IC Cold Links: The Latest A.J. Price News; More Doomsday Season Previews

by spstevenson on Sep 4, 2009 10:00 AM EDT in Indiana Pacers News

A.J. Price is the final piece added to the Indiana Pacers pre-season roster, but there wasn't too much buzz about it around the world wide web.

The details of the multi-year deal won't be disclosed until later, so it's hard to dissect exactly how great or bad the deal is for Price and the Pacers. Of course, one of the most recent occurrences when the Pacers announced something was a multi-year contract, turned out to be only a one-year deal with Earl Watson. So there are options here. Here are your links to A.J. Price, more season previews and Twitter after the jump.

The IndyStar puts together a small brief on the signing of Price. For the Associated Press' story on the signing, visit 1070 The Fan.
Newsday came through with the local angle of the former high school legend signing with the Pacers. Writer Corey McLaughlin interviewed Price's Amityville High School coach, Jack Agostino, who had plenty of praise for the second-round draft pick from UConn. Agostino said:

"I'm just really happy for him. The kid has been through a lot in his life and he stayed the course. He gutted it out and now he's where he wants to be, in the NBA. I'm so proud of him. The thing is, he stays humble. He'll call or stop by the school and everything is normal, like he's still in high school."

Who wants another 09-10 season preview that dismantles everything the Pacers did this summer and expects Armageddon-like doom for the squad? Raise those hands high, now. Here's your latest dose courtesy of TSN's Tim Chisholm as he asks whether the Pacers are a playoff team and his answer is definite: no. Although it's not the preview anyone wants to hear, it's well-researched and written so I recommend it.
The Indianapolis CIB is back in the news and this story in the IndyStar mentions that the CIB will be entering negotiations with the Pacers soon about paying the operating costs for Conseco Fieldhouse.
T.J. Ford, this story is directed at you and your Twitter page. Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports writes that the NBA is preparing its own Twitter guidelines and other social media restrictions. Unlike the NFL, however, the commish stated that the guidelines will be "nothing too serious."

Tweet Comment 2 comments | 0 recs |

Do you like this story?

Comments

TSN

Boo. Bunch of Canadians.

Everyone makes such a big deal about having a roster with a couple of big salaried players. It’s really not as bad as it looks. It really isn’t.

- Tony Laurenzana (duke dynamite)

by duke dynamite on Sep 4, 2009 10:06 AM EDT reply actions

Maybe I'm just a homer

I have to disagree with Chisholm on a few points. I heard a lot about Jack’s defensive abilities when Bird made the trade last offseason. Well, in my view, protoypical size to guard point guards didn’t translate to good defense on his part. On defense, Jack’s lack of athleticism was exposed, most sepcifically his lateral quickness. Basically, he had a hard time staying in front of guys, and I think because Jack was such a solid citiizen, team leader, etc., few fans would dare to admit he was a defensive liability. Now, that’s not to say Watson is a clear upgrade, but if he can somehow call upon his healthy/effective days in Memphis and Seattle, he will be an improvement.

Also, Chisholm and others argue there’s no way Dahntay, Earl, and Solomon can makeup the PPG averages of Jack and Daniels. Um…yeah, we know. Luckily, those guys weren’t signed for their offense huh?. What some of these guys are failing to acknowledge is that it’s probable (not guaranteed) guys like Hibbert and Rush will make the natural progression in their second year and THEY will more likely be the guys to makeup PPG losses. Again, it’s not guaranteed, but it seems most second year players who receive ample playing time, improve mightily compared to their rookie seasons. We’ll just have to wait and see. Factor in their likely improvement, Dunleavy’s probable early return, and the small offensive contributions of Dahntay, Solomon, and Earl, and it’s possible the Pacers don’t lose much offensively if anything at all.

Other than those two points, I thought Chisholm’s article was well written and well thought out. I think after this season, we’ll know if rebuilding “on the fly” is on the road to success or whether Bird should seriously consider tearing it apart.

by Hinrich10 on Sep 4, 2009 1:25 PM EDT reply actions