SB Nation User Blog: Cornrows

A.J. Price Ready For His Shot With The Pacers

Cornrows — Sat, 04 Jul 2009 02:27:14 -0000

A.J. Price showed up on a couple of local radio shows this week and proved to be a great interview. Love the calm confidence he's carrying into summer camp.

A.J. Price with Derek Schultz on XL 950 (audio)

A.J. Price with JMV (audio)

Here's a clip of the crossover move Price and Schultzy discussed:

Ron Artest Claims He's Going To The Lakers

Cornrows — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 23:57:56 -0000

Ken Berger reports that Ron Artest has come to an agreement to sign a contract with the Los Angeles Lakers. The original source for Berger's story was Artest himself, so Berger did the smart thing and tracked down another source who corroborated Ronnie's declaration.

There has been plenty of chatter locally about trying to bring Ronnie back to the Pacers to jump start the team's chances for the playoffs next season. Sure would've created an incredible buzz around the team but that point is moot now. Ronnie said he wanted to play for a championship contender and he found the ideal situation. The contract details should be interesting.

This could definitely push Trevor Ariza to Cleveland which isn't good for the Pacers. As for Ronnie, the Lakers should be ideal. Even with Yao and McGrady in Houston, Ronnie still felt he should be the lead dog which can be a blessing or a curse depending on the day of the week. Out in L.A., Ronnie knows Kobe has top billing and he'll surely respect anything Phil Jackson tells him. Seeing Ronnie busting his guts in a secondary role could be special as long as he keeps his head straight.

Jim O'Brien Coaching Up Summer Leaguers For Pacers

Cornrows — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 21:03:40 -0000

Bruno updates us from the first day of camp for the Indiana Pacers summer league team. In past years, an assistant coach has done the heavy lifting with the summer league team, but the young core of the Pacers team involved this year, JOB is taking advantage of the time and calling the shots.

"We'll probably be together 17 times with practices or games. That's a great chance for Brandon, Roy and Josh and Tyler to really grow their games. If A.J. or Will Blalock or somebody like that can get a uniform, or (Derrick) Byars or Anthony Smith or Scott Vander Meer, all of these guys, it's a chance to evaluate and also improve the guys that are going to be in uniform."

IC Cold Links: Pacers Begin Bargain Shopping

Cornrows — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 10:43:39 -0000

Here are a few items of interest to ponder after day one of the free agent period:

Pacers read to go discount shopping
Mike Wells blogs about the Pacers' goal to make the most out of the little cap room they have to spend this summer. We also learn about a few Nuggets on the Pacers' radar as well as Atlanta eyeing Jarrett Jack.

Conrad Brunner on Kravitz & Eddie (audio). Bruno leads the league in reading between the lines so I found his comments on Jarrett Jack possibly fielding offers the Pacers won't be willing to match quite interesting.

From the FanPosts, dbcb links to stories about the Pacers' interest in Marcin Gortat and Fabricio Oberto.

Ron Artest reportedly piquing Cleveland's interest
I imagine the Cavs would rather sign Ariza but Ronnie may be the next option for the right price. Artest has indicated that he wants to assess a team's championship capabilities when signing but I'd think any team that considers themselves a championship contender will have to think long and hard about adding Ronnie to the mix.

Sources: Trevor Ariza leaning toward leaving Los Angeles Lakers - ESPN
Yikes! I'm rooting for Ariza to Portland because I really don't want to see that defensive menace come to town with the Cavs. Forget Shaq, this should be the type of player LeBron James wants the Cavs to bring in if he's going to stay past next year. Ariza could become the defensive version of Robert Horry, just popping up on championship teams.

If Gordon Leaves, Bulls Could Get Daniels -- NBA FanHouse
Tim Povtak makes the case for Quisy to joing the Bulls to fill the void left by losing Ben Gordon.

Keeping Up With NBA News And Rumors

Cornrows — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 01:04:45 -0000

Day one of the NBA free agent signing period has spawned tons of news and rumors around the league. Already, Ben Gordon and Charlie Villanueva are reported to be joining the Detroit Pistons. As dbcb posted earlier today, the Pacers have reportedly shown interest in Fabricio Oberto and Marcin Gortat.

