| Post-Trade Grades Authored by Andrew Perna - February 1, 2007 - 9:55 pm
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The Pacers have won four out of their seven games since the trade went down on January 17th, with one of those losses coming the night after the swap (Indiana was stuck with a depleted roster). None of the new players have made too much of an impact, and Mike Dunleavy has received early criticism for his offensive struggles. Dunleavy may need more time to get used to the Pacers’ system, but at the very least Troy Murphy has emerged as a double-double threat, as he was in Golden State.
When people evaluate the trade they’ll most likely talk about the production and statistics of Dunleavy, Murphy, and Ike Diogu in Indiana and the numbers of Stephan Jackson, Al Harrington, and Sarunas Jasikevicius in Golden State. However, multi-player trades like this one have a vast effect on entire roster, not just the exchanged players. While the rest of the sporting world ponders the arrival of the new players in Indiana, I’ll review how the established Pacers have handled the post-trade schedule.
A Trade? Brilliant!
Danny Granger – He was as much a part of this deal as any of the incoming Warrior players. If Larry Bird and Donnie Walsh didn’t feel that Granger could handle a heavy load, they wouldn’t have traded their second and third leading scorers. Since the trade Danny is playing nearly forty minutes per night, up from 31.8 a game, and scoring 18.0 per contest (his season average is 12.9).
Marquis Daniels – In the early parts of the season it seemed as though the Daniels in blue and gold was nothing like the Marquis that Larry Bird swapped for Austin Croshere. He was struggling with his shot, and not contributing much on either end of the floor. For a guy who was thought of as a potential starter, he was playing just seventeen minutes a night and putting up only a half-dozen points. Post-trade he’s playing twenty-seven minutes a game and contributing 13.2 points per game. This Daniels looks like the guy we saw in Dallas.
Darrell Armstrong – When the Pacers traded Anthony Johnson to Dallas last summer in exchange for Armstrong, many fans revolted. Johnson had been one of the few consistent players on the court for Indiana during two years of turmoil. Even before the Golden State trade Darrell had shown the Pacers, and their fans, just what he was still capable of. But With Indiana having traded two of their main perimeter threats, (Jackson and Jasikevicius) Armstrong has enjoyed an increased role. With his increased playing time he’s becoming even more productive. He even flirted with a triple-double in a win against Chicago last week.
Wait…There was a trade?
Jermaine O’Neal – The greatest effect this trade had was on Jermaine personal. He lost some pretty good friends in All Harrington and Stephen Jackson. On the court, the trade hasn’t had much of an effect on the perennial all-star. He has played a few more minutes per game, forty minutes a night (up from 36.4 on the season), but nothing else has changed significantly. If Troy Murphy can start establishing his outside shot, then O’Neal might enjoy slightly better statistics, but regardless he’s Indiana’s man.
Jamaal Tinsley – Despite his offensive explosion against the Celtics on Tuesday night, not much has changed for Jamaal Tinsley post-trade. He’s still averaging roughly the same amount of points, assists, and minutes. The only effect that I feel the trade will have on Mel is that he’ll have to carry more of an offensive load at times. If he can come through like he did against Boston when needed, the Pacers point guard situation will be in better shape then it has in a long time.
Um…Can We Go Back?
Jeff Foster – If anyone, in the short or long term, is going to be negatively affected by this trade it’ll be Jeff Foster. Through the first seven games after the deal Foster’s minutes have only decreased slightly, down two minutes per game, but if Murphy begins to shine in Indiana – Foster could see much less time. Should Troy provide an offensive spark, while opening up the middle for O’Neal, Foster could end up playing less than twenty minutes a night. If Jeff wants to keep his role, he’ll have to clean up on the offensive glass to help the Pacers on offense, while grabbing board after board on defense.
How do you feel about the post-trade Pacers? Let Andrew Know! |
