Plan to Fix the Pacers

by boombaby on Mar 9, 2010 1:20 PM EST

If you listen to the ESPN NBA Today podcast (and you should, it's really good this year), then you know they're doing a little "contest" to see who has the best ideas to fix different bad teams. The Pacers are one of the first ones up, so I submitted the following plan:

Here's my plan:

First, the current assets: The Pacers have a top 20 player in Granger and a developing post scorer and shot blocker in Hibbert. On top of that, they have financial flexibility on the horizon, with four contracts expiring in 2011 (Ford, Murphy, Dunleavy, and Foster). If the new CBA is as owner-friendly as it's rumored to be, then their financial flexibility could be even more useful.

Now for my plan:
I've finally been persuaded that it's time to part ways with Jim O'Brien. If a coach runs a free-wheeling, 3-happy offense, yet players don't seem to be thrilled to play for him, then that's a problem. They should take the financial hit and fire him now to see if Lester Conner could work, or at least give the young guys more playing time. If not, then target a current assistant who's worked his way up the ranks. Keith Smart would be a good option, and would certainly be a popular choice with Indiana basketball fans who remember his big shot over Syracuse, and respect anyone associated with Bob Knight (except Isiah Thomas).

In the draft, assuming they don't get lucky and get Wall or Turner with a top-2 pick, they should pick one of the athletic PFs projected to go between 3 and 7: Cousins, Favors, Ed Davis, Aminu, or even Hassan Whiteside if they slip that far. The Pacers need an injection of athleticism and rebounding next to Hibbert, and these guys would fill the bill.

Then they should target a young PG in a trade. Many of the teams with a good shot at John Wall already have a good PG prospect, so they would be forced to decide what to do with the guy they already have. Guys like Devin Harris, Jonny Flynn, Tyreke Evans, Jrue Holiday/Lou Williams, Ellis/Curry, and so on. You can even throw in the Hornets with the Chris Paul/ Darren Collison situation. The Pacers should go after one of these "duplicates" (or John Wall if we're feeling really lucky) with a combination of expiring contracts and one of our young guys (Rush, Hansbrough, AJ Price) or a future first-rounder, whichever is more enticing.

The Pacers are now set with young talent at every position except shooting guard. They then sign Raja Bell this summer for some much needed defense and leadership. They still have some good expiring contracts to hang onto until trade deadline season, when they can target a SG via trade, or hang on to the cap space for the summer where they now have enough young talent to be able to entice a free agent like Jeff Green, Jamal Crawford, or Corey Brewer.

Finally, add Andrei Kirilenko in 2011 for more defense and a veteran presence as a frontcourt backup.

What do you think?

Tweet Comment 27 comments | 0 recs |

Do you like this story?

Comments

I’m not really a huge Kirilenko fan anymore. He used to be a really good player but he’s not the player he was. Collison would be a great player to grab if we could but I doubt his availability. Devin Harris might be nice but he’s a little old for a rebuilding team at 27. I know Iguodala would be expensive but he’s young, a defensive stud, he can score, and is athletic as hell. Use our final year contracts for a Devin Harris (possible if they get Wall) and final year contracts for Iggy, maybe throw in next year’s pick somewhere… we get Harris, Iggy, Granger, a player like Favors, and Hibbert. I’ve been barkin up this tree for a while but I think it’s the best way to go.

by B-Huse on Mar 9, 2010 2:25 PM EST reply actions

Harris, Granger, Iggy... sounds good

I don’t really see Kirilenko as a huge part of the plan, and definitely not someone we should pay a ton of money. However, he has been coming on strong of late, and could be an excellent backup if he would be willing to come and fill that role.

I like Iguodala. I have a little hesitance, just because I’m not sure he’d be the best fit with Granger. But then again, maybe they could replicate some of the Miller/Rose dynamic we had in 99-00. Iggy is definitely best in a complementary role on offense, which would be the case with Harris and Granger. I expect the 76ers would still be shopping him, although I think they want someone to take Dalambert or Brand off their hands in the deal, which wouldn’t be the end of the world if we still had enough expirings to make it work.