Oberto wouldn't excite me much and would have to join the group of bridge players since, considering his age, signing him for more than two years wouldn't be wise. Gortat has more of a game the Pacers are looking for in their effort to add a reasonably priced front court contributor. The Pacers don't have the money to get into a bidding war, though and with Houston and New York appearing very interested, Gortat's price tag will likely exceed the Pacers budget.

One thing we should expect is plenty more report on the Pacers showing interest in various free agents. Just check out Bird's comments on free agency via Bruno today:

"We've got $8 million and, the way I look at it, three holes to fill," said team President Larry Bird. "I think we're going to have the opportunity to pick up a pretty good player for a lot less money than he would've gotten if the economy was a lot better.

"There's what, 100 free agents this year? There's going to be a lot of them looking for jobs, and some pretty good players, too – for minimums. It won't be top names but they will be some pretty good players."

The Pacers will probably show a little love to a big swath of free agents and then narrow their focus as the market fleshes itself out. Until then we'll likely hear plenty of stories about the team's varied level of interest in different players. At some point, that $8 million will be put to use. I also remain convinced that a trade or two will pop up before the summer is over.

So with the fluid situation and information flying from tons of different outlets, I'm looking to the faithful Indy Cornrows' readers to help keep us all informed. Huge thanks to dbcb for posting those links today. That is exactly the type of help I'm looking for to keep our growing community informed. We've added a lot of new members over the past few weeks and I couldn't be more happy with the growing core group of commenters who continually offer smart and diverse opinions on everything related to the Pacers. That is the ultimate goal of this site.

I want to make sure when news breaks you can stop here to offer your reactions and read the thoughts of others. Sean and I will do our best to post breaking news about any Pacers' signings or trades, but life can get in the way. If you hear about something and see nothing posted here, PLEASE put up a FanPost with a link verifying the information so others can begin commenting on the news.

Now let's just hope the Pacers offer up plenty of news for us to analyze.

IC Cold Links: Pacers Offseason Workload Ramps Up

Cornrows — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 10:36:23 -0000

Here are some links of interest as the Pacers begin working in earnest to fill out their roster for the upcoming season:

Pacers' priorities start from within
Mike Wells reports on Larry Bird's comments yesterday as the Pacers head into the free agent signing period.
"It's a three-year plan and I wouldn't do anything to jeopardize any of these young guys because they are going to be good," Bird said. "If I can add to that core through a trade, I probably will."
Future of Pacers franchise showcased in summer
Bruno's latest Caught in the Web delves into the summer work set to begin this week and finds Larry Bird and David Morway excited about seeing what their young core can do together.
One-on-One With Pacers' Danny Granger -- NBA FanHouse
Danny Granger made the media rounds yesterday humping his newly minted association with Team EAS. Along with a few radio appearances was this interview with the FanHouse.
Danny Granger also checked in with JMV (audio).
670 The Score - Boers and Bernstein Interviews Danny Granger
Danny Granger dropped in on this Chicago radio show as part of his media rounds yesterday. Pretty funny.
Is Marquis Daniels still an option for Indiana?
Andrew Pema at RealGM explores the possibility of the Pacers signing Marquis Daniels at a more reasonable salary to fit under the cap.
Pistons fire Michael Curry, inquire about Avery Johnson
Central Division rival, Detroit fired their head coach Michael Curry yesterday. My initial thought was that Bill Laimbeer was dialed in to take over, but apparently that's not the case according to information dripping out from the organization. Suddenly a huge transition year for the Pistons and Joe Dumars.
Daryl Morey's Facebook Request - TrueHoop
I'm sure the Pacers would love to add Marcin Gortat to the roster this summer but somehow, I don't see Larry Bird using social media as a recruiting tool.

Pacers Rookie/Free Agent Camp Roster Set

Cornrows — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 00:49:24 -0000

The Indiana Pacers released the roster and bios for their Rookie/Free Agent camp which begins on Thursday for three days of two-a-day practices. Then the team will head down to Orlando to take part in the Pepsi Pro League next week.

With summer league comes hope of unearthing a diamond in the rough, an overlooked player who rises to the challenge, surpassing everyone's expectations to go on and make an impact in the NBA. It goes without saying that the Pacers are due for a player like this to emerge from the basketball heavens to help accelerate the team's move in a positive direction.

