Sounds like everyone around here is pretty down on the team right now.  I'm not really sure why that is to by quite honest.  In my opinion this team has grown quite a bit since the last time posting here.  I was quite surprised to see all the discouragement.  I think, just like last year, people are still expecting the pacers to win the championship this year?  The thing that everyone has to remember right now, is the Pacers are not expecting the win the championship this year, so why should we?  They are all just trying to gel right now.  The main thing this team has to do this year is grow, together and on each other.  There is absolutely no way a team that pretty much completely changed their rotation from last year, with so many new faces, can win a championship in the first year.  Even the Heat who added a couple superstars have had their bumps.

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Now that we know where the Pacers fall in the draft order, we know that New Jersey won't be getting John Wall, therefore they probably wont want to get rid of Devin Harris, at least for now.  There goes the trade that I've been pushing for a while now.  So, I want to focus some more attention on the idea of trading for Andre Igudala.  The rumors that were floating around about the Sixers maybe shopping Iggy at least make it promising enough for me to talk about. 

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First of all, at least we have the kind of fans that instead of continually bashing the team EVERY day like a lot of fans.  At least we can talk about and look forward to next year.

Thanks to Aaronb my brain started churning about ideas for the Pacers next year.

Lots of ideas and salary cap info after the jump.

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This is something I've been wondering for a few weeks now.  Who will replace JOB when his eventually gets fired?  There's no way with all the mental mistakes, turnovers, poor defense, and just overall bad play that JOB keeps his JOB.  Even if they do let him stick it out till the end of the year, he has to be gone if things don't drastically turn around.

To be honest though, I don't know who we could really get to replace him.  I tried to look up a list of available NBA coaches, but couldn't find a current list.  Let me know if you find one.

Some of the coaches that came to mind as being available to me were Byron Scott and Avery Johnson.  Maybe if the Bulls fire Vinny Del Negro and he's available.  Just seems like it's pretty slim pickens at this point.

So that brings me to my question, who will replace JOB?

Soooooo... in his first career start EVER... Jaryd Bayless scored 31 points....  There's not much to this post other than that.  With the struggles Rush continues to have, and the promise Bayless is beginning to show... It's making me feel worse and worse about this trade.  To be honest, I wouldn't mind seeing Rush get traded.  I don't know if rush will ever become the player we wanted him to be.  I understand why the deal was done, I just don't know if it was the right way to go.... any thoughts?

Watching tonight's game, with Granger watching from the bench, it seemed to me like the emotional leader on the team was Dahntay Jones.  Honestly, after he FINALLY found his rhythm in the 2nd half, it seemed like the team really becamed energized behind him.  Luther Head and TJ Ford did make some big plays, as well as Murph with the clutch 3s.  To me though the standout guy was really Dahntay Jones.  I'm quite glad he found his offensive game when he came to Indiana.  He IS the kind of gritty leader that the Pacers really need.  I don't know if he's quite vocal enough to be a leader yet, but I think down the road, sooner rather than later, Dahntay Jones might step up and become the leader of this team.  God knows we really needed his energy tonight after the TERRIBLE past few outings where the Pacers just looked completely dead.  It's good to see Murph finally get back in the flow of things.  I still don't think he's all the way there, but tonight was a huge step.

Finally on a side note, I have to give credit to TJ Ford.  I have HATED on TJ Ford for a long time now, but when it mattered tonight in the 4th quarter, he did a good job of managing the game.  He did make a few bonehead moves earlier in the game like the lob over his head to... it seemed like troy murphy but ended up no where near him.  Like I said though, at the end of the game, I didn't see him recklessly driving with no direction.  Late in the game tonight, when he drove the ball he was driving it to shoot it.  I don't know if JOB told him to do it because of Baron Davis being in foul trouble or not, but whatever it was, I liked it.  He just seemed to really feel comfortable with the ball in his hands late in the game tonight, which I'm not used to seeing.

Ugly win, UGLY, but the last 1.5 quarters were pretty uplifting, and a win really is a win.

