| Attention: Indiana Executives Authored by Andrew Perna - July 4, 2006 - 3:35 pm
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From: Andrew Perna, life-long Pacer fan
Subject: The status of our Indiana Pacers
Date: July 4th, 2006
I’m going to cut right to the chase – something has to be done. Moves have to be made, free agents have to be pursued, and trade options must be explored. So far our offseason has been highlighted by the somewhat surprising loss of Peja Stojakovic to the New Orleans Hornets. After months of claiming that he wanted to return to Indiana, a very lucrative contract offer from a rising young team was able to lure him away.
It’s largely believed that you are going after former Pacer, Al Harrington, and free agent Bonzi Wells, both very good options. For Harrington it would be as though he never left, re-joining one of his best friends, Jermaine O’Neal. As for Bonzi, he’s an Indiana native, and a perfect fit for a team that needs a substantial addition as soon as possible.
Other options should be explored through the trade market. Improving team chemistry should be the main focus of your offseason moves. Agreeing to a sign-and-trade with the Hawks for Harrington was a strong possibility, but their having acquired Speedy Claxton might have put a damper on that for now. Our main bargaining tool would have been Jamaal Tinsley, the point guard that Atlanta has been in desperate need of for quite some time.
My thinking in regards to trades and free agency is usually very conservative, I’m not a fan of change, but something must be done. I know it would have been nice to be able to bide your time, and survey the market for as long as possible, but you’ve lost that luxury.
This summer was supposed to be a boring one for the NBA. The free agent class was weak, and the recent draft class has been called one of the worst in years. Instead, teams have made substantial moves early and often. Several of our rivals in the Central Division have improved for both the present and the future.
The Bulls have added several young pieces through the draft. Including Tyrus Thomas, who many feel was the best prospect in last week’s draft. They also acquired the most coveted free agent of the summer in Detroit’s Ben Wallace. Chicago was already on the rise with the young talent of guys like Ben Gordon, Kirk Hinrich, and Loul Deng. Now they’ve got to be considered among the favorites to represent the Eastern Conference in the NBA Finals.
They’re not the only team to improve significantly so far this offseason. The Raptors and Bucks have both made small moves that might go a long way this fall. The Villanueva-Ford swap was a good move for both teams. The Raptors finally got their point guard, and the Bucks got a big man who can shoot from the outside. The Raptors should significantly improve upon their horrid record from last season, while the Bucks should be better than their eighth place finish last year.
New Jersey has added the depth that they lacked, in back-up point Marcus Williams, and big-bodied Josh Boone. We need to make some moves, and fast.
Fans and players alike have to be getting nervous with all these moves having gone down in the NBA, and nothing to show for it in Indianapolis. Making a move for either Harrington or Wells would solve all of that. We can’t go into the season with virtually the same roster we had when Artest was serving his season-long suspension in 2004. We had Reggie then, and our will drove us to the second round of the playoffs.
The Eastern Conference is deeper now, and that isn’t going to happen again. I’m aware that it is still relatively early in the offseason, but this is a shallow player market and things have to be done before the well has run dry.
A starting frontcourt of O’Neal, Harrington, and Granger would be a promising sight for years to come. Not only would things improve on the court, but off the floor as well. It’s not hard to believe that O’Neal isn’t as happy in Indiana as he was a few seasons ago when the Pacers were contending for the NBA title. Bringing back his good friend Al might make him think a little more positively about what is going on in Pacerville.
Please do something soon so our fans and players will still believe that winning is the first thing on your minds over there in Indiana, because it’s hard to watch everyone else get better while we stand pat.
Thanks, Andrew Perna
Andrew can be reached at Andrew.Perna@RealGM.com |