There are certainly some intriguing prospects among the D-League vets, but I'm focused on two rooks as possible options to make a lasting impression, as in lasting on the roster into the regular season.

Aaron Jackson and Leo Lyons were two player the Pacers worked out prior to the NBA Draft. They obviously have something missing from their games to be left undrafted, but both have good size and boast successful college careers.

The review of Jackson's play at the Portsmouth Invitational Tournament has plenty of glowing remarks which indicate the PG prospect has something to offer as a tough player who understands how to lead a team. Plus, at 6'4" he bring some nice size to the backcourt. If he plays well enough against the heightened competition next week, the Pacers may view him as a backup plan should Jarrett Jack be signed away by another team. He also can put pressure on A.J. Price, forcing the second round pick to earn his way onto the roster which won't be guaranteed.

Leo Lyons a desirable skill set and decent size to compete at the power forward position. This review of his play at Portsmouth, mentions some of his problem areas, mainly at the defensive end. It sounds like he has the ability to defend but really needs to hone his skills at the defensive end. In the fight or flight scenario of trying out for an NBA team we'll see if he can take coaching and raise his level of play.

Interestingly, Lyons comes in at about the same size as Josh McRoberts. Obviously, McRoberts has an advantage having been with the Pacers for a year and also by working out religiously at the Fieldhouse since last season ended. BUT, with McRoberts due at least a minimum salary of just over $1 million dollars (his qualifying offer was $1,000,497), if Lyons comes out of nowhere and shows he can outplay McRoberts, you'd think the team would have to think about saving $4-5 hundred thousand dollars by signing Lyons. This would be a surprising turn of events but the Pacers do have until July 23rd to withdraw their qualifying offer.

I raise these "ifs and buts" scenarios because the Pacers have to make efficient use of every dollar on their salary cap. Having a rookie free agent burst onto the scene and make the team at a minimum salary would be a nice bonus heading into next season. Plus, dreamers gotta dream, baby!

Pacers Make Qualifying Offers To Jarrett Jack and Josh McRoberts

Cornrows — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 00:01:04 -0000

More photos » by Michael Conroy - AP

Jarrett Jack will be looking to scoop up some cash as a restricted free agent.

Browse more photos »

The Indiana Pacers extended qualifying offers to Jarrett Jack and Josh McRoberts making them restricted free agents when the NBA's free agent market opens for business on Wednesday.

Bruno's latest Caught in the Web has the details including comments from Larry Bird.

"We want 'em back," said Bird. "We know what we can do with Josh but Jarrett's still out there. We have to wait and see if anybody puts an offer in on him. I'm sure there's a lot of teams interested but with the economy the way it is, I don't see a lot of movement.

The Pacers can match any offers made to Jack or McRoberts but I wouldn't expect the team to ante up too much higher than the qualifying offers. Jack's value in free agency should be a good indicator of strength of this summer's market across the league.

IC Cold Links: Pacers Move Cautiously Into NBA Free Agent Market

Cornrows — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 10:45:46 -0000

Here are a few links of interest as we wait for the NBA free agent signing period to begin tomorrow:

Pacers Insider on Daniels and Hansbrough
Mike Wells comments on the reasoning behind not picking up Quisy's option and dumps out the notebook on Hansbrough.
NBA game in Taiwan sold out
The Indiana Pacers pre-season game against the Denver Nuggets in Taipei, Taiwan on October 8th sold out in a few days.
Ants renew affiliations with NBA teams
The Indiana Pacers renewed their D-League affiliation with Fort Wayne for the coming season. Whether or not they'll actually use said affiliation remains to be seen.
Lengthy journey takes Robert Vaden to Oklahoma
Terry Hutchens reports on Robert Vaden long journey to the NBA. We've been hearing about Vaden's game since he was a Freshman at Cathedral and committed to Purdue. Since then he went to two different high schools and played at two colleges although not Purdue. His ability to score buckets never changed and I always loved his mid-range game in high school. Hope he finds his niche and sticks in the league.
NBA free agents: 2009 class
This is a team-by-team list of NBA free agents.
NBA Free Agency Preview: The Calm Before The Storm - The Baseline
Sean Deveney digs into the issues and players that should impact the NBA's free agent signing period which starts tomorrow.
Will NBA teams be as tight as the economy?
Mike Bresnahan considers this summer's free agent signing period amid tough economic times for many teams.

