Bird's Offseason, a Preview

[Gremz]

Older retirees may very well have the city grow on them but I can see the concern for young/single/family-less players not wanting to move to Indy though.

[Scoot McGroot]

I don't think we have any thoughts of finding an Amare/Melo at the peak of his career this summer. I don't think we need to either. but Reggie never demanded a trade to his home time team in LA. Mark Jackson was way at the top of the career assist list and he was happy here. and as I said in my last message, a lot of players have chosen to keep this as their home even though they play elsewhere. all I'm saying is that the fear is over rated.

Mark Jackson was a journeyman PG, who was never one of the top 3 guys at his position during any season of his career (granted, some of the guys that beat him out each year were named Magic, Stockton, and Payton, with guys like Kevin Johnson, Mark Price, Tim Hardaway and Anfernee Hardaway beating him out other years as well), nor a top 15 type player in any single year.

I don't think he's the "superstar" you should cite, as he never was one. Yes, very useful, and very good player, but no superstar.

[n_s_s31]

Its true that when players come to Indiana they end up loving it and the trend is that in most cases they don't want to leave and end up making it there home. The problem is getting those players here first.

[Wizop]

Mark Jackson was a journeyman PG, who was never one of the top 3 guys at his position during any season of his career

what I said was top 3 career assists and even today the top three career assists guys of all time are Stockton, Kidd, and Jackson. Mark is third ahead of Magic and Oscar.

[Scoot McGroot]

Mark Jackson was a journeyman PG, who was never one of the top 3 guys at his position during any season of his career

what I said was top 3 career assists and even today the top three career assists guys of all time are Stockton, Kidd, and Jackson. Mark is third ahead of Magic and Oscar.

I hear ya, but if the debate is about whether or not a "superstar" type player wants to come here, then Mark Jackson isn't a great example.

Mark also took 17 years to accumulate those stats, and is barely higher than guys like Magic who did it in 13 seasons, or Oscar in 14 seasons. Really, if those 2 guys played just one more year each, you'd then be looking at Mark Jackson being 6th on the all-time list. However, like I said previously, at no time was Mark one of the top 3 PG's in the league during his career.

[Wizop]

okay, maybe Mark was more of a Billips than a Rose or a CP3 but if we could have traded TJ for Chauncey at the deadline we might well still be playing. I like the long run potential of DC and AJ a lot but if Chauncey had been our starter, DC had been backing him up, and AJ had come off the bench when Chauncey sprained an ankle, I bet we would have closed out those games. and that is really my point. I don't think we need to be luring a top 3 player in his prime to be a serious contender and I think the fear that the kind of player we need won't come to a market this small has been overstated. if we build it, they will come. did you see how excited Castonzo was to be drafted by the Colts to block for Peyton Manning?

[Scoot McGroot]

I did. I only wish we had a Peyton Manning type player suiting up for our Pacers to make guys that excited, too.

[Scoot McGroot]

But yeah, I think a guy like Jason Terry would be about perfect for this lineup. I want a veteran combo guard who knows how to win, especially in the playoffs. Too many times in that Bulls series, I saw leads lost because our inexperienced guys just didn't know what to do, or how to keep that killer attitude up. Jason Terry personifies that. He's the guy that came in and helped bring Dallas back against Portland in so many games. That's the guy I want coming off the bench. As much as I like AJ Price, he's just not Jason Terry in that regards.

[JeffFosters]

Nene just isn't coming here. Denver wants him and Nene wants Denver. Neither is Tyson Chandler for the same reasons. Realistic options to add to the front court include Mbah a Moute, Maxiell or Jason Thompson. As I said, none of these are the answer, but a short-term contract means that they can be in the mix whilst we await the answer to come via trade, such as if Favors starts playing well on a losing Utah team next year then Millsap may be available etc.

A real possibility could be Carl Landry, especially if David West doesn't opt out. Landry could be sold on Indy by offering a starting job, and a little more money than NO could cough up. Seeing as though NO is owned by the NBA, over-paying for a reserve may be considered a bad PR move.

I'd also like to see another point-guard added, in particular, a game-manager type who can move the ball. I like AJ, but he can tend to look for his own shot way too much. Having a vet who is a true pass-first type would really help in some instances. Think Earl Watson without the turn-overs.

[Moooose]

^ What we need is someone physically bigger than Hansbrough.

Mbah a Moute is a little undersized, he's cheap though.
Maxiell is very much undersized.
Thompson would be nice, but i believe we could get someone better.
Landry also would be a good addition but again, he's undersized. And really, i think Hansbrough could surpass this guy in the rankings in a couple of years.

In my opinion, what we need is a "last season's" Kris Humphries.

[JeffFosters]

^ What we need is someone physically bigger than Hansbrough.

Mbah a Moute is a little undersized, he's cheap though.
Maxiell is very much undersized.
Thompson would be nice, but i believe we could get someone better.
Landry also would be a good addition but again, he's undersized. And really, i think Hansbrough could surpass this guy in the rankings in a couple of years.

In my opinion, what we need is a "last season's" Kris Humphries.

What I'm suggesting is that a PF could be added to the mix, a rotational player, until such a time that a true athletic, shot-blocking, low-post scoring PF can be added. Players like Maxiell, Thompson and Mbah a Moute are all cheap, and provide a stop gap. I think the undersized PF myth has been busted by players like Chuck Hayes and Dejaun Blair and Elton Brand (and even Charles Barkley).

I'd be happy to roll next year with Hansbrough and McRoberts, and maybe a rookie PF. No problem. Next off-season has a great crop of FA's coming out.

[Kuq_e_Zi91]

Nene will become a free agent this summer. I don't think he'll go back to Denver. He said he doesn't feel appreciated there.

The question is how much does he want? He's opting out of 12 mil. Do you want to give him more than that per year if he, most likely, asks for it? He would become the highest paid player on this team.

[Wizop]

I will be surprised if we spend more than 12mm on any single player particularly one with a long term contract. at the other extreme, if we are not prepared to spend beyond the Dahntay Jones, S Jones, Diener, Watson level, I don't think you'll see Bird back.

[8305]

Nene will become a free agent this summer. I don't think he'll go back to Denver. He said he doesn't feel appreciated there. <BR itxtNodeId="852"><BR itxtNodeId="851">The question is how much does he want? He's opting out of 12 mil. Do you want to give him more than that per year if he, most likely, asks for it? He would become the highest paid player on this team.

Got to think his opt out is driven most by the potential to add years to the contract length. Combining Pacer needs and player skill set he's the most compelling free agent out there. I"d be surprised if he got significantly more than 12 mil per year in his next contract. But, I could be surprised. The playoffs we are seeing this year are doing a pretty good job of selling the value of good bigs. If he does get a significant increase in salary I hope we aren't the ones offering it. Over paying someone else's player rarely works out for the over paying team.

[IndieRuso420]

I will support Birds decisions because I like what he has done rebuilding this team since the brawl. But if we are playing make believe, and im the GM I dont trade anyone. I re-sign Josh and thats it (maybe Foster if its reasonable). I see if there is any possible way we can sign Magnum Rolle back. And my big splash is going out and signing DeAndre Jordan to an offer sheet Clippers cant match. Hibbert gets in foul trouble early a lot we need another talented young 7 footer. I use the two like Best-M. Jackson. 1st round pick is BPA hopefully a PG or G/F.

I really dont want Randolph/West/Landry because I think T proved he can start in the NBA and he is going to get better. Signing one of those guys would only hurt his progression.