SG - Mike Dunleavy
To say that Dunleavy had been written off is an understatement. The man had been forgotten. He was a relic of a draft that saw Jay Williams taken one spot before him and NikolozTskitishvili and Dajuan Wagner taken back-to-back shortly thereafter. His explosion last year was so unexpected that Indiana has to be slightly concerned that he won't be able to repeat it. After all, players like him have had everything click one year only to disappear again the next (Mike James, anyone). But for the sake of argument, let's assume that he simply needed more time to arrive than people were willing to give him. If that is in fact the case then the Pacers have themselves one of the most versatile players in the league on the starting lineup. He can shoot, drive, pass, rebound, steal and - most importantly in Indiana - run. He's not exactly what one might call a 'defender', but considering where he was at just twelve months ago, I think he'll be (temporarily) excused. His $8 million salary doesn't exactly make him a bargain, but at least he's - finally - not grossly overpaid.
http://www.tsn.ca/nba/story/?ID=248961
