If you were a GM

[greenway84]

I know a lot of us have strong views on how this team should be changed. Now sadly Bird will never hear our ideas. Regardless I would like to see how some of us would change this team realistically. You get this pre-season and next season to make your moves. Trade, waive, hire any player or coach you want but make it a realistic option. As I said it's sad to know that there are a lot of great moves suggested on this board that will never happen. Thought this would be fun.

[jeremy1215]

Id trade Tinsley for expirings or someone like Luke Ridnour, get a rebuilding package for JO, and then draft BPA in the draft. Also, I'd like to trade Diogu for a prospect at a different position like a C.

[xxSnEaKyPxx]

I'd fire Obie. He hasn't done anything for this team except install a offense anyone could have. He lets the wrong players take shots, doesn't discipline anyone, our defense is doesn't exist, and he makes bad lineup changes.

Then I would try to trade JO to Chicago for a package based around Tyrus Thomas. Trade Diogu for a mid-late 1st round pick. With the first pick I'd draft a PG to mold behind Tinsley so Tinsley is expendable(because now he really isn't, even though most fans think he is). The with the second 1st round pick draft Hansborough.

Then I'd sign Rush to a longer deal.

[jeremy1215]

I'd fire Obie. He hasn't done anything for this team except install a offense anyone could have. He lets the wrong players take shots, doesn't discipline anyone, our defense is doesn't exist, and he makes bad lineup changes.

Then I would try to trade JO to Chicago for a package based around Tyrus Thomas. Trade Diogu for a mid-late 1st round pick. With the first pick I'd draft a PG to mold behind Tinsley so Tinsley is expendable(because now he really isn't, even though most fans think he is). The with the second 1st round pick draft Hansborough.

Then I'd sign Rush to a longer deal.

I disagree with everything but this part. If we did trade him for another point guard (downgrade if necessary) then we'd be set. Now if we traded him for noone, then yes we might need another point guard to either start or be behind Diener. But look at some of the decent Gs in the d-league, a lot of them deserve NBA contracts, so if we did end up trading Tinsley for useless expirings then we should look at that also.

[shackles10]

If I were a GM... I'd probably be a very rich unemployed man in a few months as well .

[mizzoupacers]

First of all, I would bench JO until he is healthy again, as long as it takes. He isn't doing us any favors by playing hurt. If we lose a bunch of games while he is out, well, that just means we get a better draft pick next summer. This team's first priority is to get JO healthy and playing like an All-Star again.

Second, I would be verrrrry patient in looking for opportunities to unload bad contracts. Don't trade Tinsley and Murphy and such if it just means digging the hole deeper. If we have to, wait until their contracts expire. We desperately need to reduce the payroll and regain some financial flexibility. That's how you put yourself in a position to make moves that actually turn things around.

Third, I would expend every possible resource on scouting, because our drafts for the next few years are going to be absolutely crucial.

So basically, I'm resigned to several more years of mediocrity. I think it's what the team has to do to put itself in position to be a serious contender again.

[PR07]

Trade Jermaine O'Neal and filler for Ben Gordon and Ben Wallace.

Tinsley/Daniels/Diener
Gordon/Rush/Daniels
Dunleavy/Rush/S. Williams
Granger/Murphy/Diogu
Wallace/Foster/Diogu

This team couldn't probably stop many teams, but they would at least put up some points and resemble more of the up-tempo style team that O'Brien is looking for.

Use the first round pick to select a franchise floor general: Darren Collison, DJ Augustin, Ty Lawson, etc.

[Bucky O'Hare]

I'd trade Mike Dunleavy while his stock is high. He's went from negative trade value to good trade value in 4 months, so I'd ship him out now before he goes back to his old form. As good as he's been offensively, his defense is still non-existent, which is too critical of a flaw.

I'd move Foster as well. Like Dunleavy, I like him, but we're a team that needs to finally rebuild, and Foster deserves better. I'd try to ship him to a contender for an expiring contract and a 1st. San Antonio, Phoenix, Boston...wherever.

I'd try and move Tinsley for expiring contract(s). This guy wore out his welcome 3-4 years ago. It's long overdue. With Tins having his best season, and with his attractive 8.7 apg, somebody out there would make a move for him. Probably the Cavs.

