A little on Landry....
The one area the Pacers weren't able to address was power forward. With Jermaine O'Neal in Toronto, Troy Murphy is the likely starter with no proven backup.
There are strong indications the Pacers have interest in Carl Landry.
The 6-9 former Purdue player averaged 8.1 points and 4.9 rebounds this past season as a rookie with Houston and is currently a restricted free agent.
It seems logical the mid-level exception of $5.58 million would be more than enough to land Landry, if the Pacers chose to go that route.
Bird said power forward was an area the team would like to address, whether that's this year or down the road when the Pacers have significant cap space available and could pursue a big-name free agent, Bird wouldn't say.
"You always need post players that can score. That's an area we're concerned about, an area we're not as strong in as the others," Bird said. "But Troy's been working out all summer. He'll come back and do his thing."
The Rockets have asked for more testing on Landry's right knee, but Landry's agent, Buddy Baker, told the Houston Chronicle that's posturing on the part of Rockets general manager Daryl Morey.
"Obviously, I view it as a move in his part to undercut his value and dissuade the interest he has garnered," Baker told the Chronicle. "The reverse has happened. Teams have taken the position that he will not match offers. That has opened the floodgates. They are operating as if he (Landry) was an unrestricted free agent."
Landry tore the ACL in his right knee in college and missed seven games with the Rockets due to a sore left knee, but came back for the playoffs.
A stat worth tossing out? The Rockets were 30-6 when Landry played 11 minutes or more, 25-21 when he played 10 or less or was out of the lineup.
He never says what those "strong indicators" are. He could be going entirely off of the internet talk, which started after IndyStar reporter Mike Wells suggested the Pacers could have interest in Landry.
