Guess what? The Indiana Pacers are trying to deal Jamaal Tinsley but they will not buyout his contract. I know, Larry Bird already said as much, but team leaders, including the lead dog, Herb Simon, continue to hammer home the point.

GM Daivd Morway told RealGM that the Pacers weren't even considering the buyout option for Tinsley and appear to be in some negotiations.

"Right now we are in conversations with a few teams, and we'll see where that takes us," he added. "But our intent is to trade Jamaal and try to find the right situation for both him and the franchise."

Then this afternoon, Mike Wells revealed comments from Pacers owner and CEO, Herb Simon.

“Tinsley, he’s probably outlived his welcome here,” Simon said. “He’s a very talented player. Teams will give us a hard time because they know it’s better for him and for us to have him play somewhere else. We’re confident that we’ll find a good place.”

Both of these comments affirm the Pacers' stance that teams interested in Tinsley shouldn't wait for the Pacers to buyout Tins. They also raise a point sometimes lost in the disparaging comments about JT and that is the fact that he (Tinsley) wants out of town as badly as the Pacers want him off the roster.

Point guard remains a need position in various outpost around the League and with a layer of NBA depth starting to head to Europe, Tinsley will surely appeal to a few teams, especially considering the price won't be too steep.

Actually, the real news here revolves around the comments Mike Wells procured from Herb Simon. Not the comments themselves, but the fact that Herb Simon is publicly commenting on a player's status on the team. After Donnie Walsh left, Simon named himself CEO and proclaimed he would take a more hands-on role with the team. I wasn't sure what that would mean at the time, but now I do. Prior to Walsh leaving, I can't ever remember Simon offering such direct comments on the day-to-day issues surrounding the team. I'm sure he has at some point in the past but if so, those comments were quite rare.

Mr. Simon is fully engaged and that's the best news I've read all summer. I've given Jim Morris all of the credit for the noticeable change in approach coming out of the Fieldhouse. I guess I need to re-assess and pass some of that credit to Mr. Simon, as well.

[UPDATE:] Here's an updated story (also updated above) with more comments from Herb Simon, including some discouragement about the sagging ticket sales despite the positive buzz around the team this summer. Sorry, but Pacer fans are in full "show me" mode at this point. All the positive talk is nice but until that talk is backed up with a equally positive effort on the court, fans won't return.

In his latest Pacers Insider post, Mike Wells updates us on Jamaal Tinsley's status and the search for a power forward.

In past radio discussions, Wells has indicated that Tinsley's weight ballooned toward the end of the offseason. Now he reports that folks within the organization confirm he's been shedding that weight this summer.

Also, while they'd like to add an upgrade at power forward, they're not against mixing and matching the front court from the group of Jeff Foster, Troy Murphy, Rasho Nesterovic, Roy Hibbert, Maceo Baston  and Josh McRoberts. Plus Shawne Williams or Danny Granger could slide to PF in small ball situations. This makes me pretty happy because I'm not interested in tying up any money in a middle-of-the-road type of PF.  Flexibility isn't far away, but as of today, the cap situation is tight.

Back to Tinsley, Wells brought up the option of Tinsley actually playing for the Pacers this year despite all the harsh rhetoric which would seem to make it impossible. Bob Kravitz and Jim O'Brien have both said they'd walk to  Kokomo if Tinsley started the season on the roster. Since Bird appears set on not buying out Tinsley, how else could he "earn his money."  As Wells put it:

I don't see Tinsley wearing a Pacers uniform again, especially after some of the comments Bird and coach Jim O'Brien made in the past month, but Bird did say players should earn their money.

There's no doubt in my mind that if the Pacers couldn't move him and Tinsley showed up in stellar shape that Bird wouldn't be opposed to letting him compete for minutes. There are two problems with that theory, though. First, it would seem to undermine JOB's authority with the team since he's basically said he's done relying on Tins. Also, Tinsley would have to show up in stellar shape. That would be a surprise.

Everyone knows I love Tinsley's game, but even I have a hard time accepting the scenario of seeing 11 in the blue and gold next year. The team is trying to move into a new era and that has to be without Tinsley in tow.

Player: Jamaal Tinsley
Stats: 11.9 ppg, 3.6 rpg, 8.4 apg
Stats/36: 12.9 ppg, 3.9 rpg, 9.1 apg

How did he surprise?

Everything about Jamaal Tinsley's game and current existence on the Pacers roster is complicated. When the mind and body are right, his game has always been a pleasure to watch. Considering the way Jamaal's season ended and his current status on the team, it is easy to forget the positive contributions he made early in the year.

As he began the season with a fresh start and mental outlook under Jim O'Brien, it appeared as though Tins was ready to flourish. He ran the team and ran it well. When big buckets were needed late in games, Tins stepped up to try and make the plays down the stretch. He led the way to several early-season W's and was even seen smiling quite often. I know I was excited about his play.

How did he disappoint?

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Mike Wells talked to JOB  about the Pacers' point guard situation, in particular his thoughts on Jamaal Tinsley. No surprise that JOB is looking at other options to lead his team since Tinsley's injury history doesn't make him a reliable option.

"To say as a coach we're going to go with him as our point guard despite the injuries, you can't do that," O'Brien said during a phone interview Wednesday. "I would love to see him healthy, but that has not been the track record. It's very, very difficult to depend on him when, physically, he's been undependable. When he's on the court, we know what we're going to get. He's a great assist guy, he runs the fast break great. But based on the track record of physical ailments, how much can you depend on him?"

 JOB maintains that his thoughts on Tinsley are strictly due to the injuries making Tins less than dependable. He claims they were both on the same page and the perceived rift that developed between the two in December hasn't been a factor in their relationship. If healthy, he'd like to have Tins running the team.

It all sounds good, but if Larry Bird has any intentions of trying to move JT, these type of comments can't help. If the JOB doesn't think Tins can be relied on to play a big role on the team, why should any other team. Maybe this is setting the stage for some type of buyout. Either way it doesn't sound like Tins will be in the mix again for the Pacers.