Some interesting free agents in 2011

by wonillionaire on Feb 19, 2010 3:50 PM EST

Al Horford (restricted), Caron Butler, Carmelo Anthony, Zach Randolph, Kevin Durant (restricted), Tony Parker, Tim Duncan

what do you guys think is the most realistic out of these names?

call me crazy but i think we should go after Z-bo. i think he's matured and he would fill the whole at the 4 with murphy gone. im not sold on hansbrough as a starter yet. he'd also be coming back to indy, which would be good for both sides.

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i'll be the first to do it

you’re crazy

there’s a reason every team he has ever been on has been so anxious to get rid of him.

by Jamison1 on Feb 19, 2010 3:53 PM EST reply actions

i guess you haven't been watching this year

because he’s different. he also got voted to the all-star game by the coaches, which has never happened before, despite his numbers being similar.

Harper's on Miller, McKey, gets in to Miller for the win and...

Hail to the Orange.
Hail to the Blue.
Hail Alma Mater,
Ever so true.
We love no other,
So let our motto be
Victory, Illinois, Varsity.

by wonillionaire on Feb 19, 2010 6:34 PM EST up reply actions

I can't imagine any of them signing with the Pacers.....

and it will take more than 3 months of good basketball to convince me that Randolph is a useful piece

by Ian Levy on Feb 19, 2010 3:55 PM EST reply actions

Al Horford would be awesome, but the Hawks will probably match any offer made.

by Sparhawk on Feb 19, 2010 5:35 PM EST reply actions

Caron Butler is the only name on there that might possibly look to go to another team and he’s over 30. We need younger and can’t rely on “maybe’s”. Shop the expiring deals…. they’ll be in high demand.

by B-Huse on Feb 19, 2010 6:46 PM EST reply actions

Tyrus Thomas and Rudy Gay will likely be UFAs as well.

I’d like the Pacers to go after some young prospects in free agency this summer. More Acie Law’s and less Earl Watson’s. That is how we will know if Larry is in rebuilding mode.

" Tell me something Steve, How does a guy from Puerto Rico loose a ball in the Sun? "

by aaronb on Feb 19, 2010 6:54 PM EST reply actions

They’re free agents at the end of this year, not next…

by 7-9nomore on Feb 19, 2010 11:53 PM EST up reply actions

They are

Restricted free agents (current teams can match offer sheets). They will be unrestricted after next year.

" Tell me something Steve, How does a guy from Puerto Rico loose a ball in the Sun? "

by aaronb on Feb 20, 2010 1:06 AM EST up reply actions

Tyrus Thomas is not a player you want. You think Brandon Rush is an emotionless unteachable player then you know nothing about how bad Tyrus is. He has gone on record of saying that he doesnt listen to any man, going back to his days as a child and that he won’t change. Rudy’s a nice player but these if’s don’t satisfy me. There are so many if’s in life but you can’t rely on anything that “might” happen. You’ve gotta grab life by the horns. Like I’ve said many times before…. the most likely possibility is that the Nets will get the 1st pick. If they do they WILL unload Devin Harris to give John Wall the starting spot. With our final year contracts, he can be had. Iggy can be too. Possibly more…. this seems to be the best way to go… “If’s” dont work in this world.

by B-Huse on Feb 20, 2010 1:38 AM EST up reply actions

Rookie Contracts

Tyrus Thomas and Rudy Gay are both in their third season and both have 4th year qualifying offers from their rookie contracts for next season. If either Charlotte or Memphis elect to pick up the final year of their offers for next season, they will be restricted free agents for the summer of 2011.

Should either team not elect to pick up their final offer, they will be unrestricted free agents this summer. Early indications from Memphis show they don’t plan on picking up his option.

http://tinyurl.com/RudyGayLeavingMemphis

As for Tyrus Thomas, it’s too early to tell since he was recently traded to Charlotte.

The FAULK

by incredibleFAULK on Feb 20, 2010 10:44 AM EST up reply actions

Memphis will pick up Rudy's option guaranteed

The situation is that Memphis offered Rudy a 5 year 50 million dollar extension before this season. Rudy turned it down saying he wanted a max deal. No way will Memphis simply not tender him a contract. The likely scenerio is that they will trade him before he reaches UFA.

The hope here in Memphis is that Rudy will come to his senses and lower his asking price. Rudy at 5/50 is a good player. Rudy on a max deal will be a Jermaine O’Neal/Elton Brand type of situation. Rudy is much better as a second banana.

