In the last few years, the NBA has been very accurate (amazingly accurate, to me) to identify the players who would be selected in the lottery – these players are then invited to the “green room”. This year’s invitees are:

Kyrie Irving (Duke)

 Derrick Williams (Arizona)

 Enes Kanter (Turkey)

 Brandon Knight (Kentucky)

 Kemba Walker (UConn)

 Jonas Valanciunas (Lithuania)

 Jan Vesely (Czech Republic)

 Kawhi Leonard (San Diego St.)

 Chris Singleton (Florida St.)

 Klay Thompson (Washington St.)

 Tristan Thompson (Texas)

 Jimmer Fredette (BYU)

 Marcus Morris (Kansas)

 Alec Burks (Colorado)

Markieff Morris (Kansas)

Obviously, there are a number of names on this list that Pacers fans hope would be picked by their team. If the league is correct, most of them will not be available when the Pacers pick.

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Mike Brown seems to be the frontrunner for the vacant LA Laker's headcoach position. In the article at ESPN, they already report details of a deal (4 years, 18 Mio.$). Takes Brown out of the running for the Pacers job (unless he finds the time to coach two teams). Same story is also found by Woj at Yahoo.

The article also mentions that Adelman appeared to be the fronrunner before Mike Brown's interview, which allegedly was impressive.

Who's your favorite among the remaining candidates?

As some others, I was surprised the Pacers selected Paul George with their first round pick, a move against their previous selections of taking established players; George certainly has all the upside one can think of (as Shawne Williams did, too....). We'll see how it turns out, but looking briefly at his stats, there is one thing that stands out (to me at least): He is a great shooter. His 3% percentage went down from 44% to 35% from 1st to 2nd year, but these percentages can vary when the opposing defense concentrates more on you as the team's best player. However, his free throw percentage increased from about 70 to 90%! The last 90% free throw shooter I can remember (apart from Danny Granger who was almost there) on the Pacers was a guy named Reggie Miller. This is no skewed stat, George did this on a significant number of attempts (3.9 per game in his 1st year, 4.6 in his 2nd year).

To me this means several things: (1) Taken together with his improvement in other categories, this should be a guy who can work on different aspects of his game. (2) Even if he can't reach the ceiling he has in terms of being an all-around player, he should at least become a good shooter, and there is always a niche for those in the NBA. (3) He has the ability to get to the line, and combined with his shooting this should be a very effective combination on offense. (4) He has the physical abilities to become a good defender, too, so he could really become a very good player one day..... (I am not speculating on this anymore because my head is full of Shwane Williams comparisons).

Other than most people, I tend to disagree that one of the "wing" players on the roster "has" to be moved. If a team goes into the season with the maximum of players allowed (15), it would be logical to fill the roster spots with 3 players/position, i.e. 3 point guards, 6 "wings" and 6 "big men". IF the Pacers sign all their 2nd round picks and no free agent, this WOULD mean they had 2 point guards, 6 wings and 7 big men. So a more logical move would be to exchange 1 big with 1 point guard. But anyway, Lance Stephenson and Magnum Rolle do not have guarantees and will have to earn their roster spot. In practical terms, I don't see too many rotation problems: The Pacers don't expect Stephenson to contribute right away, and George won't get a lot of minutes at the beginning of the year either. I could imagine Dunleavy being better than last season (with - finally -  a healthy offseason behind him), so his trade value could rise towards the trade deadline at mid-season, so it is possible he could be moved by then; this would be a more reasonable time frame for the rookies to get more playing time by then, too.

Finally, one more trade scenario to get a point guard: Kirk Hinrich could be had from the Wizards who clearly don't need him. (Cannot be finalized before I think October 8th, but who cares). Pacers give TJ Ford and Solo Jones (or D. Jones) and provide the Wizards with some salary relief at the end of next season. Pacers have to take on one more year of salary with Hinrich, but get a bigger point guard who can shoot. One more year of salary may be OK with the Pacers, since they can't spend all their cap space anyway in 2011 (they will have to think of re-signing Roy Hibbert and possibly B. Rush in 2012!!). I know this trade is certainly not as popular as some others listed here, but possibly a bit more realistic.

No, I don't mean it. I don't think you should ever panic; makes things worse. However, when people say "no time to panic", that's sometimes used as an equivalent to "do not criticize". In this context, obviously it is time to panic.

Not that there are no positives; team has been better than many expected last season; they did not have key player losses over the summer, the players they lost are, as far as we can see by the "glimpse of hope" performances of guys like Dahntay Jones, equally replaced by cheaper players; young players do have a future, in some years Hibbert may be a starting caliber player on a good team/contender, hopefully Rush as well, Granger is. So yes, in the long run there are positives, including the work ethic, the team chemistry over the summer, etc. etc.

In other words, you may just as well say "forget the pessimists of the moment, yes we are off to a terrible start, but the future is coming, and with a real point guard it may actually be here sooner rather than later".

Hmmmmm...... here is the problem: the future needs to be now. The team has missed the playoffs for three straight seasons, everything everybody has been talking about is making the playoffs, the coach's contract has been extended in order to make it clear to the players that he is the one to listen to, the whole marketing strategy is built on having a hard-working, fun-to-watch team which is ultimately successful. There is no way they (Pacers) can hold onto the coach if they/"we" are missing the playoffs. Too much pressure from the public, i.e. media, fan base,...Coach gone, system is gone; effectively the whole rebuilding effort could be wasted. Everybody will not only question the coaching, but also the management, i.e. The Legend. There is a chance that a lot of good things which have been built will be ruined if they do not show up in the win/loss statistic.

Before the season, some bloggers asked what the fans thought would be the crucial questions the Pacers were facing this season, along the lines of "Will Hibbert be able to stay in games?", "Will Rush take the next step to be a consistent force?", "Will Granger continue to step up his game?", "Will defense be any better?" or whatever. I thought that the ONLY crucial question the Pacers were facing this season is "Will they make the playoffs?". Too much depends on this sign of success. Otherwise...... time to panic.

Mavs sign Singleton

By signing James Singleton to a one-year contract, i.e. he accepted the qualifying offer, the Mavs apparently have 17 players under (guaranteed) contract.

In the story linked above, Marc Stein of ESPN reports that the Mavs are actively pursuing "two for one" trades to cut down their player number to the maximum of 15 that has to stand when the season starts. Shawne Williams and Nathan Jawai are two of the players named to be available in such scenarios. However, there likely is not many takers, as many teams have their rosters set. I wonder what will happen if the Mavericks cannot find a trading partner. They will have to cut a player or two (at the moment, exactly two) having guaranteed contracts.

Since Shawne's name can be found on the short list of players considered to be dealt, he may as well be cut before the season starts. The ultimate irony would be (OK, I know this is hypothetical, since the Pacers front office doesn't want him back) if the Pacers would then pick him up for a minimum salary, essentially resulting in the trade last year as "Mavericks give two second-round picks and Eddie Jones, Pacers nothing".