The Indiana Pacers: Where Hard Bargains Happen

Troy Murphy is a very nice player, don’t get me wrong. He’s the rare player who is an unbelievable three-point shooter and an excellent rebounder at the same time. At the same time, he’s overpaid, is a terrible defender and can’t create his own shot. Players like that are fairly disposable, or at the very least, don’t command major packages back.

Don’t tell that to the Indiana Pacers, thought. According to the Indy Star’s Mike Wells, the Pacers reportedly asked for a king’s ransom from the Cleveland Cavaliers in exchange for Murphy’s services.

The Pacers have already tried to send him to Cleveland, but those talks didn’t last long because they were asking for too much, according to a source. The Pacers wanted the Cavaliers to give up forward J.J. Hickson, center Zydrunas Ilgauskas and multiple draft picks for Murphy, the source said.

In other words, the Pacers want massive cap relief, Cleveland’s top existing prospect and more than one future draft pick for Troy freakin’ Murphy! Maybe Indiana doesn’t know the meaning of franchise players, having not had one since the Brawl, and thinks Murphy is a building-block type of player, but he’s not. Cleveland likely wouldn’t agree to that package for Washington’s Antawn Jamison, a significantly better player than Murphy, so why would they agree to do it for Murphy?

Just how ridiculous are Indiana’s demands? Here’s what SB Nation’s Indy Cornrows writes about the trade possibility.

Hey, I’m all for asking for the moon and I’m sure dealing fomr a position of strength has to be fun for Larry Bird and David Morway, but now that there’s room for negotiation don’t let it die. I’m assuming that’s the case since there’s still over two week before the trade deadline, so if the Cavs settle on Murphy and the Pacers get anything beyond Ziggy’s contract, it will be worth it.

In other words, back the eff off and face the music, Larry Bird. Murphy’s just not that valuable.