Larry Bird Building Pacers With An Eye Toward The Future

Cornrows — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 00:53:32 -0000

After the Indiana Pacers drafted Tyler Hansbrough last Thursday, one of the many thoughts I had was that the pick should ilicit a good round of Pacers' whitewash jokes. You know, because Hansbrough is white and there are currently five other white guys on the roster. Hee hee. Fair enough, just show some creativity.

But then I started hearing some, not a lot, but some comments on the radio and reading a few things on the web that insinuated that Larry Bird was a racist and his priority in running the team was to amass as many white players as possible, regardless of talent. And these people were serious, which ended up being funnier than any of the actual jokes I've heard.

Most of these types of comments seem to arise from people who begin with a bias of their own, normally from one of two camps. Either they hate Tyler Hansbrough and don't think he was worthy of any first round pick, let alone the 13th pick so Bird must be hung up on race to take Hansbrough so high OR they've been longing for Larry Bird to be replaced in the Pacers'front office so they are quick to criticize any move and the easiest (laziest?) dagger to throw with this pick is to hit the racial angle.

It's easy to be led astray when you don't follow a situation real close and instead take a snapshot in time or simply monitor in a general sense. So please indulge me a moment while I offer up a little history along with a glimpse to the future to make sure we're all working with facts. Now my apologies if this is a repeat for regular readers, but I feel the need to lay it out one more time, then I promise I'll stick to basketball.

Front Office History

Larry Bird has been in the Pacers'front office since 2003, working under Donnie Walsh until last summer. The initial plan was to have Bird groomed under Walsh for a few years before eventually taking over all basketball decisions. But in the aftermath of the brawl one year later, Walsh took back a more active role in the basketball operations and after a few francise-marring situations in the community handled the complicated trades that had the Pacers dealing Ron Artest and Stephen Jackson.

Peja Stojackovic was swapped for Artest and played for half a season, not to placate all of the racist fans in Indy, but because Sacramento said, "OK, we'll take Artest." Among the players that arrived in the Stephen Jackson deal were Mike Dunleavy and Troy Murphy. Murphand Dun were in a bad situation in Golden State and were admittedly overpriced, hence the reason they were moved. It turned out to be a pretty good deal, since both have played better than expected when the deal was completed. For some reason, though, Donnie Walsh is never pegged as a racist. Probably because he's from New York instead of French Lick.

During this time, Bird worked hard to bring in free agent Sarunas Jasikevicius, outbidding the Cleveland Cavaliers for the Lithuanian player who had lit up some of the NBA's best in the Olympics and had a few huge year in the Euro leagues. At the time, the Pacers had Jamaal Tinsley, Anthony Johnson and Eddie Gill so the reasoning was that Runi would provide a change of pace and be able to knock down threes. This was a huge miss by Bird when it became apparent that the two steps back pushed Runi out of his shooting range. Despite his skin tone, Runi's presence certainly didn't placate all of the racist hoop fans in Indy. After two years, Jasikevicius was included in the trade that brought in Murph and Dun.

Bird Draft History

While Walsh maintained the final say in trade negotiations, Bird handled the draft from the time he arrived back in town. Since his arrival, his overt plan to whitewash the Pacers has netted draft picks James Jones (2003), David Harrison and Rashad Wright (2004), Danny Granger and Erazem Lorbek (2005), Shawne Williams (2006) Stanko Barac (via trade 2007), Brandon Rush and Roy Hibbert (via trades 2008) and Tyler Hansbrough and A.J. Price (2009). Yeah, I know, Lorbek and Barac are white, but in fairness they were drafted as assetts to be developed on someone else's dime in Europe as opposed to placating all of the racist hoop fans in Indy.

Bird Trade History

Last summer was Larry Bird's first with full control of the basketball operations. He overturned the roster by bringing in seven new players. In the J.O. trade with Toronto, Bird brought back T.J. Ford, Rasho Nesterovic and Maceo Baston along with the draft rights to Roy Hibbert. Birds sinister and methodical plan to whitewash the Pacers did produce Rasho, but he was actually more valuable as an expiring contract than as a white player to placate all of the racist hoop fans in Indy.