Harris’ age should not be a concern. He’s entering his prime years, and he doesn’t have a ton of miles on his legs since he didn’t play big minutes in Dallas.

by boombaby on Mar 9, 2010 2:57 PM EST up reply actions

Not worth the money

Despite the flexibility created by our expiring contracts, I can’t see the Pacers taking on those salaries. Harris is owed basically 8.5 mil. over the next three seasons. Iggy is owed an average of 14 mil. over the next four seasons. They are just NOT worth that money. We sink 23 mil. a year into those guys for the next three years and we can go right back to competing for the 8th playoff spot. Also Granger and Iggy would be completely redundant on offense. I would rather see us wallow for a few years without making our financial situation any worse than to throw gobs of money at mediocre players hoping to catch lightning in a bottle. We need to be patient and proactive with any money we spend and make sure the product on the court matches they dollars we pay out.

by Ian Levy on Mar 9, 2010 4:03 PM EST reply actions

I think Devin Harris is a pretty good bargain…. under 9 mil. for a player that gets 17 ppg, and almost 7 assists a game? That’s not bad at all…. now Iggy on the other hand is expensive…. but that’s why it would be a hell of a lot easier to get him…..

by B-Huse on Mar 9, 2010 10:54 PM EST up reply actions

You have to pay somebody

Devin Harris is entering his prime years, and was an All-Star last year, and could have been again this year if not for his injuries and the Nets’ record. He is absolutely worth that money.

Iguodala is probably overpaid, true, but he would not be redundant with Granger on offense. True, he tries to play like Danny now, but he really thrives playing off the ball more.

We competed for the 8th spot last year. So that means that you think that Harris and Iggy are no better than Jack and Marquis Daniels? No way that’s even close to being true. The Pacers have been wallowing for a few years already, and probably can’t afford many more years of that kind of performance. Our financial situation isn’t going to get much better than it will be next summer.

by boombaby on Mar 12, 2010 3:55 PM EST up reply actions

Iggy would be a great 3rd scorer behind Devin and Danny. Plus he’s one of the best defenders on the league. He’d also be great on cuts with Roy exceling at passing the ball… So would Devin actually.

by B-Huse on Mar 12, 2010 4:32 PM EST up reply actions

3 pick

One thing to remember is the Pacers have 3 picks in this years draft, assuming they chose to take Dallas’s second rounder this year instead of next year.

by 2ndBlueGeneration on Mar 9, 2010 5:43 PM EST reply actions

Dallas, not Indy, has the option on the pick

The FAULK

by incredibleFAULK on Mar 10, 2010 2:48 PM EST up reply actions

Ah. Thanks for the clarification

by 2ndBlueGeneration on Mar 10, 2010 5:10 PM EST up reply actions

I like the first step

Firing JOB is job one for this team.

by davis3217 on Mar 9, 2010 11:55 PM EST reply actions

Gotta get rid of JOB.

In my opinion they have to trade some of the expiring contracts like Ford or Murphy before the draft in a deal for draft picks this year. This draft is really deep, we can get another great player with an early 2nd round pick.

~SHaFF!~

by SHaFF87 on Mar 10, 2010 11:35 AM EST reply actions

Getting rid of O’Brien is something we can all agree on….

by B-Huse on Mar 10, 2010 5:13 PM EST up reply actions

Window dressing

Larry Bird is the guy that absolutely needs to go.

Firing JOB and keeping Bird is replacing carpet in a house with a hole in the roof.

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

by aaronb on Mar 10, 2010 5:27 PM EST up reply actions

I say keep Bird

I’ve seen a lot of criticism of Bird here on Corn Rows. Too many times the expectations seem to be unrealistic.
I would agree Rush was a mistake, and JOB is a JOKE. Never forget though that the man took over a bad team. Not just bad, a team that shortly before had tried to beat up pistons fans as well as spending their time in Indy behaving as if they were Dirty Harry without the badge.
Give Bird a chance, we aren’t the Raiders. He’ll probably have the highest draft pick we’ve seen in a long time (knock on wood), also hopefully a decent coach sooner than later.

by ottoprice13 on Mar 10, 2010 9:00 PM EST up reply actions

What has he done to deserve YET another chance?