" Tell me something Steve, How does a guy from Puerto Rico loose a ball in the Sun? "

by aaronb on Feb 20, 2010 6:09 PM EST up reply actions

lol at zbo…

a few months of not being a pain in the ass and you want him in a pacers uni?

by dbcb on Feb 20, 2010 2:58 PM EST reply actions

you can laugh, but i don’t see any other explanation for why the grizz have already won 3 more games at this point in the season than the entire last season. the team is pretty much the same from last year. he’s the mvp of the grizzlies this season. no question.

Harper's on Miller, McKey, gets in to Miller for the win and...

Hail to the Orange.
Hail to the Blue.
Hail Alma Mater,
Ever so true.
We love no other,
So let our motto be
Victory, Illinois, Varsity.

by wonillionaire on Feb 21, 2010 2:48 AM EST up reply actions

He's an all-star double double machine

And has really cleaned up his act. There is no reason to think he couldn’t be a very good player here in Indy.

"My game’s like the Pythagorean Theorem. It ain’t got no answer." - Shaq

by bleedinblueandgold on Feb 21, 2010 3:39 AM EST via mobile up reply actions

zbo has been a pain in the ass since high school.

and you believe he has changed based on a few months?

yes, he is playing awesome this year. yes he has been behaving. but you want to giv ea long term contract based on a few months?

by dbcb on Feb 22, 2010 12:10 PM EST up reply actions

None of those will happen

although yes, Kevin Durant would be nice.

Travis Outlaw is the sort of guy Bird should be looking at this offseason. Under the radar and should come cheap. The Blazers jerked him around a lot, but still looked to him to close out games at times. He can play the 3 and 4 and give you a nice 2nd team scorer.

by Slowka on Feb 20, 2010 7:05 PM EST reply actions

i feel like we would have at least a shot with some of the people above because of the money we are going to have. if we spend our massive cap space in 2011 on travis outlaw, i would just give up on being a pacers fan.

Harper's on Miller, McKey, gets in to Miller for the win and...

Hail to the Orange.
Hail to the Blue.
Hail Alma Mater,
Ever so true.
We love no other,
So let our motto be
Victory, Illinois, Varsity.

by wonillionaire on Feb 21, 2010 2:37 AM EST up reply actions

agreed on outlaw

BUT Zbo is a joke….yes he is having a good year and has cleaned up his act SO FAR, but I’m not for putting money into a player like Randolph until I see more improvement, the last thing we need is another Artest or Tinsley on the team…and it wouldn’t suprise me if that happened based on his rep (not only through the NBA, but HS and college)

I think our best option (because I really dont like any of those free agents to build a team around, except for anthony and durrant but there is no way we are getting any of those players) is to use our expiring contracts and go after a big time player in a trade situation. Like the Knicks did with McGrady. Until then, I’m just keeping my fingers crossed that we go on a losing streak for the remanding season, and we can land a top 5 pick!

by BringbackReggie#31 on Feb 22, 2010 11:22 AM EST reply actions

We've ALMOST forgotten RonRon

We don’t hear much about Ron Ar***t these days. Didn’t he used to have a “bad rep”? He’s ‘simmered down’ a bit since his days of ruining franchises and picking fights with thousands of cup/popcorn/ice/beer/folding chair/girl-punch throwing fans.

Can Z-Bo not afford the same grace? Granted, NBA execs will always have that slight doubt in the back of their mind that a player like Randolph may avert back to old habits. But, I do know that men have breaking points. And, when they are reached one tends to have a “Come to Jesus” moment and are relatively problem-free. At 29, perhaps Z-Bo has seen the light!

I don’t think it’s out of the question for the Pacers to at least consider the option of going after a solid veteran such as Randolph who can take some heat off both Granger and Hibbert. And, he can rebound! And, he can defend! And, he can defend opponents’ top rebounders!

The FAULK

by incredibleFAULK on Feb 23, 2010 2:55 PM EST up reply actions

Boozer

do we have enough cap for boozer?

by Range1 on Mar 3, 2010 2:46 PM EST reply actions

yes

if he’s gonna be a free agent in the summer of 2011, we should have the money to sign him. whether or not we actually get him is another question…

Harper's on Miller, McKey, gets in to Miller for the win and...

Hail to the Orange.
Hail to the Blue.
Hail Alma Mater,
Ever so true.
We love no other,
So let our motto be
Victory, Illinois, Varsity.

by wonillionaire on Mar 6, 2010 12:47 PM EST reply actions

Boozer

is an unrestricted free agent this summer (2010), so the Pacers can’t get him except in a sign-and-trade, which is unlikely since Utah wouldn’t really be interested in our expirings.

by boombaby on Mar 9, 2010 3:00 PM EST up reply actions