Pacers Should Blame Themselves for Financial Troubles

I posted this in response to Tom's excellent evaluation of Jim Morris' unconscionable interview with the Star, and wondering if the Pacers could suffer the same fate as the Seattle Sonics.  Just wanted to get it posted here to see what you smart folks think.  Team payroll numbers are pretty inconsistent throughout multiple sources, the grossest difference being the ESPN trade machine as it has the Pacers payroll at $93 mil which cannot be right because thats higher than just about everyone but the Lakers (but would further prove my point).  Regardless, the Pacers grossly overpay for this mediocre team.  Original post with a couple amendments:
---------

if it can happen in seattle (team being moved), it can happen anywhere. what is mind boggling to me is how much this team, in a small market, spends on crappy talent. i know the pacers management got dealt a rough hand ever since the artest melee, but the way they have spent money is laughable. i want to blame bird, but the simon’s have to approve his deals. they are all to blame for their financial troubles. You know where they could get that $15mil to run Conseco? Build a team responsibly and don’t count on the taxpayers to bail you out of your bad decisions. Look at these payroll numbers:

http://thehoopdoctors.com/online2/2009/08/2009-2010-team-payrolls/

look at the thunder for goodness sake: 50 mil compared to our 62 mil?!?! there is the $$ they need for Conseco!! look how much more we pay than the thunder, blazers, hawks, raptors, grizzlies, and suns. there are other really bad teams spending comparable money, but they are in huge markets with massive pockets. the pacers cannot do that!! why did we resign foster for all that money!?! dahntay jones?! earl watson!? these very limited veterans have their strengths, no doubt- but goodness, that is over 10 mil in salary right there for players that we didn’t have to take on (like murph and dun in order to get rid of jax) and of which two hardly even play.

why not play younger guys and watch a team GROW together?? if they stink, so what? as long as there is progress and momentum going forward, thats what we want to see. not a bunch of frustrated vets chucking up 3 after 3 (thanks to JOBs juvenile, inefficient coaching philosophies).

look at the thunder and blazers, two small market teams. they stunk for a couple years, developed young talent during that time and got some great draft picks. what do we do? grossly overpay for 35 wins a year because bird is too chicken to blow it up.

everything the pacers front office does is trite and unimaginative. instead of relying on savvy moves in drafts, bird hangs his hopes on landing free agents after next year. but what a risky, lame plan. look at all the teams with cap space this year, are they all going to get elite FAs? NO! just like the pacers won’t next year. that is just a cop-out answer because bird is too conservative to pull off creative and frugal moves. opting for players like dahntay jones and earl watson is exactly the problem with the vision and fiscal responsibility of this organization.

sorry to be so negative, but thinking of losing the pacers makes me sick. and it is all because of THEIR ineptitude and cowardly management.  the gaul of them to expect taxpayers to further pay because of of their mismanagement is astoundingly selfish. i guess having a state-of-the-art facility made for them just wasn’t enough.  its like having my parents give me a car, and then asking them for gas money.