Arin It Out

Pacers Summer: Roster Breakdown

2011-06-01T14:31:14Z

Well, it has been a while! I have taken some time after my basketball season and really given a long thought on what direction the Pacers may go this off season. As of right now, the Pacers have five players coming off of the books and creating a ton of cap space. Jeff Foster, TJ Ford, Mike Dunleavy, Josh McRoberts, and Solomon Jones are all unrestricted free agents this summer. Foster, Ford, and Dunleavy were the heaviest salaries of the group.
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PG

Danny Granger
Dahntay Jones / James Posey

Tyler Hansbrough

Roy Hibbert

The primary goal of this summer should be to add depth up front. I have a feeling that Jeff Foster will be brought back for a much cheaper deal than the 6mil+ he made this year. That would help out at the center position, but the power forward slot is still a questionable area. The question isn't whether Hansbrough can play at the NBA level, but more of, is he a starter or better coming off the bench? That is a big question that has be answered by the front office.

Other than the front court situation, I really feel a backup PG is needed. I have a love-hate relationship with AJ Price and he really is not the long-term answer as the backup. He is serviceable, but makes way too many bad decisions and the offense is often stagnant when he is in the game. I'm not sold on Lance Stephenson either. If he can't manage to keep his head straight off the court, then I don't hold much faith in thinking he can run a team for an extended period of time.

NBA Trade Deadline Finishes With a Fury

2011-02-25T18:26:25Z

The NBA trade deadline is usually filled with a lot of talk and not a whole lot of action. Constant checking of favorite blogs, forums, websites, and social media are the norm for fans that are trying to keep up with the latest and greatest in rumors and actual deals going down. This year's trade deadline was more of the same, but with a lot more action. Check out this listing of the trades that went down.

Follow me after the jump to get my thoughts on the trade deadline frenzy.
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Houston is sitting at 28-31, four games behind Memphis for the 8th and final playoff spot in the West. Instead of making deals to make a push for the playoffs, they made moves that will most assuredly push them down in the standings, giving them a much better lottery pick. Grabbing two extra first round picks, Hasheem Thabeet, DeMarre Carroll, and Goran Dragic while giving up Shane Battier, Aaron Brooks, and Ishmael Smith is a good start on that descent down the standings. Does the addition of Thabeet mean that Yao is gone after this season?

Boston made some weird moves. They acquired Jeff Green, Nenad Krstic, and two 2nd round picks, one being for 2017?! In the process, they gave up Kendrick Perkins, Nate Robinson, Luke Harangody, and Semih Erden. If Boston ends up winning, then Danny Ainge will look like a genius, but if Boston doesn't win the championship, then people will immediately turn to these trades and offer him up to the Tea Gods quicker than you can say Crispus Attucks! (Side note: that is all of the Boston history references I will ever use)

Oklahoma City came out smelling like roses and a possible future NBA championship team with their deals. Picking up Kendrick Perkins, Nate Robinson, and Nazr Mohammed while giving up a guy they didn't plan on extending (Green) and three guys that aren't going to hurt the team by being dealt. If you look at the lineup for OKC, you will notice Ibaka, Sefalosha, and Perkins - three very good defenders. With the added offensive firepower from Nate Robinson off the bench, Sam Presti has my vote for GM of the year right now.

My beloved Pacers managed to spread a lot of excitement (panic for me) with the announcement that OJ Mayo was coming to town. They were reportedly giving up Josh McRoberts and a 1st round pick for him. The deal didn't make any sense as it left Indiana very thin up front and even more loaded on the wings. Thankfully, the deal was finalized too late (oops!) and it did not go through. The Grizzlies owner, Michael Heisley had some nice things to say about that! If you don't want to be a laughing stock in the NBA, missing the deadline to finalize a trade is not the way you go about correcting that.

One of my favorite players of all-time, Mike Bibby, was traded to Washington, or as I like to call it, Basketball Purgatory. Along with Bibby, the Wizards received a 1st round pick, Jordan (not Jamal) Crawford, and Maurice Evans. The Wizards only had to give up Kirk Hinrich's ridiculously large salary and Hilton Armstrong, complete with worthless post moves. Washington won this deal due to the pick and getting rid of the salary of Hinrich.

Outside of OKC (and Jazz earlier in the week), the Blazers were the biggest winners on the day by acquiring Gerald Wallace. I am excited to see how his skill set will fit in with the Blazers' style of play.

There were other trades completed as well, like the Carmelo to the Knicks trade and the Williams to the Nets trade, but I don't have much to say about them, other than the Nuggets and the Jazz won those deals. Both teams gained assets and got rid of players they knew did not want to stick around. Lessons learned from this past summer's free agency frenzy no doubt.

Favre Fined, NFL Looks Foolish

2010-12-29T19:20:07Z

In 1998, Bill Clinton was impeached by the House of Representatives for lying about his relationship with Monica Lewinsky. IMPEACHED! In 2010, Brett Favre is fined $50,000 by the NFL for "failure to cooperate" in the investigation of Favre's relationship with Jen Sterger. To make this matter worse, the NFL was outstandingly slow with their investigation. This shouldn't set well with anyone, except Brett Favre.

My first thought with this fine and the fact that Favre didn't cooperate in the investigation is, "Why did the NFL wait so long to come up with a punishment?" If Favre refused to cooperate, then why didn't the NFL step in and fine or suspend him at that point?

This makes the NFL and Commissioner, Roger Goodell, look very foolish and inconsistent. With the suspensions and fines that Goodell has handed out, this fine should cause a major ripple effect going forward. James Harrison has been fined $100,000 for hits that he delivered on the field of play this season alone. Favre is really getting off light in this situation.

With this fine being handed down, I think this puts a final stamp on Favre's career.

Geno Auriemma Overshadows Greatness

2010-12-20T15:27:22Z

First, before anything else is said, let me congratulate the UConn women's basketball team for winning their 88th game in a row! That is amazing, I don't care what level of competition you are on. I don't think I've successfully done anything 88 times in a row. Maybe 81 or 82 times, but never 88.

With this streak, like all others, there are a lot of things that come packaged with it. Stress, negative publicity, positive publicity, ups and downs, doom and gloom, and a whole lot of haters. After the win, Geno went off about how people didn't want to see the women break the record and completely, COMPLETELY overshadowed the record that these young women had set.

Here is a quote from Auriemma (via ESPN.com):

"I just know there wouldn't be this many people in the room if we were chasing a woman's record. The reason everybody is having a heart attack the last four or five days is a bunch of women are threatening to break a men's record, and everybody is all up in arms about it."

A couple of things that I take from this quote:

1) It is a woman's record. Granted, you already had it. In essence, you are setting a new record every game and have been for a while. The record you are chasing is not a men's record either. It is a college record. The UCLA men have their record. The UConn women have their record and now college basketball's record. Congrats on that, be happy!

2) Who cares how many people are in the room and for what reason? If you haven't figured out by now that some people want you to fail for their personal reasons, then you are in the wrong profession, Geno. You should have used this opportunity as way to showcase your girls that helped set this record along the way. You could have also used this time to promote the game itself. Instead, you used this time to sound like you were a combination of Walter Matthau and Jack Lemon rolled into one and you were auditioning for Grumpy Old Men 3: The Grumpiest Old Man

I understand that as a coach, you have that "Don't mess with my kids" mentality and you want to protect them and stick up for them, but this was not the time to do that. This was the time to promote, praise, and thank them for all of the hard work they have put into this streak. This isn't a one (wo)man show, but Geno Auriemma turned it into one.

Dallas Clark Down for the Year

2010-10-22T17:14:25Z

I'm not really sure how to sum up my feelings after hearing that Dallas Clark is going to be out for the rest of the year. I guess, this video will help some. I'm the guy on the left. Most other fans are on the right. Which are you?

Pat McAfee Arrested During Research for His New Movie

2010-10-20T19:36:06Z

In light of the Colts' punter, Pat McAfee, being arrested last night, I wanted to let him know that this Colts' fan is not upset with him at all. I understand, I have been there. Auditioning for the remake of one of your favorite 80's movies and the pressure just gets to you. I GET IT! Here are a few stills from the movie set of McAfee in his new role of Thornton Melon, from Back to School. It is going to be hard to replace Rodney Dangerfield though!

Here is Rodney doing what he does best, the Triple Lindy (credit to my brother for remembering this movie!)

Pacers, Hazing, and You

2010-10-18T17:00:36Z

Last basketball season, a few idiots that played for the Carmel High School boys basketball team were arrested for "hazing" (assaulting) after they stuck their fingers in orifices that didn't belong to them. This season Roy Hibbert was the main catalyst for the Pacers' rookies wearing pink backpacks (look at the video section and Pink Backpacks for Rookies) as a bit of a "welcome to the league." Can these two stories be grouped together as hazing?

In one word, NO. The fact that someone at Fox59 thought that this story had legs should indicate to Fox that this person should be fired. If they wanted a piece that they thought would be controversial, then their wish has been granted.

This really is a non-issue, but it is very aggravating to see a major local network take this harmless joke and turn it into something it is not. You can blame the fact that our society has turned as soft as applesauce on this.

So, I am going to lay out a few graphs for you, the readers, to illustrate where the Pacers' rookies "hazing" lands in the grand scheme of the hazing spectrum:

And for those that still aren't sure if this is hazing, allow me to show you exhibit B:

To me, hazing is much like crying wolf. If you keep using the term, then it will mean absolutely nothing when there are instances like the Carmel basketball team and there will be no justice.

So, let's leave the pink backpacks out of this ridiculous discussion.

Matt Leinart is Shane Falco

2010-08-24T13:22:28Z

When Matt Leinart was drafted, I figured he would be a very good NFL QB. Not the best, but Pro-Bowl potential. As much as I root for him to succeed, he doesn't make anything look easy.

Until Matt Leinart spends a night in prison with his teammates doing the electric slide to "I Will Survive", he won't make that step up to being a franchise quarterback.

Rays Need A New Bat

2010-08-23T20:30:27Z

After I read a rumor that the Rays may try to go for Manny Ramirez if he is put on waivers by the Dodgers, I wondered why nobody has picked up Jermaine Dye for the rest of the season. Heck, even Carlos Delgado was signed by the Red Sox.

The Rays need a solid bat in their lineup, mostly handling the DH duties, so why not add Dye? He is a solid veteran hitter and he knows what it takes to win in the post season.

Possible PF Targets for the Pacers

2010-08-23T17:46:42Z

Now that the Pacers have secured their point guard of the future in Darren Collison, the Pacers have a glaring need at the power forward position. With the current players on the roster that could fill that spot, there isn't a clear cut choice to be the starter.

Jeff Foster, Josh McRoberts, Tyler Hansbrough, and Solomon Jones are all possibilities, but who in their right mind feels comfortable with that quartet to choose from? Not me, that's for sure. Keep in mind that the Pacers are at the roster max of 15 players right now, which leaves Magnum Rolle, a guy the Pacers want to sign, out in the cold.

Here are two possible trade scenarios that could work out:

Scenario 1

Pacers incoming:
* Brandon Bass
* Ryan Anderson

Orlando incoming:
* Dahntay Jones
* Josh McRoberts
* Solomon Jones

This trade works for both teams. Bass gets an opportunity to play more (which he has stated he wants) and Orlando grabs a solid perimeter defender and two (although small) expiring contracts. Anderson could play a smaller Troy Murphy role for the Pacers and this trade also opens up a roster spot for Magnum Rolle.

Scenario 2

Pacers incoming:
* Jason Thompson

Sacramento incoming:
* Brandon Rush

This trade allows the Kings to decrease the traffic jam in their frontcourt, while the Pacers do the same on the wing. The money is even and this is really a win-win for both parties. However, the roster spot for Magnum Rolle is still non-existent.

If either of these trades were pulled off, Pacer fans should/would be thrilled with the possibilities of a playoff run this season. There is still plenty of time before the season starts and Larry Bird stated that they still had work to be done this Summer, so we shall see.

Larry Bird Gets the Point

2010-08-12T14:37:36Z

The Pacers and three other teams were able to pull of a big trade yesterday. I wouldn't call it a major trade for any of the teams except for the Pacers, as they landed their point guard of the future in Darren Collison.

Pacers' fans haven't had this much to be excited about since the beginning of the season that quickly ended with "The Brawl." That team looked like they were a championship contender and that was the beginning of the end for the franchise that I have grown to love.

Larry Bird quickly energized a dwindling Indiana fan base with this trade though. Collison can be a stud in this league for a long time, but he is young, so fans need to be patient as he learns on the fly this season.

Along with Collison, the Pacers took on James Posey as well, as solid veteran, perimeter defender. How much will he play? Not sure that he fits into the plans for this team, this year. Maybe he is bought out.

If Posey isn't bought out, that leads me to assume the Pacers aren't done dealing as they are now thin up front after Troy Murphy was sent to New Jersey as part of the four team trade. I will miss Murph-Dirt's double-doubles for sure. Murphy just seemed like a cool guy to be around, which are the kind of players that fans gravitate to and cheer harder for.

There were rumors after the trade was announced that that Pacers wanted to buyout TJ Ford's $8.5mil contract for only $5mil. Ford was apparently not interested in that at all and I don't blame him. He picked up his player option this year, so why would he leave $3.5mil on the table?

I've been pretty tough on Bird, as he has deserved a lot of criticism, but this trade makes me want to give him a hug!

Looking at the AL MVP Race

2010-08-09T14:29:00Z

With the AL playoff race heating up as the season comes to an end, there are a few players that could help set themselves apart from their peers in the MVP race. As I see it, there are four solid candidates right now, with the possibility of several more player throwing their names into the discussion by season's end.

Here is how I have the order as of now:

Josh Hamilton - Hamilton was a serious triple-crown threat before the All-Star break, but with his home run and rbi total slowing down so far in the second half of the season, that dream is probably gone. Hamilton is still hitting .355 for the first place Rangers, who are a comfortable 7.5 games up on second place Oakland in the AL West.
Miguel Cabrera - Cabrera is a legitimate contender for the triple-crown this year. He is currently third in batting, with a .343 average and third in home runs with 26, but he leads the AL with 93 rbi. If the Tigers were closer than 9 games out, Cabrera would be a lock for this award. If he can finish strong and the Tigers move a bit closer in the standings, Cabrera could walk away with the title.
Robinson Cano - Cano might not be the sexy candidate, but he very well could be the guy to win the MVP award with the way the Yankees are playing in the tough AL East. Cano ranks 5th in batting (.332), 11th in home runs (21), and 11th in rbi (72), but it is his Gold Glove caliber play that really sets himself up for this award. I have Hamilton first on this list, but I wouldn't be surprised if Cano won.
Paul Konerko - Konerko is another guy that might not be the sexiest pick for this award, but his steady bat and timely power have helped the White Sox stay atop the AL Central in a heated race with the Minnesota Twins. Konerko is batting .302 right now and this would be the third time in his career that he is been over the .300 if he can manage to stay above that line. With 27 home runs and 76 rbi, Konerko's power numbers are right on par with the leaders. A strong August and a first place finish would help Konerko's cause.

There are my top three candidates right now. Here are the best of the rest:
Carl Crawford, Vladimir Guerrero, Justin Morneau (if healthy), Joe Mauer, Delmon Young, and Adrian Beltre

Is Lance Stephenson the Answer at Point Guard?

2010-07-06T15:18:05Z

After just one Summer League game it seems that a lot of Pacers' fans are ready to hand the starting point guard job to Lance Stephenson. It's going to take a little more than one game to convince me, but I did like what I saw from him yesterday. If you are looking for some video, please check out Pacers Digest, who literally has broken down the video piece-by-piece.

With summer league play, it is very tricky to get a real read on a player's true abilities. Look at some of the past summer league standouts: Anthony Randolph, Marco Belinelli, Jerryd Bayless, etc. These guys all have been brilliant during the summer and have struggled to match those outputs, due to lack of playing time mostly. So, lets not get carried away with proclaiming Stephenson the savior of the team...at least for right now.

Stephenson did show that he was able to get by his defender without any trouble. When his defender was able to keep in front of him on the drive he was making some very nice passes. However, that is not all of what the point guard position is about. Getting guys into place on the offense, running the offense, controlling the tempo of the game, those things really determine a point guard's value. If the Pacers just wanted a guy to penetrate and dish, then Jim O'Brien should have been starting TJ Ford all of last season.

At only 19 years old, Stephenson showed a lot of promise, but I would wait to see what lies ahead of him during training camp and the season. Maybe the Pacers got the steal of the draft. We will see in time.

Free Agent Frenzy: Jordan Farmar

2010-07-02T14:15:51Z

With the free agency period officially underway, there have been some talk/rumors about the Pacers and Jordan Farmar. My initial thought was "WHY?"

Farmar is a career backup and that is it. He can play some solid minutes off the bench and would do well with the second unit, but he isn't a starting quality point guard in the NBA. Having said that, he has learned from Derek Fisher the past few seasons and has a boat load of athleticism.

According to some reports, Farmar is a prime target of the Pacers and the Blazers. What does he want contractually? What does he want as a player? These things remain to be seen, but if Farmar goes to Portland he would most certainly be the backup to Andre Miller.

Is there really a reason to give him a contract that is more than two or three years?

Free Agent Frenzy: Earl Watson

2010-06-30T18:02:19Z

With the fourth piece in the Free Agent Frenzy series, I am going to look at Earl Watson.

Watson was with the Pacers last season and was on a very reasonable 1 year contract. While starting a total of 59 games for Indiana, Watson was worth every penny of that contract. March was his best month as he had five games of double digit assists. He averaged 7.8ppg and 6.8apg for the month.

Earl has stated that he wants to play for a winner, so does that cut the Pacers out of the picture? Winning helps, but if there is an opportunity to start, a lot of players will go with that.

In order to get Watson on the team, he would obviously want a bigger contract than what he signed last season. Something like a 3 year, $10mil deal would be in the neighborhood of what EW is looking for.

I'd say Watson would be the best bet to come in for Indiana, as he knows Jim O'Brien's offense and JOB trusts the way he plays.