J.O., like Tinsley, needs to be gone. We've made a big mistake in waiting to move him, as the Pacers management has been severely lacking in foresight. I'd look for some combination of expiring salary, young talent, and/or picks for him. How much we could get, and who'd be willing to take a chance on him, I have no idea.

I'd love to move Murphy, but I realize that's all but impossible. still, I'd at least give it a shot, as he is a productive double-double guy when made a starter, which has to be at least somewhat intriguing. Maybe you can find a deal where you move Murphy for another bad contract(s) that run a little shorter than Murphy's deal.

I'd put David Harrison's name out there, seeing if there was any interest. A big young shot blocking center who has some offensive skills is a fairly attractive commodity. You may be able to get something in return for him, and if not, just let him walk at seasons end.

I'd keep Diogu. He's young and is per-minute production in both scoring and rebounding is still very promising. Plus I'd imagine he has fairly low trade value around the league. This is his extension year, so I'd give him no less than 20 minutes a night, consistently, to see if he's worth investing more time, money, and effort into.

Danny Granger is a keeper. He's not a franchise player, but he's a solid #3 guy, who's shown signs of being a good #2 guy, and a good character guy that the fans like. Of course if an offer you can't refuse comes along, you have to pull the trigger, but I wouldn't be actively shopping him.

Shawne Williams, I'd keep. He's up and down, but his ups have been promising enough to warrant keeping him. Plus you'd have to think Jim O'Brien's questionable use of him has played a major role in his inconsistencies. Remember when Jim pulled him out of the rotation he was in the middle of looking like a future star, outplaying Granger on a lot of nights, and he hasn't returned to that form since.

And absolutely, positively keep your draft picks. This is the biggest mistake bad GM's make - consistent giving up draft picks for mediocre talent. If you're a team going nowhere (like we are) then your draft picks are almost your only hope at a future. Do not touch them.

[bravesatl]

i'd do everything possible to trade JO, tinsley, murphy, daniels, and harrison for expirings and picks....

i'd say shawne, danny, and ike are pretty much untouchable....

with the lottery picks we have from a JO trade and for our record, i'd select deandre jordan and jerryd bayless (probly dreaming)....

keep:
granger
ike
shawne
dunleavy
diener
foster
rush

trade:
JO
tinsley
harrison
daniels
murphy

[Dgranger33]

Hmmm. Well I wouldn't make too many dramatic changes. They have to come gradually. That's an important point I want to make....look at the teams who made dramatic changes vs those who did it gradually (but efficiently and in a few years time). The Knicks are terrible, thanks to Isiah's quick mixups. The Trailblazers restarted, but did it over the course of 2-3 years and did it the right way. The 2000-01 Pacers and the current Celtics are anomalies to my theory, but then again we don't have Reggie and we can't bring in Garnett.

So..first order of business: Trade for Lebron/Dwight Howard, play 2-on-5 for the rest of the season.
JK

The real first order of business is to define the team. By define I mean we either get a traditional roster of g, f, c or we get a hybrid roster of Fs, pgs, and fake centers. We are currently in between.

Now I'm going to stop the paragraphing and move to a bullet approach.

-No one wants Tinsley, give it up. I'll be open to keeping him for the duration of the season.

-Trade JO, not to the bulls because all they have to offer is forwards and please, we have enough. I like a Hawks deal (Joe Johnson), or the Kings? (Kevin Martin). But realistically, get rid of him now while we can, don't bring back Carter though. Trade JO for a player with potential and a draft pick. Doesn't have to be great potential, but just consistent starting potential.

-Keep Foster, for the love of God keep Foster.

-Trade Diogu/Quis/Harrison in a package for a pick or two, and/or a decent guard or backup C

-Promote Rush, make Dunleavy 6th man. What if we taught Dunleavy point guard? a la Jalen Rose?

-Play Shawne more, lets see what we got already.

-This team isn't gonna be fixed over night, it will take until at least 2010. No superstar will help the team, we need to formulate a new team, a new mix of players.

