IC Cold Links: Wrapping Up Jack's Departure, O'Brien Up To Speed

by Tom Lewis on Jul 21, 2009 6:35 AM EDT in News Comment 5 comments

While Jim O'Brien took a special tour of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, the Indiana Pacers offered their final good-bye's to Jarrett Jack. Indy Star reporter, Mike Wells also had some interesting nuggets of info to share which should wrap up Jack's departure from Indy. This and more after the jump.

Pacers don't match Toronto's offer for Jack
Bruno's Caught in the Web offers the final word on Jarrett Jack from Pacers' Pres, Larry Bird.
"It was a very difficult decision because Jarrett proved last season what he can bring to a team," said Pacers President of Basketball Larry Bird in a statement released by the team. "We thank Jarrett for his contributions to the Pacers, both on and off the court, and wish him the best in Toronto."
The Pacers are FINALLY tying to make defense a priority
Mike Wells offers up his thoughts on the defensive-minded decisions coming out of the Fieldhouse this summer.
Larry Bird spoke with Derek Schutz yesterday to wade through all of the offseason issues facing the Pacers. Sounds like we should expect Earl Watson to be announced by the end of the week.
Mike Wells was also on with Dan Dakich (audio) and Kravitz & Eddie (audio) yesterday and mentioned a couple of things that made me happy about the Pacers letting Jack go. First was their frustration with Jack's faulty decision-making late in games during a key stretch in the middle of the season. The other point was that the Pacers initially offered Jack a 2-year deal worth about $3.5 million. In my mind, they had Jack pegged perfectly as a solid back up point guard and weren't willing to risk the money in hopes he develop beyond that role.
PACERS: OBrien exhilarated by high-speed laps
Bruno reports from IMS on Jim O'Brien's thrill ride around the track with Sam Hornish.
Bosh, Jack reunited
Frank Zicarelli has the Toronto angle on Jarrett Jack reuniting with former Georgia Tech teammate, Chris Bosh.
David Harrison on the road back to NBA
Chris Dempsey has an interesting feature on David Harrison's attempt to return to the NBA. Harrison goes deep into his problems in Indy. Man, I hope he gets it all straight and finds some success.
Bill Simmons talks with Dan Klores (download audio link) about his documentary on Reggie Miller as the MSG villain for the New York Knicks. Can't wait to watch this!

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that documentary sounds awesome

by dbcb on Jul 21, 2009 8:54 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Yeah I listened to that podcast yesterday, I’m pretty pumped about the documentary too.

It’s also great to hear that the Pacers were trying to get Jack at a pretty reasonable rate and weren’t being stupid about it.

"If you don't [draft me], I promise you I'll come back and kick your ass for the next 15 years."

by psvirsky on Jul 21, 2009 12:27 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

David Harrison

As for David Harrison, I’ve always been a fan and it was really disappointing to see him unravel like he did. Obviously plenty of athlete smoke weed from time to time but it seems pretty clear that he did so as a form of self-medication to deal with feelings of disappointment and anger control issues. It doesn’t sound like he did it to feel good as much as it was to block out the world. Having had friends go through similar periods, it’s a tough thing to watch someone go through. As a player, I always hoped he would turn into our long-term answer at center. I mean, he’s got serious size, nice hands, good touch, and his anger (when channeled correctly) can be a huge asset on defense. I really hope he’ll be able to complete his turnaround and become a solid NBA player.

Now, to be honest, the main reason I like Harrison comes from a random story. Back in spring of 2006, I was playing at CT Peppers in Broad Ripple as part of some radio show’s battle of the bands (99.5? 93.1? not sure). At the time, my guitar player and I both had varying degrees of mo-hawks/faux-hawks going on. This was the same time that Harrison had a mo-hawk. So after the show we’re drinking and having a good time and all of a sudden this huge black guy comes over looking straight at me. I’m decently drunk after the show so it takes me a second to realize that it’s Harrison. Next thing I know, he’s pointing at my hair and complimenting my wonderful choice in hair-style. We shake hands and hang out for a second. The whole time I’m sort of star struck because I’m such a big Pacers fan and I knew who he was and his whole background. Overall it was just a very funny interaction. I should also note that when we saw him, it was like 11 or 12. The Pacers had lost that same night and their game had just ended around 10, for what it’s worth. So that’s a big part of why I secretly like Harrison more than I should. Sorry for the long comment.

"If you don't [draft me], I promise you I'll come back and kick your ass for the next 15 years."

by psvirsky on Jul 21, 2009 12:28 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

cool

i love hearing those kinda stories. and for the record for the last 2 years or however long…i always look at ur picture and think its someone on the buffalo bills, although i know its the colts.

by captain flitzy on Jul 21, 2009 1:18 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

yeah

living out east, I can understand the Bills thought. I wish there was a way to change your picture based on which blog you’re commenting on. I started off with Stampede Blue and then made my way over here. Maybe there’s a way and I’m too lazy to figure it out. eh…

"If you don't [draft me], I promise you I'll come back and kick your ass for the next 15 years."

by psvirsky on Jul 21, 2009 1:27 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs