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| Come on, you KNOW he's pissed the Jazz drafted Hayward. |
2009-10 Record: 32-50
Additions: Darren Collison (Trade), Paul George (Draft), Lance Stephenson (Draft)
Subtractions: Troy Murphy, Earl Watson, Luther Head
For about 6 years now the Pacers have seemingly settled on being mediocre. Not quite good enough to do any damage in the playoffs (or even get to the playoffs as of late), and not quite bad enough to get a decent lottery pick that could be a game changer. And even then, with the lottery picks they have had, the Pacers skipped over players that could have made them much better. Last year they took Tyler Hansbrough at 11, with players like Ty Lawson, Darren Collison and Rodrigue Beaubois available even though they were in desperate need of a point guard. The year before they traded Jerryd Bayless for Brandon Rush, and while Jerryd has had some big time moments in Portland, Rush has been a dud so far. They did manage to snag Roy Hibbert in that draft to replace the decrepit Jermaine O'Neal, so I'll give due credit there.
But finally it seems things are changing for Indiana. They took a high potential pick in the draft in Paul George, and also got a possible diamond in the rough in Lance Stephenson (although he's already been in trouble with the law during the summer so that's a tad troubling) in the 2nd round. Then they flipped Troy Murphy's nice expiring contract into Darren Collison and James Posey, a coup of a trade when you consider Collison was one of the best rookies last year, and in 37 games as a starter, averaged over 18 points, 3 rebounds and 9 assists. Taking back Posey and his contract was a no brainer when it meant acquiring a talent like Collison.
The Pacers also still have a ton of flexibility after this year, as they have almost $32.7 million coming off their cap after the season. About $5.5 million of that is Jamaal Tinsley's buyout while the rest is expiring contracts that can be used in trades.
Danny Granger remains the Pacers star, and also one of the best pure scorers in the game. He still needs to work on his defensive game, but offensively he should be better than ever, with a playmaker and scorer in Collison now on the team.
The Pacers also have a very energetic frontcourt, with rookie Psycho T finally coming back healthy after missing most of the season due to injury last year, and surprise player Josh McRoberts having a very good season last year fulfilling that role of energy big off the bench. Hibbert is a plodder, and not much of a rebounder, but he's good shotblocker, and he's been working on his post-game with Bill Walton this offseason.
The Pacers should be a relatively strong offensive team this year, but one area I see them really struggling in is rebounding. Murphy was one of the best defensive rebounders in the league, and the only player on the Pacers who is at all good in this regard is the aging Jeff Foster. Roy Hibbert is considered the future at center in Indiana, yet he only had a 15.5% Defensive Rebound rate last year. For a 7'3 center, that's absolutely atrocious. That's a lower rebounding rate than teammate Mike Dunleavy. McRoberts and Hansbrough aren't anything special on that end, so I foresee the team getting crushed in the boards this year, possibly being last in the league for defensive rebounding, unless Hibbert shows some major, major improvement.
Still with Collison in tow and given full rein unlike in New Orleans, I think the Pacers can legitimately challenge for a lower spot in the Eastern Conference playoff race. It won't be much, but the Pacers have finally paved the road to a much better future.
Projected Win Range: 35-40
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