Rush to Judgment

[count55]

This morning's Star has an article featuring Kareem Rush.

Though his full season numbers aren't particularly impressive, he's averaged 12.8 pts since the first of the year, shooting over 42% from beyond the arc. He'll never be a stopper, but he's been solid defensively.

At $900k, he's been a bargain, but he'll be an unrestricted free agent at the end of this year. The Pacers do not hold his Bird rights, so they'll have to tap into their MLE next year to re-sign him. He'll turn 28 at the start of next season, so he's relatively young.

What do you think? What kind of contract offers will he demand next year? How much, if any, of the MLE should the Pacers be willing to pay to bring him back? What do you think his place is in the NBA?

What do we do with Kareem Rush?

[Oomph]

It depends on all the other moves we will be doing before the trade deadline, the draft and in the off season.

If we're short of a real SG by then we should sign him to a 3-year deal of 12m or so, and hope no other teams overbid this.

[Boneman2]

I wanted us to draft Rush back in the day, instead we took Fred.

If we can give him a deal similar to what we gave AJ ( 4 yr. 12 mill) than I'd be all for it. I would be careful not to overdo it though. Anything approaching the mle is way out of line according to our roster, and becomes much harder to trade.

[count55]

I'm not proposing that we offer the MLE...I'm just saying that since we're over the cap and do not have his Bird rights, we would have to use one of our exceptions to sign him. Unless the rules have changed, the MLE can either be used as a chunk, or broken up.

If we were to make an offer as noted (4-12, which sounds reasonable to me), we would have to use part of the MLE to make it work under the cap rules.

If someone came along and offered Kareem the full MLE, I'd say "Good Luck and God Bless...seeya when ya come back to play us."

[mizzoupacers]

I think he's worth three or four years at maybe $4 or 5 million per year average tops. He's a borderline NBA starting two guard...can't be paying non-stars too much more than that.

I have a sinking feeling that the Pacers will not be able to re-sign him, though. As I've said probably too many times by now in too many threads, the Pacers' payroll situation for next season is terrible. The ten guys we are committed to paying next year have total salary of about $68 million. Throw in perhaps another $2 million for our first-round draft pick next summer, and at least three more low-wage guys to round out the bench, and the payroll is going to be over $70 million.

$70 million is quite likely to be above next year's luxury tax threshold. Meaning that unless something gives between now and then (like we dump someone's salary), the Pacers would have to pay luxury tax for every dollar they pay Rush. I can't see the Pacers' front office doing that, nor, probably, should they.

Major bummer for me...much like the glorious Steve Stipanovich Era, the glorious Kareem Rush Era will last but the blink of an eye.

[PacerGuy]

This is just one reason why moving a contract (esp. Murph - but also JO & Tinsley) is so important to try & do in the nexy 2 wks. I don't like the idea of moving Foster unless a great deal comes along as I think he fits well here & would carry better value n/y. I could stand to lose Daniels, so there is another I would add to the "move" list. I'd rather have Rush over him at this point (IMO).
I also want to ask about Dunleavy. He plays the same possition, for all practical purposes, as Granger/Williams & Rush - the SF/SG. While I like Mike's game, at what point to we sacrafice the development of young players (Williams, Ike esp.) & continue to play 1 of Dun/Granger out of their best natural position, just to accomodate them both on the floor together? I would also welcome moving Dun - not for contract reasons per-sey, but for possition & growth reasons. Of course this would depend entirely on value, because if you can't get good value we keep him happily.
Either way, I would like to see Rush back. He has shown he has a home in this league.

[Charcoal Filtered]

Unless he is wanting to come back for the minimum, I do not see a return.

First, unless Foster opts out, there is really no room under the luxury tax.

Second, why are we not winning if he is doing that well?

Third, this group of players are not responding to Obie. If we make trades, we could net a SG. Lets see what trades are out there this offseason and would rather have the salary flexibility regardless of what happens with Foster.

Giving Rush a contract would be similiar to what Philly did with little success.

I would trade him this year if possible.

[Grang33r]

I don't know what is fair value for Rush, but i would definetly like to see us re-sign him long term. He has been a very solid backup for our team and plays very well when we needed him. He has confidence in his own shooting ability which is rare these days and our Pacers team is missing, i know it doesn't mean much but when we will be good again, we'll need someone like Rush on the team.

[PR07]

I like him as a 6th man, and he could probably be a 5th starter if his supporting cast was real good and just needed a shooter. My guess is someone that desperately needs a shooter will offer him the Midlevel Exception or so, and he'll be wearing a different uniform come next season.

[CableKC]

I think that it's important to resign him for chemistry / talent reasons and just for the fact that he actually understands JO'Bs system....but I have the feeling that some team is going to offer him something that the Pacers won't match.

But if we can resign him for a 3 year deal ( maybe even a 3 year guaranteed / 4th year team option ), I would consider it....but it's based off of how much we can afford before we hit the luxury tax. Unfortunately, as someone mentioned before.....it's all dependant on what other moves we make.

BTW....if we can't resign Rush...I want to offer what we can to Qunton Ross. He's a UFA and a solid perimeter defender at the SG spot....something that we desperately need at the Guard rotation.

[CableKC]

This is just one reason why moving a contract (esp. Murph - but also JO & Tinsley) is so important to try & do in the nexy 2 wks. I don't like the idea of moving Foster unless a great deal comes along as I think he fits well here & would carry better value n/y. I could stand to lose Daniels, so there is another I would add to the "move" list. I'd rather have Rush over him at this point (IMO).

Much easier said then done. All 3 will likely be with the roster for the rest of the season.

I also want to ask about Dunleavy. He plays the same possition, for all practical purposes, as Granger/Williams & Rush - the SF/SG. While I like Mike's game, at what point to we sacrafice the development of young players (Williams, Ike esp.) & continue to play 1 of Dun/Granger out of their best natural position, just to accomodate them both on the floor together? I would also welcome moving Dun - not for contract reasons per-sey, but for possition & growth reasons. Of course this would depend entirely on value, because if you can't get good value we keep him happily.

Again......given his contract...I don't think that we can get back an adequate value. Honestly...I don't mind keeping Dunleavy. I would much rather trade Granger or Shawne for a very solid player that fits our needs then give up Dunleavy...assuming that we resign Rush

[PacerGuy]

-= original quote snipped =-
Much easier said then done. All 3 will likely be with the roster for the rest of the season.

Derrrr, but that should be our focus. These guys have value to contenders, they just likely will not bring much back in return. We need to accept that & take it.

-= original quote snipped =-
Again......given his contract...I don't think that we can get back an adequate value. Honestly...I don't mind keeping Dunleavy. I would much rather trade Granger or Shawne for a very solid player that fits our needs then give up Dunleavy...assuming that we resign Rush

Just stop.....
Dun's value based on his play has all but eleminated the "contract" issue. Giving up Granger over Dun is just not a smart statment. I would accept SW, as he is still a unknown, but w/ our own cap issues & rebuild mode, Granger would be preferred over MD.
That said, I like Dun here.

[joew8302]

I like Rush, but I think people see him shooting the ball and go overboard in liking him. As a 2 guard he is really not a good ball handler, or passer, and doesn't rebound well. Rush is a streak shooter, when he is hot he is great, when he isn't hot he really can't help Indiana in a lot of other ways. It is real easy to see a guy go through a couple hot spurts like Rush and fall in love with him, but he does have some baggage. I also think Indiana really needs to sure up the 1,5 position, I am not sure getting Rush back will be paramount to the Pacers. I really think 4 million per year is the maximum I would give him, and that might be reaching some. I think it is safe to say he will be gone next year.