If the rumor is true that Bay did reject the red sox offer, which we can't prove or disprove at this point, who's to say the Yankees won't swoop in and offer him crazy money like with Texiera?  The Yankees really do need OF help if they don't want to sign Matsui or Damon.  That would leave them with Gardener and Melky right now, they have to fix that before the season starts without question they will make a run for a big name.

How would you guys feel if the red sox made a large offer to Holliday?  I think this would actually work out quite well.  I would REALLY love to see the red sox sign both Holliday AND Bay.  Move Bay to right field and get rid of JD Drew.  Adding Holliday would bring us another 30 HR hitter.

A few things here...

Danny Granger, what where you thinking when you fouled out, went and sat on the bench, and proceeded to hang your head in sorrow.  That is not what your team needs in a leader.  When you foul out, you go apologize to the guys and cheer for them.  You try to give them confidence to make sure that they believe they can still win even though you aren't in the game anymore.  After Danny fouled out, the wind completely died beneath the pacers wings.  Danny sat there with his head down in shame, and the team stuck their tales between their legs, curled up in a ball, and took it.  That's not what a leader does.

Secondly, TJ Ford...  I'm REALLY getting tired of seeing you drive the lane with no backup plan.  You have to do 1 of 2 things.... you have to choose before you just drive it in!  Either take a look and know where you can get the ball to if they collapse, or ACTUALLY SHOOT THE BALL.  You can't plan to do 1 thing, and say "OH SHIT, I better not do that I might look dumb, oh wait I look even worse when I throw the ball out of bounds".

I realize it's just 1 game, but this is a team that has only won 1 game ALL YEAR.  I probably shouldn't be so hard on them, since they are a young team, but I hope this doesn't continue.  I just don't know if Danny Granger will ever be the leader that this team really needs him to be, and I honestly don't think TJ Ford will ever be the right PG for us.

Feel free to bash =P

That is what I want to know.  Powers was doing a good job most of the game.  Jennings was always getting burned, like he normally does.

Only thing I can think of is they wanted to protect Powers?  Knowing Moss will blow up no matter what you do, so they put Jennings on him knowing Brady would go to him, maybe that makes Brady look at Moss less when Powers is on him?  This doesn't make a lot of sense to me, just the only thing I can think of.

Who didn't see this coming?

Apparently Mike Dunleavy has had a setback, and won't be even practicing until AT SOONEST November...

When did this happen?  What happened?  AND why did I miss it?

This is the only injury I was really worried about.  Without signing another wing player in the offseason, I knew the depth at SF was going to be an issue sometime this season.  Sucks that it's happening this early though.

Obviously this is a question that EVERYONE is asking now that Gonzo has gone down.  I think we all knew that somehow releasing Harrison was going to come up again, whether it be injury or just under-performing by other WRs.  This time it just happens to be injury. 

In my opinion they should, BUT, only if the price tag isn't too high.  I know Marvin is asking for too much money right now, which is one of the major reasons not a lot of teams have looked at him.  But I think if the price is right, without question they should bring him back if Gonzo will be out 3+ weeks.

The question may be a little too general at this point, but it works, and it's blunt.  Should the Colts bring back 88?  I pose that question to you all now, and would like to hear your thoughts.  If no, why not?  If yes, why; and how much money is too much?

This is my first fanpost here on Stampede Blue.  I've been hanging around Indycornrows for a while.

To be honest.  I think this Injury to Sorgi could be a really really good thing for the Colts.  I think Curtis Painter could honestly be the next Matt Cassell.  Probably not Tom Brady, but the same principle.  Painter could turn out to be the long term solution after peyton manning, or he could turn into major trade bait.  This of course would probably only happen if something happens to Peyton god forbid, but if somehow he gets the chance, watch him shine.

I know I've been posting a lot of FanPosts, but there's just so much good stuff to talk about right now...

I was thinking about the Eastern Conference playoff picture and it made me sit down and think about the teams involved...