*As for potential draft picks, I still rest on getting Derrick Rose. Trade up, give up future picks, give up JO, whatever it takes. And hopefully we will get lucky and find a gem in the late picks this year. That would really help this team. I'm from NY, so I'm gonna use a Mets analogy. They have a bad-decent farm system, but need another piece. They can clear the farm and still not get Johan. Or they can get Johan, and have no one to call up. A sleeper in the organization would help the team dramatically. Calling on a miracle? Possibly, but Kevin Martin and Gilbert Arenas and Jamario Moon weren't found all by luck.

[bravesatl]

your a mets fan? YUCK!! BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!

[bravesatl]

-No one wants Tinsley, give it up. I'll be open to keeping him for the duration of the season.

several teams would love to have tinsley, notably knicks and cavs, but we are not going to get full value out of him because of his stupid baggage, which is why it's so hard to move him....

i'd be happy with a fred jones/ronaldo balkman deal myself....

[JarrettJackSG]

My view of this team is different, I suppose.

I'd shut down JO for the rest of the season. No reason in playing him this year, unless he says he's 100% when/if we make the playoffs. If we are making the playoffs, I'll give him the last 5ish games to get back to game speed for the playoffs.

Trade Foster for higher value. Yes, he's one of our best players and fan favorites, but its better for the team. Maybe we can even trade him for some higher stuff. Trading him would really help our team if we can get higher value.

Trade Diogu, Shawne, for some younger players that fit our system better. I'm sorry, I'm not a believer of them.

Attempt to trade JT for equal value. I'm not gonna dump him for anything, but if something good comes up, he's gone.

Trade Quis for equal value. I don't know if we can though.

Cut Diener. JK Jeremy.

[bballpacen]

If I were GM of the Pacers.... hmmm. First, lets be upfront. What I would do, and what I would be able to do are not going to be the same for one reason or another.

-I sit JO for the rest of the year, no questions asked. His value is at an all time low. I sit him whether he is seriously injured, not injured, or anywhere in between. There are no deal that I could see that have a realistic shot at happening, that help us in the future. Next year, I would re-access him by the AS break. No need to rush it and make a move to do so.

-One, possibly 2 of Granger, Williams, Diogu are moved. Either in a package, or separately. If I have to choose right now, I would move Granger, b/c his value is as good as it will ever be, to PDX for Jack & Webster. Williams, I feel can step in and help fill that void left by Granger, and we acquire some back court youth. Diogu has little value, and I think that he could be a serviceable player, so no real need to move him.

-Dunleavy, as much as I cannot believe that I am saying this, is my guy that I play around for the time being. He gets the chance to be "the guy."

-Tinsley is stuck here for the rest of the season, there is no way to get around that. If I am able to make the trade w/PDX, then I may seriously consider a buy out. If I am unable to move him by the 09 AS break, he would be definitely be bought out. Sorry Simon brothers. I like Tinsley, and really don't hold much of a grudge for his past track record, I just would not want that around what I am trying to establish.

-I would love to move Murphy for expirings, but that will not happen. But if a deal came around, where I could even get a smaller/shorter contract, I would seriously consider it. If I am able to move Tinsley in some form or fashion, then I may keep Murphy. His large expiring may come in handy down the road.

-I would try to resign Rush, but if not, then I TRY to work out a S&T for a second rounder.

-Foster would more than likely need to be packaged with another player, but I would try to keep him at all costs.

-Harrison would be either shipped out for Green, or he walks at the end of this year.

[glasket]

If I were GM I would rebuild.

I would keep Granger and Williams and give Diogu a shot to develop, but the others would be expandable.

The most immediate thing would be to trade JO for some expirings or draft picks and try and come out with a good draft. Perhaps Derrick Rose, OJ or Eric Gordon, someone who could play PG.

[TSC25]

1st off if this was the system Bird wanted to play then we would have been better off keeping the roster we had last year,and fired Rick sooner.It seems that our biggest need is a PG,well we made trades with Dallas,and Golden State which have two young PG's in Ellis and Harris and we came away with neither one,so why make a trade if your not going to help fill your biggest need? Now as for Danny I think he's a very good player,but not sure if he the type of player you can build around,but as of the players we have,he would be the one.So I'd probley say I'd also do as Glasket said in his post,and keep Granger,Williams,and let Ike get some time to develop,but I really dont see Ike being more than a good role player off the bench.So I'd like to see Bird start building this team alot like Portland has theres,and I understand Bird was trying to change the team and try and keep winning at the same time,but that way isnt working so it's time for him to change his ways of thinking or the Simons need to make a change in his position.

