Bill Simmons "How to change your NBA destiny"

[grewich]

Indiana Pacers (group A)


2009-10 payroll: $66.9 million
Projected 2010-11 payroll: $65.7 million (OVER)



• VP's Take: The Pacers should be a small-market team that pays one big star (in this case, Danny Granger) and a bunch of scrappy role players. Right now, they're in no-man's land -- destined to win 35-42 games a year, with no chance of growing into something better than that. Why not just bottom out? Like what David Kahn tried to do in Minnesota, only not as clumsy and caked in double-talk.



• Mitigating Factor: Any "bottoming out" needs to include the team dumping Troy Murphy, Mike Dunleavy and/or T.J. Ford (making $60.3 million combined thruough 2011). On the Untradeable Scale from 1 to Gilbert Arenas, Murphy is a 2, Dunleavy is a 6.5 (because of knee issues), and T.J. Ford is an 8.



• VP's Verdict: Move those Dunleavy/Murphy contracts while they're in uniforms and not streetclothes or walking casts. For example …



Fake Trade 3a: Murphy and Dunleavy to Cleveland for Shaq's EC. Love the Murphy fit for Cleveland because he can shoot threes and rebound; they could play him, Varejao, LeBron, West and Williams at crunch time. Anything Dunleavy gives them is a bonus. For Indiana, they can buy out Shaq (saving a couple million), then save another $23 million next season. And you thought professional basketball couldn't be salvaged in Indiana! Let's celebrate by hitting a local strip club and firing gunshots into the air. What, too soon?



Fake Trade 3b: Murphy, Dunleavy and Travis Diener to Utah for Andrei Kirilenko, Kosta Koufos and Kyle Korver's EC. Admittedly, this trade makes no sense -- I just wanted to break the record for "most white guys in an all-white trade."

http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page2/st ... ortCat=nba
just thought this was a lil interesting.

[Miller4ever]

If this is an article, you should quote part of it and link to the rest.

Watch out for that last paragraph. Someone might take offense, somehow, for some reason.

[grewich]

there we go ^^^

that last part is all bill simmons.

[PR07]

Bill Simmons is right, we're in no man's land again.

[hairybyrd]

Watch out for that last paragraph. Someone might take offense, somehow, for some reason.

I think the same could be said for Pacer's management as a whole. I'm a fan of Larry Bird, but it's fairly obvious that some of Indiana's acquisitions are racially motivated. Same goes for Utah.

[Miller4ever]

it's fairly obvious that some of Indiana's acquisitions are racially motivated.

No, they are not. This is the end of this little detour of discussion.

[Gremz]

I want to believe in patience, but even I agree that we're nowhere currently.

[Alyosha12]

How to change the Pacers? Easy, bring this guy over:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AoWW_E5BRBU

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LGAPA6hkifU

He is the most skilled PF/C in the NBA guarantied, he is better then Scola and Gasol, and you all know how vital those guys are to their teams.

[Miller4ever]

Ehhh...

We'll see.

[Gremz]

Hey, at this point it's worth a shot.

[Dunthreevy]

Does he play with any sort of tenacity around the basket? That's what we need from our bigs in my opinion. I never thought I would see another Pacers big that plays as soft as Rik Smits did, but Roy Hibbert sure is looking very Smits-ish this season.

[Gremz]

Does he play with any sort of tenacity around the basket? That's what we need from our bigs in my opinion. I never thought I would see another Pacers big that plays as soft as Rik Smits did, but Roy Hibbert sure is looking very Smits-ish this season.

Well it's tought to say. From what I have seen of him, it's more post moves than scrappy around the basket work, but that's only been in glimpses so I'm not certain.

[Miller4ever]

I think he'd provide a nice change-up at the PF spot compared to Tyler, Solo, McBob, and Foster.

[Alyosha12]

Does he play with any sort of tenacity around the basket? That's what we need from our bigs in my opinion. I never thought I would see another Pacers big that plays as soft as Rik Smits did, but Roy Hibbert sure is looking very Smits-ish this season.

Well not really, he is very skilled based no need for tenacity... I just read his draftexpress report from 2005 and its really funny how most of his negatives are his positives today, like in 2005 his biggest negative was slow feet, today i think thats his biggest positive, he is just so fast and agile for a C/PF with really fast feet and moves, he didn't have post moves in 2005, today i think he has the wides array of post moves in any league, he can beat you from the left from the left, a sweet sky hook,fade away, up front or with his back against the basket, of the dribble or not, it is just amazing, plus he has 3pt range, but is not one of those big men who camp on the 3pt line waiting for a shot,...
Everytime he gets the ball anywhere on the coart its either a foul or a basket, at least so it seems, and mind you he did play against NBA bigs, against Gortat for example, who is regarded a very tough and tenacious defender 20pts 9 rbs and 5 assists, Gortat however had 6 points on 2/10 shooting and 10 rbs...Against Krstic he had 14 pts 6rbs and 25 pts 10 rbs... etc.

His biggest minus is IMO his not the strongest guy, but for him to improve sooo much must have took a boat load of work and i just know next step for him is gonna be to get more muscles, and i know he is gonna get them.