Yes the Pacers have made a lot of moves this offseason, but is it really enough?  As much as I talk the Pacers up to everyone, it's going to be harder for them to get into the playoffs this year than I gave credit.  Think about the teams involved this year in no particular order:

1.Boston Celtics - 2 year removed from a record setting championship season.  As long as injuries don't cripple them, they will always be contenders.

2.Orlando Magic - Last year went all the way to the finals behind some GREAT shooting performances.  Yes they lost their last minute money man, Hedo Turkoglu, they added quite a few pieces... Vince Carter, Brandon Bass, Matt Barnes.  They shouldn't have a problem making the playoffs again.

3. Cleveland Cavaliers - Lebron James + Shaq...  Signed my guy Jamario Moon which filled some holes for them.  Even if it's not enough to win a title, they will make the playoffs, I don't think anyone would say otherwise.

4. Atlanta Hawks - Always seem to get into the playoffs, always a very athletic team that seems to outhustle almost everyone.

5. Philedelphia 76ers - Somewhat the same as the Hawks, always seem to find a way into the playoffs.  Like to push the tempo and get teams back on their heels.

6. Miami Heat - Led by Dwayne Wade, I'm convince he single handedly could keep this team in the playoff race.

That's 6 of the 8 teams right there, and it looks like from the past couple of years that these are the more consistent playoff teams in the east.  Of course there may be some issues with some of them, but there's not many teams with no issues.

That leaves 2 spots left for the other 9 teams to fight over... Teams like:

Indiana Pacers - Obviously our hometeam favorite, we all know what they've done this offseason.

Chicago Bulls - Even if they don't find a way to trade for Boozer, they are a very solid young team who gave the injury ridden Celtics as much as they could handle last year.

Toronto Raptors - Raptors don't get much playoff talk, but they always seem like a team that could surprise people and make a playoff run again.

Charlotte Bobcats - Honestly, this team is my pick for the dark horse.  Larry Brown is showing his intelligence once again.  He's got a LOT of talent on this team already, and with his offseason moves I think they are going to be in the playoffs this year if they can stay healthy without question.  I don't know if everyone heard, but they made a HUGE trade sending Okafor to the Hornets for Tyson Chandler... This could be one of the smartest, or one of the dumbest moves ever made by Larry Brown.  Only time will tell.

Milwaukee Bucks - Even through the Injuries EVERY year, they always seem to be in the top 10 at the end of the season and only a couple games out of a playoff spot.

And there could always be that BIG surprise team.

After all this, it makes me think really hard about promising the Pacers will make the playoffs this year.  As much as I want to say it with no problem, I don't think I can.  Now if the Pacers can stay healthy I have full faith they will be a playoff team this year, BUT...  It never seems like we can have 1 season that isn't injury ridden in some aspect.  So sit and ponder for a second, have we really done enough?

I see now that Bruce Bowen is being waived?  Is this a guy that could possibly help our team?  Is there even a way to get him here?  Just one more thing for everyone to ponder.

I wouldn't mind seeing a guy like Bowen here to replace Daniels, would help on the wing and a massive Defensive upgrade to our current situation.  Just wondering what everyone else thought, and if it was even a possibility?

I'm just posting this because I started trying to think of ways this deal might go down.

Just wanted to see some of everyone else's ideas.

Here is my favorite, if it's possible.  If not, just let me know why I'm open to everyone's outlooks:

we could work some kind of deal that gets Big Baby to the Nets, Tj Ford to the Nets, whatever big guy the Nets would give to the Celtics for Big Baby (who they are supposedly interested in),

Nets get:
TJ Ford (8.5 Million)
Big Baby Davis (I would assume around 2.5 Million?)

Pacers get:
Devin Harris (8.4 Million)
Walker or Giddens (736k and 1.038 Million respectively)

Celtics get:
Marquis Daniels (not sure, probably around 2.5 Million as well I'm assuming?  Maybe I'm way off)
Josh Boone or Sean Williams (2.056 Million and 1.629 Million respectively)


In my book this would be a win-win-win situation.  I doubt something like this would happen, but I would LOVE to see it go down.

