| Bird Flies Solo In Indiana Authored by Andrew Perna - April 3, 2008 - 12:27 am
An era officially ended in Indiana on Wednesday, as Donnie Walsh was named the president of basketball operations of the New York Knicks.
The announcement had been expected for quite some time, with Walsh having stepped down from his post as the CEO of the Pacers early last week, but seeing the native New Yorker return home seemed to make everything frighteningly real for the Pacers.
The team’s roster has been in transition for the better part of the last three years, and now Indiana’s once-heralded front office joins the ranks of the unproven.
The man who drafted Chuck Person and Reggie Miller, turned Dale Davis into Jermaine O’Neal, dealt Mark Jackson and then brought him back and led Indiana to a decade of contention has completely handed the reigns over to Larry Bird, who has yet to effectively turn his on-court success into front office triumph.
Bird has had one hand on the controls of the Pacers for the past few seasons, but it is a mystery as to exactly who was really making the decisions over that period of time. Walsh’s latest role with the franchise was to oversee the team while Bird, the president of basketball operations, handled the roster. However, I still doubt very highly that Larry Legend’s finger prints were the only ones that could be found on the team’s recent moves.
Bird is credited with drafting Danny Granger and Shawne Williams, moves that already appear to be paying dividends, but we may never know whether or not Walsh had his lips firmly planted in Larry’s ear.
Aside from the draft, Bird has brought in a trio of mid-to-low level free agents during his tenure – Sarunas Jasikevicius, Travis Diener and Kareem Rush. He also managed to retain both Miller and O’Neal during his first month on the job in 2003, but other than that a majority of his splashes have been made via trades.
He acquired Stephen Jackson, Al Harrington and Peja Stojakovic in deals over the last four years, but sent both Jackson and Harrington packing last January for Mike Dunleavy and Troy Murphy. Stojakovic, who was acquired for Ron Artest, spent just a half-season with Indiana before bolting to New Orleans (Indiana managed to get the trade exception that helped them land Harrington in the wake of Peja’s departure).
Recalling the various transactions that have occurred with Bird in the front office, it’s apparent that a majority of what happened in Indiana was out of both Larry and Walsh’s hands.
The team, Walsh included, felt the need to trade both Jackson and Harrington last January and it’s hard to keep a player like Stojakovic in town, or attract any type of premier free agent, when you have struggled on and off the court as much as the Pacers have recently.
It’s hard enough to follow an act like Walsh, who spent more than two decades as the heart of the Pacers’ front office, but Bird has also had to deal with an incredible amount of injury and legal woes. Because of that, Bird deserves to be cut a little bit of slack, especially with his job getting tougher as the losses pile up and people stay further and further away from Conseco Fieldhouse.
This summer, with a lottery pick on the horizon and players like O’Neal and Jamaal Tinsley in flux once again, Bird will be able to show us all whether or not he can fly on his own in the Pacers’ nest.
However, no matter how capable Bird proves to be, Walsh’s departure could have a profound effect on what happens in Indiana in the not-so-distant future.
Could the Pacers and Knicks become trade partners?
Walsh established tremendous relationships with all of his players in Indiana, which could make a move to New York rather easy. Bird might be looking to unload Tinsley this summer, and the Knicks should be in the market for a point guard. If Isiah Thomas remains the head coach in New York, which team owner James Dolan seems to be pushing for, acquiring Tinsley becomes even more feasible. The two points had a good relationship when Isiah coached Walsh’s Pacers at the beginning of the decade. However, Walsh obviously knows the problems Tinsley brings to the table.
Future free agents bolting from Indiana
Players like Granger and Williams are emerging in Indiana, but it remains to be seen if the team will be able to retain them over the long-term. The Pacers would be smart to keep Granger in blue-and-gold for a majority of his career, but there is no guarantee that he will remain in Indiana past 2009. As mentioned, Bird was able to retain both Miller and O’Neal back in the summer of 2003, but the grass was a lot greener four years ago. No matter who comes into town, if Bird allows Granger to jump ship, he’ll lose even more of the team’s fed-up fan base.
What will Reggie do?
When commenting on Walsh’s tenure in Indiana last week, Miller told the Associated Press that he hasn’t ruled out making a move to an NBA front office when his current contract with TNT runs out in a handful of years. The comment was made in reference to helping out his former team in Indiana, but with the tremendous amount of loyalty Miller has expressed towards Walsh, it wouldn’t be out of the realm of possibility to see Reggie to take an office job at Madison Square Garden.
Only time will tell what the future holds for the Pacers with Donnie Walsh in New York, and Larry Bird standing alone in the Indiana. But one thing is for certain – after four years we will finally realize just how strong Bird’s wings are on their own.
Andrew Perna is a Senior Writer for RealGM.com and appreciates any comments or questions that his readers might have. Feel free to e-mail him at: Andrew.Perna@RealGM.com |