[sanddude909]

I feel your pain.

For a dozen years, the Warriors were stuck with bad contracts, bad draft picks, and bad karma. Now, finally, we're competitive, but if and when Baron leaves, we'll have a problem.

that being said, I think you have to not worry about getting equal value in your fire sale (because you won't get it) and concentrate on getting shorter deals and draft picks.

Here's an example. O'Neal makes $19.7 million this year. Orlando is a team that is on the cusp of competing with Boston and Detroit for the Eastern Conference championship. This trade, which works on the checks (Trade ID #4443080) isn't close to value for O'neal, which is why Orlando might do it, but it gets you expiring contracts and an extra draft pick:

O'neal to Orlando

Battie, Garrity, Dooling, and Arroyo to Indiana with first round picks in 2008 and 2010.

Now I have no idea whether two extra first round picks in the high-twenties is going to be attactive to you, but since Garrity, Dooling, and Arroyo are all expiring at the end of this year, you'd get huge, immediate salary relief.

For Orlando, on the other hand, they now can start Howard at the 5 (clearly, he's been the best center in the East, and maybe in the league this year), O'Neal at the 4, and Lewis at the 3 while bring Turgolu off the bench. That's an amazingly good front line, especially since O'neal can hit a 12' - 15' jump (unlike Howard) and Lewis can now bomb away from the 3-point line, and with Howard and O'neal, Orlando would have a fearsome defensive front.

That's the kind of trade I think you guys should be looking at. Forget the talent you're going to get back and focus on getting your financial house in order and adding extra draft picks. If you can pull off this trade with Orlando and move one other guy for an extra first round pick in 2009, you'd have 6 first round picks in the next 3 years plus your cap situation, without O'neal's salary alone would be $20 million better in 08-09 and 09-10.

[sanddude909]

FWIW, I posted this exact trade idea on the orlando board here:

http://www.realgm.com/boards/viewtopic. ... 3#15289743

They appear to think that 2 first round picks in the 25 area is too much of a price for O'Neal, which I think is an indefensible undervaluing of a motivated O'Neal playing next to Howard (to give him inside and board help) and Lewis (to give him scoring help from the perimeter).

[Scoot McGroot]

And yet, even with our cap situation $20 million better, we're still not in a position where we can actually sign free agents as we'd look to re-sign Granger and Diogu before then, and would have to fill out the roster as well.



Now, don't get us wrong. Many of us here understand we do need some salary space. However, we also realize that Indy simply cannot trade JO for worthless expirings, a hunk of Battie, and two very low 1st round picks. We need to get at least one solid building piece in return. It doesn't have to be a Brandon Roy, but at least a Nick Young as well as a pick and cutting salary. Indy simply cannot afford to *hope* to get lucky in the 1st round for the next several years and hope things magically fix themselves. We are not going to be a free agent destination. We need the pieces to make trades for the building pieces or we need the pieces to rebuild around. We cannot afford to do the ol' Billy King style of GM'ing:

Step 1: Trade superstar
Step 2: ???????
Step 3: Championship!!!!!

[sanddude909]

I understand. My view is that in order to recover and build a championship team a few things have to be conceded.

First, as long as the current Piston and Celtic teams are around, you guys won't be making it to the NBA championship round.

Second, improving the cap situation becomes the foundation from which you can improve your team.

Third, stockpiling first round draft picks and getting the chance to evaluate talent cheaply and without the fear of letting that talent go allows you to decide, before you clear enough cap space to go after free agents, where your strength and weaknesses lie and which free agent(s) to target.

Ideally, getting rid of O'Neal is part of the initial work of getting your financial house in order. The next big part of that is getting rid of Murphy's contract, but I don't see that happening as easily as trading O'Neal. So I expect that it will take 2-3 years for you guys to clear your cap space. That means more than likely not using the mid-level exception and extending Granger on the cheap if it is possible.

So I don't see trading O'Neal to Orlando as magically making it possible for you to get better. I do think that you won't be able to improve your team in any substantial way until his contract is off your books, either by expiration or trade.