I would really enjoy seeing him back on the Pacers next year.  We do need help on the wing behind Granger especially with Dunleavy gone for the time being.  If we can get a lesser contract worked out I would absolutely love it the move.

everyone else's thoughts?

what kind of contract would we be looking at, and do you guys think other teams would most definitely outbid us?  Would Daniels even want to stay in Indy after all this?  And the big question is, how much would it cost us?

Apparently the Knicks are heavily interested in signing FA PG  Andre Miller.   I would have to assume that with the signing of Watson that kind of closes the door on the idea of Miller coming to town, but why?  In my opinion if we can make a run for Miller I think we really should.

Maybe we could try to sign Miller for a little less or even about the same kind of contract as Ford got when he came here... then deal ford to someone else?  Keep Watson and Miller?  Defensively this would be a HUGE upgrade.

WHAT DO YOU GUYS THINK?

on a side note, apparently Lamar Odom is trying intensely to pursue talks with Miami...

Lakers withdraw offer to Odom

Los Angeles Lakers owner Jerry Buss, upset that free-agent forward Lamar Odom(notes) has yet to respond to the team's contract offer, has withdrawn the proposal, the Los Angeles Times reported.

The Times reported that the Lakers offered Odom his choice of a three-year, $30 million contract or a four-year, $36 million deal. Odom reportedly is seeking a contract closer in value to five years, $50 million.

Buss also isn't happy Odom's agent, Jeff Schwartz, has negotiated more extensively with the Dallas Mavericks and Miami Heat than the Lakers, the Times reported.

Lakers spokesman John Black said talks could still resume in the future.

Source: Los Angeles Times

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If only there was a way for the Pacers to make the cap space....

from what I've been hearing it sounds like the Jazz are still entertaining the idea of trading boozer, I assume because his contract is only for 1yr at this point.  His contract sits at 12.7 million dollars this year...

What do you guys think about the addition of boozer to the Pacers, and how would we get it done?

Obviously Murphy would probably have to be in the deal, which I don't know how I feel about, with his 11million and change contract.  Boozer would help us win now, probably get to the playoffs without a problem as long as he stays healthy, and give us a solid guy to play Center when Hibbert is on the bench other than Foster. 

Think about this scenario....

AJ Price/Travis Diener and Jeff Foster to the Sixers for Andre Miller in a sign and trade deal.

Then Murphy to the Jazz for Boozer.

THEN sign a Mr Jamario Moon.

We could sign all of them to a 2-3 year deal and our team would look like this:

PG = Andre Miller / TJ Ford / Travis Diener OR AJ Price (whichever doesn't get traded to philly)

SG = Brandon Rush / Dahntay Jones

SF = Danny Granger / Jamario Moon / Mike Dunleavy

PF = Carlos Boozer / Tyler Hansbrough / Josh McRoberts / Jamario Moon (he plays the 3 and 4)

C = Roy Hibbert / Carlos Boozer

Is it just me or does this NOT sound like a FANTASTIC team????  I'm sure there may be some other minor tweaks that need to happen to make these deals go down.  But this is just the general rough idea.

I would just like to get everyone's thoughts on Moon.  We've talked about him a little in the past couple days, but I'd like to see what people have to say about him specifically.  Cornrows do you happen to have any insight on the situation?  Does Moon have many other teams looking at him?  Would he be the kind of guy that would sign for the rest of our MLE?  I'd REALLLLLLYYYY like to see the pacers sign him.  Maybe that's just a few of us though.  Hopefully this post doesn't turn out like the JO one =P

Are the Pacers even thinking about adding someone like Jermaine O'neal?  I think he would really fit in well with what we are looking for on the defensive side down low.  With the addition of O'neal and Jones it would definitely boost the defense greatly.  Is there some pride issue involved?  Is O'neal looking for something more than a Mid-Level Exception contract at this point in his career?

I think O'neal would be great for us at this point because he wouldn't have to be the star of the team like he was before.  He may not even start.  This would both allow him to just fit into the system as apposed to BEING the system.  It would also allow him to maybe have a healthy season for once in his life....

your thoughts everyone?