coach showing a player how to go hard at all times, is there one other player you could think of that you would show video of? He is the most intense focused dude ever. And last night proved it. My little cousin is a HUGE hansbrough fan, and the whole reason he wanted to go to the draft was to see him. Long story short, the 4 of us ended up getting backstage, met Hansbrough and Roy Williams, and actually took NBA photos with them during their photo shoot. I have never in my life met somoene so just intense. 10 minutes prior we were hanging with Steph and Dell Curry and his family, and Steph was one of the most chill, likable personable “celebrities” I ever met. Real Easy going. Tyler was a whole different story. He was not mean or being a dick by any means, he just really had that look in his eye like he wanted to box me out and be the first one in the picture.

I wanted Jennings, I know everyone wanted Holliday when he fell, and I thought Blair would be the pick. We got Hansbrough. He wont slack off, but is that good enough? I think we will be impressed by him, I really do. Not saying he will be an all-star, and i know we REALLY need some talent. But I think Bird has something coming, and Hansbrough will be staying. For now though, we have to welcome him with open arms, and enjoy watching him every day. As for becoming an OKC fan, for whoever wrote that before, last year my second team was portland, this year it is OKC. When I was in vegas 2 weeks ago, i put 10 bucks for me and my friend on OKC to win it all at 250 to 1 lol. And i also put 10 on indiana at 45-1. When it comes down to it, i dont know how mad I am at the pick, I think Bird will take risks when he has to, but do u necessarily have to go all in when its not really a big pot?

Because drafting Hansbrough did nothing to make me want to go to a Pacers game.

Drafting Lawson would have.

Simple as that.