Other than being named Larry Bird and being a native hoosier, what qualifies Bird to be the decision maker?

Every pick he has made has ranged from Bust to servicable. He has over payed for every guy we have signed. And the guys he has over payed to get here (Watson,Jones,Diener,Jones,Saranus J) have been non entities.

If his name was Larry Smith would you advocate for him to keep his job?

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

by aaronb on Mar 11, 2010 10:33 AM EST up reply actions

Okay… Watson… great pick-up for cheap…. Dahntay has been hailed by experts to be one of the better acquisitions of the last free agency. Otto’s right when he says that everyone’s getting unrealistic. He plain doesn’t have the money/cap room to pick up big free agents and doesn’t have the peices to make big trades. Everybody bashes the Hansbrough pickup but nobody applaudes getting Roy Hibbert or Jarrett Jack (which we could’ve gotten him to stay if it wasn’t for Toronto). My favorite is the ones who say Larry’s lucky he got Danny…. like teams get all-stars every year or something. Ok he’s finally gonna have a good pick this year. Now if he picks Cole Aldrich, fine…. you can rip on him all you want, but stop using your hindsight and stop being cynical… neither of them do anyone any good.

by B-Huse on Mar 11, 2010 2:27 PM EST up reply actions

What was the point though

Why did we overspend to get a 30 year old Watson. If we are rebuilding wouldn’t those $ and minutes have been better served on a young prospect like Marcus Williams or Acie Law?

Why did we sign Dahntay for 4 years when he is 29 1/2 and will be gone before we are good again? Dude is BACKING UP LUTHER FN HEAD. Who is hailing him as a great pickup outside of the Pacers front office? We could have picked up a Rodney Carney and rolled the dice there for a fraction of the price and 5 times the upside.

Why trade Bayless for Rush and Jarrett Jack if we are rebuilding? It makes absolutely no sense whatsoever.

Roy Hibbert is a borderline rotation guy on a good team. A 10-6 Center on one of the worst teams in the league. Not that big of a deal. The people here acting like he is Shaq in his prime 2.0 are as delusional as Larry Bird is.

Bottom line is that this is a franchise in shambles. There is no clear cut plan to improve. And yet people still fall over themselves to defend Bird because he is “Larry Legend”. So I ask again. If his name was Larry Smith would he even be a candidate to keep his job?

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

by aaronb on Mar 11, 2010 3:26 PM EST up reply actions

The franchise is crap right now…. but if we woulda picked up Carney there would be guys whining about how he hasnt done anything… and he wouldnt be. The guy has no heart. Oh and ESPN was hailing Dahntay as one of the best pickups… he was second at one point below Jamal Crawford. Also he’s behind Luther Head because Jim O’Brien is a moron and hates playing ANYONE who can’t shoot a 3. Plus if we don’t make the Rush/Bayless trade, you would be whining about how we didn’t move Ike Diogu and Bayless has been just as inconsistent as Rush. The only difference is so many people are so damn cynical on this site that they look at Bayless’ high points when they look at Rush’s lows. The only reason Bayless has even scratched the surface on the Blazers is because they have been killed with injuries. Hibbert’s still young and any team would love to have a shot-blocking, great passing, young big with a 20 foot stroke. I’m not saying he’s Shaq….. okay… what would you have done? And you can’t just look at the draft and say you woulda drafted some guy that has flourished, that’s cheating. Some moves I don’t agree with…. some I plain don’t like….. but you sound like FOX news…. just bashing someone no matter what he does or doesn’t do. I liked the Jermaine trade…. Okay but here’s what it looks like when we do make the trade:

Roy’s not a starter on a good team. Rasho sucked. TJ’s terrible.

Here’s what yall would say if we don’t:
Why haven’t we gotten rid of O’Neal?! It’s time to move on! Fire Bird! He always gets hurt!