The other three new players Bird dealt for came from a draft deal with the Portland Trail Blazers. Ike Diogu and the rights to Jerryd Bayless for Jarrett Jack, Josh McRoberts and the rights to Brandon Rush. Now to say Josh McRoberts was the key piece to that deal in order to placate all of the racist hoop fans in Indiana requires the suspension of any basketball knowledge said detractor may profess.

It just so turns out, that in the minimal minutes Josh McRoberts was given last year he actually showed some promise. Now don't go running to a box score or look for old game reports to call me crazy. You actually had to watch the games to see why the team would be willing to bring him back for a minimal salary and he will get the opportunity to earn his way on the team with a good showing in summer league.

Where Is Bird Taking The Pacers?

This is where Bird's efforts to placate all of the racist hoop fans in Indy gets a little rocky. The Pacers are trying to rebuild with a core of players who treat their game as a profession, focused on developing into the best player they can possibly be. Bird prefers a mature player who has faced adversity and succeeded in hostile environments. Unless the talent overwhelms, he appears set to error on the side of experience.

The problem with this rebuilding project is that the team is desperate to win back fans, and while the shallow thinkers may believe the plan to win back fans is as simple as trotting out as many white guys as possible, the reality is that the fans want a team that plays hard and wins. So instead of gutting the roster for a horrible, lottery-improving season, Bird and team have gathered players to bridge the franchise from the depths of despair a couple of years ago (specifically after missing the 2006-07 playoffs with a nearly unwatchable team) to a future built on the foundation of players described in the preceding paragraph.

This plan is dicey since playing hard is not a problem but the wins part remains a struggle. The team needs to win more this year to build on the positive end to last season. Although in reality, any wins next year won't have a positive impact on the long term future from a basketball sense. But since the team needs to create some excitement to generate revenue, the short-term focus on winning as much as possible is understandable, not to mention far more entertaining to follow.

For lack of a better term, the "bridge players" include anyone currently on the roster whose contract expires after the 2010-11 season. The team prefers to think of it as their three-year plan. Either way, after 2010-11 the contracts for Troy Murphy, Mike Dunleavy, T.J. Ford, Jeff Foster and Jamaal Tinsley will all expire. Travis Diener's contract will expire after next season. The Pacers didn't pick up the team option for Marquis Daniels. Parting ways with Daniels was a financial move, since picking up his $7.5 million option would've left the Pacers with about $2 million to fill out the roster while avoiding the luxury tax.

So to look at the future core of the team, check out the 2011-12 roster. There you'll find Danny Granger, Brandon Rush, Roy Hibbert and Tyler Hansbrough. Consider Jarrett Jack, Josh McRoberts and A.J. Price to be wild cards at this point, but obviously not yet considered core players. There's plenty of work to be done for the future team and I expect the bridge players to be used as leverage to gather future assetts between now and the end of the 2010-11 season.

But one thing I don't expect is for Larry Bird to consider all of the racist hoop fans in Indy when trying to fill out the roster. Fortunately, he doesn't care what anyone thinks, he just wants to work with players that want to work to improve the team while also keeping the roster's financial situation in check and under the luxury tax.

So there you go. Make sure you understand me. I'm not saying there's racial harmony in Indiana nor any hoop fans who view the game through a personal racist lens. I'm also not saying the Pacers won't add white players in the future. In fact, I'd love it if they could swing a deal with a bridge player or two to land Ricky Rubio and Brian Cardinal's expiring contract from Minnesota. We can dream, right?

What I am saying is that Larry Bird has enough factors involved in trying to build a roster for the future without also trying to execute some sinister conspiracy to make the team white. And if you actually take an honest look at the basketball decisions which led to the current roster (not to mention who was making the decisions), that line of thinking based on a general, current snapshot unravels. In fact, looking at the core future, if Bird's desire is to "whiten" the Pacers, then he'd be failing miserably.

So to conclude, Larry Bird is wading through several complicated issues while trying to build the Indiana Pacers for a successful future. Race just isn't one of them nor is the opinion of any fan. Oh, and Tyler Hansbrough was a selected as a solid player in a draft that isn't expected to be league-altering. Deal with it.