Pacers Don't Have Luxury Of Fully Rebuilding

Post #1 » by **RealGM Wiretap** » Tue Mar 21, 2017 4:05 pm

The Indiana Pacers will do everything they can to keep Paul George in the long-term.

The Pacers plan on having approximately $20 million in cap space and will also look to use their own first round pick to acquire a player that will help them immediately.

"I have a budget," Larry Bird said. "Whatever that budget is, I'll spend it. Sometimes, we can't go after max guys, or players we really think could help us, because of our budget."

George wants to play for a contender and the Pacers appear to be stuck somewhere between that strata and the lottery.

"Paul wants to compete for a title," Bird said. "We want Paul here. He has expressed that he wants to be here. That could change overnight. You never know. But whatever I can spend, I'm going to spend."

The Pacers don't have the luxury of being able to afford a full rebuild.

"We can't do that around here," Bird said.

Via Zach Lowe/ESPN

tocooks101 · Post #2 » by **tocooks101** » Tue Mar 21, 2017 5:09 pm

Why, why cant we do a full rebuild? :banghead:

The_Hater · Post #3 » by **The_Hater** » Tue Mar 21, 2017 5:46 pm

tocooks101 wrote:Why, why cant we do a full rebuild?

Well you've already got a top 15 player still in his prime. Start over and you'll just be looking for that player again.

I don't think that trying to find a better group around George/Turner rather than starting over is a bad idea. A lot of rebuilding teams would love to have those 2 as a start.

streets talking · Post #4 » by **streets talking** » Tue Mar 21, 2017 6:34 pm

the pacers are basically screaming = JIMMY BUTLERRRRRR!! all over the place

andy249 · Post #5 » by **andy249** » Tue Mar 21, 2017 7:23 pm

tocooks101 wrote:Why, why cant we do a full rebuild?

I would assume because...

a.) Bird believed and committed to ownership that they were at minimum a playoff team, and best case scenario, a team that could challenge Cleveland. The addition of Teague, Jefferson, and Young would indicate that both Bird and ownership believed that was a possibility.

b.) There is no way a franchise player in his 7th year is OK going through a major rebuild. Keep in mind that George HAS NEVER been on a Pacer team that won less than 37 wins. Despite playing on a few sub 500 win teams, George has made the playoffs 5/6 years and most likely again this year.

As a side note, Vegas had the Pacers at 42.5 wins at the beginning of the season. With 12 games to go, if the Pacers split their remaining games, they would end up at 42 wins. Indiana is basically where most people thought they would be. They were a star player away from being a real threat at the beginning of the season and are in the same position today. Rebuilding is being OK with tanking 2-3 years and praying you draft another player like George who exceeds expectations. Just imagine if Bird drafted Xavier Henry, Cole Aldrich, Ed Davis, or Patrick Patterson.

Hoopzilla · Post #6 » by **Hoopzilla** » Tue Mar 21, 2017 7:37 pm

If Paul George leaves in free agency or traded before next year's trade deadline, the rebuild that "can't be done around here", will be done around there.

Years90Suns · Post #7 » by **Years90Suns** » Wed Mar 22, 2017 8:16 am

I liked some of the moves Larry did over the summer.
Bringing in Teague, Young and keeping Miles were good options.
Turner is a new era center.
But the money spent on Jefferson was useless. Jefferson is a dinasaur in today's spacing game.
Also one must say that, as much as I like George, he cannot demand too much, as he is not playing with a maximum effort. Clearly he can do much more.

tocooks101 · Post #8 » by **tocooks101** » Wed Mar 22, 2017 11:40 am

andy249 wrote:
tocooks101 wrote:Why, why cant we do a full rebuild?

I would assume because...

a.) Bird believed and committed to ownership that they were at minimum a playoff team, and best case scenario, a team that could challenge Cleveland. The addition of Teague, Jefferson, and Young would indicate that both Bird and ownership believed that was a possibility.

b.) There is no way a franchise player in his 7th year is OK going through a major rebuild. Keep in mind that George HAS NEVER been on a Pacer team that won less than 37 wins. Despite playing on a few sub 500 win teams, George has made the playoffs 5/6 years and most likely again this year.

As a side note, Vegas had the Pacers at 42.5 wins at the beginning of the season. With 12 games to go, if the Pacers split their remaining games, they would end up at 42 wins. Indiana is basically where most people thought they would be. They were a star player away from being a real threat at the beginning of the season and are in the same position today. Rebuilding is being OK with tanking 2-3 years and praying you draft another player like George who exceeds expectations. Just imagine if Bird drafted Xavier Henry, Cole Aldrich, Ed Davis, or Patrick Patterson.

A) What Bird may have believed then and what he knows now are two different things, if you think he thought he had an 8-6 seed team around .500 this late in the season you are wrong.

B) Trading PG IS the rebuild, and the longer it takes them to realize this the less value they get, the more BAD contracts they sign (Monta + Big Al) and the longer the rebuilding process will take.

Jaylen Brown and a top 3 pick + Turner + their own pick would have jump started an already quick rebuild, we will see if Larry can pull off something greater than that option, but I have my doubts.

Post #9 » by **TheCage4** » Wed Mar 22, 2017 2:53 pm

The fact that a player of Paul George's caliber (a very good player, but not great), has a franchise bending over backwards to accommodate him (& essentially keep him) just shows how much power these players have.

I understand Indiana is not a major market like NY, LA or Chicago, but mortgaging your youth + picks to get a player to pair with George IMO is poor management.

Donnyxc · Post #10 » by **Donnyxc** » Wed Mar 22, 2017 4:40 pm

TheCage4 wrote:The fact that a player of Paul George's caliber (a very good player, but not great), has a franchise bending over backwards to accommodate him (& essentially keep him) just shows how much power these players have.

I understand Indiana is not a major market like NY, LA or Chicago, but mortgaging your youth + picks to get a player to pair with George IMO is poor management.

I don't think it's as black and white as that though regarding the management.

It will be seen as poor, if Indiana's record and playoff opportunities continue to suffer.

However, draft picks are so variable now. There's no guarantee that you get a star player with a great pick. Who knows if Lonzo Ball is the next Jason Kidd, or Markelle Fultz the next Westbrook?

Plenty of good talent has been drafted in the second round, See Draymond Green and Isaiah Thomas.

"The process" is still somewhat embarassing for local fans. There's no guarantee that rebuilding through the draft will be a fix. Look at Orlando's luck since Dwight Howard left.

I'm generally for the purpose of making your All Stars happy if you have an established vet like Paul George. A lot of people forget he's still 26 years old and coming off a severe injury. I think Indiana SHOULD accommodate him. He's not going to be an MVP but neither was Paul Pierce in Boston before the big 3 era. Suddenly you place him with another star (or two) and you have a winning team. Culture is key to winning championships. Getting your team to buy in defensively, offensively, along with surrounding team with playmaykers.

Culture is equally as important in management than processes, IMO. My hot take there.