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Hey guys!

I've been covering Orlando Summer League and had a few notes about the Pacers I wanted to share. Nothing is earth shattering, but stuff I thought you might like to know:

1. Joe Young should not be here. He's probably been the best player here so far. No one can stay in front of him. And he's been banged up since a hard fall on day 1.

2. They are encouraging Glenn Robinson III to be very aggressive and look for his shot. Apparently that is not his nature, so they want him to be a little selfish.

3. Rakeem Christmas has a great motor. All hustle and the coaches love him.

4. Nate Wolters has impressed the coaches a lot. If they weren't so guard heavy, he might even have spot on the team. They like that he plays the right way all the time.

5. They are thrilled with adding Al Jefferson. They feel like he'll be a great fit, especially against second unit Cs.

6. It sounds like they would like to add one more player, maybe a veteran PG. Waiting to see how the market shakes out the rest of the way.

7. Multiple people said there is NO chance that Paul George would be traded. His contract now looks like a bargain. And they are really supportive of him playing in the Olympics despite a few reports to the contrary.

8. The love Georges Niang and he'll be on the team barring something really unexpected. And he could crack the rotation sooner rather than later.

9. They felt like passing on the draft for Thad Young was the right call and they feel like they stole him.

10. It was VERY hard to give up George Hill, who the organization loves. But they felt like getting another playmaker was big. Also, don't be shocked if Ellis comes off the bench because he doesn't fit great with Teague.

Bonus: Larry Bird is awesome! I grew up in Boston in the 80s, so he was my hero. First time I've met him in person and he could not have been nicer. Cracked a couple of jokes and was very friendly.

Again, nothing crazy, but just some fun stuff to share.

Thanks for the insight.

Nothing really surprises me, but this is a good bullet-points list for those not keeping an eye on summer league.

If we don't sign Lance, wolters works for me.

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Wizop wrote:If we don't sign Lance, wolters works for me.

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Either way, Wolters is a guy I'd love to bring to camp and push for a roster spot. I like competition. I like making Joe Young feel like he has to prove himself.

Though, I never realized how spotty Wolters is with the 3 ball.

Also, and I never count heavily at all on Summer League stuff, but I guess we can take heart that at least our NBA guys in summer league (Niang, Christmas, Young, and GR3) are playing the best of the guys on the roster?

I heard the announcers say during one of the games that the coaches liked that Wolters could play either guard spot. That makes him an excellent 5th guard although both Stuckey and Ellis can play point too in a pinch. GRob has been impressive but he's mostly playing the 3. there's room for both a 1/2 (Wolters) and a 2/3 (GRob) on a 15 man roster even if the bottom 3 don't contribute when the top 12 are all healthy.

Christmas seems to be out playing Whittington. not sure both will stick.

I agree with all of it except for this one:

Smitty731 wrote:6. It sounds like they would like to add one more player, maybe a veteran PG. Waiting to see how the market shakes out the rest of the way.

Teague, Ellis as backup, Young who is knocking at the door, Stuckey who likes to have the ball in his hands, does Larry hate players who just play off ball, defend and shoot 3s with high reliability?

Also, no mention of Whittington confirms my thoughts that Niang is going to take his Pacers roster spot.

I think you guys got a good one in Niang. Watched him 4 years in the big twelve. The kid can ball.

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Old Man Game wrote:I think you guys got a good one in Niang. Watched him 4 years in the big twelve. The kid can ball.

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Agreed, that's about as well as we could've hoped for that late in the draft IMO. Larry has a solid track record of second rounders - Lance Stephenson, AJ Price was solid, Magnum Rolle (still interested to see what he could've done with us), we all have high hopes for Joe Young, and he was high on GR3 from the beginning, just wasn't able to get him til recently.


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Old Man Game wrote:I think you guys got a good one in Niang. Watched him 4 years in the big twelve. The kid can ball.

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Agreed, that's about as well as we could've hoped for that late in the draft IMO. Larry has a solid track record of second rounders - Lance Stephenson, AJ Price was solid, Magnum Rolle (still interested to see what he could've done with us), we all have high hopes for Joe Young, and he was high on GR3 from the beginning, just wasn't able to get him til recently.


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Great recap, thanks for posting.

I had a chance to ask a few more follow ups before everyone left today:

I asked about the rest of the summer:

"Most of the rotation is probably set. We could use another athletic big. Maybe another shooter. A vet PG."