To think we would’ve gotten a better deal then we did is just insane. Think if we got offered that trade and we turned it down? You guys would lose it knowing we could’ve gotten cap relief and a 17th pick…. damned if you do…. damned if you don’t.

by B-Huse on Mar 11, 2010 4:21 PM EST up reply actions

Not trying to argue with you

My intention wasn’t to declare war here. I just get frustrated that too many people seem to look for any excuse to absolve Bird for this mess. I guess we will all see how this plays out over the next two years? My hopes are not high however.

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

by aaronb on Mar 12, 2010 10:41 AM EST up reply actions

Me neither...

I get ur frustrated and you want this team to win… we all do… but he really hasn’t had a shot at making this team any better (minus firing O’Brien). Now like I said…. he has that opporunity this summer…. he messes it up…. then you have all the reason in the world to lose it. I’ll be right next to you givin the blame.

by B-Huse on Mar 12, 2010 4:28 PM EST up reply actions

Hmmm...

I’m not that keen on drafting Ed Davis, Aminu, or even Hassan Whiteside
As for your PG’s…
as B-Huse pointed out Devin Harris is kinda old for a young, rebuilding team. Though I wouldn’t say no to him.
No way in hell Jonny Flynn, Tyreke Evans, Curry or even Ellis is being traded.
Jrue Holiday(more a 1), Lou Williams(more a 2), and Darren Collison is a possibility, though Collison might be getting groomed for the future(see Ty Lawson).
I think Hansbrough has ZERO trade value.
Also why would we get Raja Bell, when we’ve got Dahntay Jones?
And Andrei Kirilenko is over-rated, and washed-up.

by Gary D on Mar 10, 2010 7:01 PM EST reply actions

I appreciate the shout-out Gary but you said Collison may be getting groomed for taking over for Chris Paul? You know CP3 is 24 right? lol Versus Collison’s 22. Now they might wanna keep him so they can play him at the two guard at times just because they don’t wanna give him up. But I’m waiting for guys out there to start bashing the team cause they didnt draft Collison… I don’t know if he is the player he is if he doesn’t play against Paul in practice and is tutored by him…. I’m not a huge fan of the Hansbrough pick but I wanted Earl Clark… shows you how much I know….

by B-Huse on Mar 10, 2010 8:07 PM EST up reply actions

Oops...

I didn’t realize that CP3 was only 2 years older.CP3 seems to have been around forever and Collison was drafted in the most recent draft, so yeah…my bad. I too hated the Hansbrough pick, but then again I wanted Eric Maynor outta VCU

by Gary D on Mar 11, 2010 8:47 PM EST up reply actions

Yea it does seem like CP3 has been around forever…. hell he was drafted in the same year as Danny. But even though both of them are pure PG’s I don’t really see them moving him unless they get one hell of a deal. You can’t get PG’s with his talent very often so they would be hesitant.

by B-Huse on Mar 12, 2010 12:55 AM EST up reply actions

Redundancy

My point is that some team might end up with too many PGs, so we could nab one. What’s Minnesota gonna do with Jonny Flynn, John Wall, AND Ricky Rubio’s contract? How can Golden State keep Curry, Ellis, AND Wall? What if Utah ends up with the #1 Pick? (They own the Knicks’ pick.) Sure, maybe Wall can work with Evans.

But these teams would probably be willing to move one of their PGs for a more useful asset.

by boombaby on Mar 12, 2010 4:03 PM EST up reply actions

And as far as draft picks

Sure, those guys you mention aren’t at the top of the list. But if we end up with the 7th pick, one of those guys will be our consolation prize, which I would happily take. As long as we stay out of Cole Aldrich territory, I think we’ll get a good piece.

Hansbrough and Rush might not have a ton of trade value, but they could serve as a sweetener in a deal that’s built around expiring contracts.

Raja Bell can provide leadership and shooting, two things Dahntay doesn’t provide.
Kirilenko isn’t the star many thought he would be, but he is productive again this season. I wouldn’t want to sign him for anything near what he’s making now, but on the cheap, it could be good.

by boombaby on Mar 12, 2010 4:13 PM EST up reply actions