We could have had him

[HicksvsKnicks08]

Arthur stood out in his pro debut, scoring 18 points on 9-for-12 shooting.

Portland drafted him 27th overall , and traded him. Bird could have worked that out in the Bayless trade. Even if the deal was arranged before the draft, to think that the Pacers had a chance to draf Bayless wasn't that realistic, so Bird could have arranged the same deal he supposedly had before draft night, and asked for the rights to the 27th pick. It could have really softened the blow that I will feel if Rush is average and Bayless is above average. Bird supposedly loved Arthurs game in the workout he had for the pacers. I believe he said something like he was they best big man, and he could have traded for him after the fact(Portland traded him for cash after they drafted him.)

I know it's his first summer league game, but could you imagine if he turns out to be an above average PF. He could have been playing with Rush his former Jayhawk teamate.

Petty maybe, but I hope 3 years from now it's not Bayless in a landslide over Rush

[Wizop]

read Morway's piece this weekend. we knew Portland wanted Bayless and Rush was our target. the whole plan was to slide back and take Rush if Bayless was there at 11 for Portland. Hibbert was also the target that had us looking for the 17. story says we kept trying to trade in for another pick well into the second round but couldn't.

[joew8302]

I am in the same boat with you. I was really disappointed with Bird on draft night. I love Jerryd Bayless as a player and I really believe he will end up being a much better pro than Jerryd Bayless.

Aside from that sentiment, if Bird really didn't like Bayless and wanted to deal him I think he could have got much more than what he did. I was and still am sick over the draft.

[HicksvsKnicks08]

we knew Portland wanted Bayless and Rush was our target.

I believe that is true, but I dont believe that Portalnd could have gotten Bayles at 13, but they could have gotten Rush. It's about leverage. Bayless was worth more. If Rush was so much a better fit, Bird could have taken him at 11. Portland clearly didnt want Artuhr, they traded his rights after they drafted him. I bet we could have traded Diogu for Jack/McRoberts. I think Bird played his hand wrong. Like in Poker, it's like bird let the others know how much he really wanted Rush

[basketballwacko2]

I too feel we could have gotten more out of Bayless, if he turns out to be another Gary Payton or something we are gonna feel pretty stupid, hope is that Rush is another Reggie. I would have went for a deal like Bayless and Diogu for Rush, Jack and McRoberts and the rights to Koponen or Fernandez or the 27the pick.

[HicksvsKnicks08]

exactly, and what if Arthur turns out to be a stud?

[Miller4ever]

What if only goes so far. Sure the possibilities are real, but front office can only take so many gambles. They might not have made the best moves long-term, but they have made smart moves, in my opinion.

[cdash]

Sorry, I am drunk and I just read the first two sentences of this post...but its summer league. Marco Bellineli lit the world on fire last year. Lets wait for the "We could have had xxxx" until we have at least seen how Rush and Hibbert are. I am the world's least patient person, but lets give our boys some time to show what they've got.

[MillerTime101]

Exactly Anthony Randolph dropped 30-8 in a summerleague game, we could of had him but it was not the right move to make. I believe Bird did the best job that could have been done without access to a crystal balll.

[cdash]

Exactly Anthony Randolph dropped 30-8 in a summerleague game, we could of had him but it was not the right move to make. I believe Bird did the best job that could have been done without access to a crystal balll.

Yep. The guy with the awesome name preaches truth.

[count55]

I still don't know how you get more than Jarrett Jack to just move back two spaces in the draft, particularly from a guy like Kevin Pritchard. Essentially we traded the #11 pick + filler (Ike) for #13 pick, Jack + filler (McBob).

We may regret not keeping Bayless, and that seems to be a fair criticism, but reaching beyond that is pure speculation. Bayless was the 11th pick in the draft, nothing more. When Danny was falling, do you think we could've trade the #17 and gotten top 7 value in return? How about when Marcus Williams was falling from his projected slot at #5, could we have gotten a package befitting a top-5 pick? Hell, Marcus Wiilams averaged 16 pts and 9 assists in the summer league.

That's not to say that we, along with a lot of other teams, may regret passing on Darrell Arthur. He is one of those stories that you always worry about becoming a Dan Marino-like cautionary tale. A talented player with good skill set who measures out poorly in the combine (Summer Camp) then gets some spectre about a kidney problem and gets drafted way too low. (BTW...Portland didn't trade Arthur for cash, they got Nicolas Batum, the 25th pick in the draft, for him.)

I simply believe that a solid young veteran (Jarrett Jack) is good compensation for moving back two spots and still getting the guy that they wanted...whether he was who we (as fans) wanted or not. (As a side...I believe that both Pritchard and Bird knew (or at least very strongly suspected) when they made the deal that Bayless was the guy that would be there. While we and the media found it surprising, I think that both war rooms had figured that out a few days or more before the draft.)

[Pacersike]

I just hope I don't have to make a topic later on "We had him".

Diogu should have been the reason why we made the golden state trade and now we are basically trading him for nothing. Now, there must be something wrong with the kid (see how many coaches he had in comparison with how many minutes) but he still got some value. Getting Jack and Josh for him alone would not be unfair value (like the op said).

I agree that Bird doesn't look like a good poker player here. He wants Rush but doesn't seem to understand that Portland also wanted Bayless and also wanted to get rid of Jack(like we with Ike).

[basketballwacko2]

I don't care i still don't like it.

[joew8302]

Shoot, I would think there would be plenty of other teams interested in Bayless besides Portland. Was he shopped around? My hunch is telling me no, Bird had his eye on Rush and that was it. I wouldn't even need a draft pick, I just think that somewhere someone would be willing to give us more than Rush, Jack and fillers for a guy many thought reminded them of a Monte Ellis type player.

[PR07]

I think a lot of people are overvaluing Bayless. Just because the media had placed him widely as a Top 7 pick, does not mean he was worthy of a Top 7 pick. Heck, Chad Ford had Brandon Rush rated as the #9 best prospect in this draft, and Bayless the #12.

[HicksvsKnicks08]

Diogu should have been the reason why we made the golden state trade and now we are basically trading him for nothing.

I know hindsight is 20/20 but they sold us on "Diogu is the key to the trade" and we traded him for Jarret Jack, that painful. realize that it's just summer league, but I have afeling Arthur is going to be pretty good, and sense Portland didnt want him, traded his rights after they drafted him, seems Bird got have got him for cash. Would have been nice to take a chance on

[bravesatl]

darrell arthur >>>>>> roy hibbert

i would love to see roy hibbert's workout with us, it was ridiculous to take him over arthur, and bird was constantly raving about arthur, i thought for sure we were goin to hear his name at 17....anybody found a video of the workout?

[indy_dave00]

Reading the comments of David Moway on the Pacers.com site today , he says the Pacers attempted to trade for another #1 after the Hibbert pick until the player they wanted was taken. I believe that player was Darrell Arthur , he was traded 2 other times on draft night .

[Lionel Messi]

there are always regrets fans have after a draft, most raptors fans wanted danny granger to be drafted ahead of joey g... danny is a budding star while joey is busy starring in the summer league while picking up 8 fouls...

[NashvilleKat]

Arthur has a physical issue...I think it's a failing kidney. That spooked a lot of GMs, allowing him to drop almost out of the first round. He's still untested as to whether he'll hold up under long stressful NBA seasons ahead.