I followed up on the vet PG with all the other options:

"Well, most of those guys are more 2s than 1s. We like Joe, but he's young. And the other guys aren't options long term if Jeff went down."

I asked about Niang:

"Love the way he's competed this week. He has a lot of work to do, but he knows how to play and he's got a good basketball IQ. Excited to get him in camp."

Nothing too big, but I wanted to close the loop.

Thanks to you all for your interest and for following along. I appreciate all the kind words!

Smitty731 wrote:I had a chance to ask a few more follow ups before everyone left today:

I asked about the rest of the summer:

"Most of the rotation is probably set. We could use another athletic big. Maybe another shooter. A vet PG."

I followed up on the vet PG with all the other options:

"Well, most of those guys are more 2s than 1s. We like Joe, but he's young. And the other guys aren't options long term if Jeff went down."

I asked about Niang:

"Love the way he's competed this week. He has a lot of work to do, but he knows how to play and he's got a good basketball IQ. Excited to get him in camp."

Nothing too big, but I wanted to close the loop.

Thanks to you all for your interest and for following along. I appreciate all the kind words!

Thanks for the updates! Always nice to get a first-hand look at this stuff!


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Smitty731 wrote:I had a chance to ask a few more follow ups before everyone left today:

I asked about the rest of the summer:

"Most of the rotation is probably set. We could use another athletic big. Maybe another shooter. A vet PG."

I followed up on the vet PG with all the other options:

"Well, most of those guys are more 2s than 1s. We like Joe, but he's young. And the other guys aren't options long term if Jeff went down."

I asked about Niang:

"Love the way he's competed this week. He has a lot of work to do, but he knows how to play and he's got a good basketball IQ. Excited to get him in camp."

Nothing too big, but I wanted to close the loop.

Thanks to you all for your interest and for following along. I appreciate all the kind words!

No offense but that looks like a pun. Lol.

Anyways, I think the roster already stands at 15. If someone has to give way via cut, Whittington is at the tail end, IMO. Unless we go for a trade. But that looks unlikely considering that it will be a third string PG at best.

Moooose wrote:

Smitty731 wrote:I had a chance to ask a few more follow ups before everyone left today:

I asked about the rest of the summer:

"Most of the rotation is probably set. We could use another athletic big. Maybe another shooter. A vet PG."

I followed up on the vet PG with all the other options:

"Well, most of those guys are more 2s than 1s. We like Joe, but he's young. And the other guys aren't options long term if Jeff went down."

I asked about Niang:

"Love the way he's competed this week. He has a lot of work to do, but he knows how to play and he's got a good basketball IQ. Excited to get him in camp."

Nothing too big, but I wanted to close the loop.

Thanks to you all for your interest and for following along. I appreciate all the kind words!

No offense but that looks like a pun. Lol.

Anyways, I think the roster already stands at 15. If someone has to give way via cut, Whittington is at the tail end, IMO. Unless we go for a trade. But that looks unlikely considering that it will be a third string PG at best.

I wouldn't really worry about roster limits right night. Remember, we traded for Scola at the end of July/early August. Deals can be made throughout the summer, and I'm sure we will see a bunch of deals across the NBA in the next two weeks. And, right now, you better believe that all of Christmas, Whittington, Niang, and Evans are playing just to make the roster. None of those guys are guarantees. In fact, I'd imagine that Evans and one of Christmas/Whittington are guaranteed NOT to make the roster. That would leave 2 spots open.

Moooose wrote:

Smitty731 wrote:I had a chance to ask a few more follow ups before everyone left today:

I asked about the rest of the summer:

"Most of the rotation is probably set. We could use another athletic big. Maybe another shooter. A vet PG."

I followed up on the vet PG with all the other options:

"Well, most of those guys are more 2s than 1s. We like Joe, but he's young. And the other guys aren't options long term if Jeff went down."

I asked about Niang:

"Love the way he's competed this week. He has a lot of work to do, but he knows how to play and he's got a good basketball IQ. Excited to get him in camp."

Nothing too big, but I wanted to close the loop.

Thanks to you all for your interest and for following along. I appreciate all the kind words!

No offense but that looks like a pun. Lol.

Anyways, I think the roster already stands at 15. If someone has to give way via cut, Whittington is at the tail end, IMO. Unless we go for a trade. But that looks unlikely considering that it will be a third string PG at best.

Ha! That was directly transcribed and I didn't even notice it! I need to get some sleep.

Thanks for the info! Glad Niang isn't going to waste.