Every Pacers' 2012 Free Agent Option
By Jared Wade
Obviously, the Pacers first order of business in this summer’s free agency, which started this morning at 12:01 am, is deciding whether or not to bring Roy Hibbert back. All signs point to them doing exactly that. But they still have a little more money to play around with under the cap (and would have even more if they can get Hibbert and his agent to hold tight a little bit over the next week). Some — and perhaps all — of this may go to bringing back George Hill. But they have options.
Here are all of them (ranked by highest to lowest 2011-12 PER) with a brief comment on how they may or may not fit in with the 2012-13 Indiana Pacers.
PLAYER | 2012 TEAM | 2012 PER | 2012 SALARY (millions) | AGE |
Kyrylo Fesenko | IND | 29.81 | $0.3 | 25 |
Arguably the best player in the NBA. Max offer forthcoming. | ||||
Tim Duncan | SAS | 22.60 | $21.2 | 36 |
There is zero chance he leaves San Antonio. | ||||
Patrick Mills | SAS | 21.60 | $0.3 | 23 |
Good potential. | ||||
Ersan Ilyasova | MIL | 20.55 | $2.5 | 25 |
Perhaps the most intriguing UFA agent on the market. With West and Hibbert, could potentially be the best big-man rotation in the league. | ||||
Kevin Garnett | BOS | 20.47 | $21.2 | 36 |
See: Duncan, Tim | ||||
Deron Williams | BKN | 20.34 | $16.4 | 27 |
Reports say his choice is down to BKN or DAL. But if Indy has a shot at a franchise-altering PG they should pursue it fully. | ||||
Steve Nash | PHX | 20.29 | $11.7 | 38 |
Other than DWill, could be the biggest impact free agent Indiana could acquire. | ||||
Lou Williams | PHI | 20.22 | $5.2 | 25 |
Ideal off-the-bench scorer, although he may not be worth the contract he ends up getting. | ||||
James Singleton | WAS | 19.66 | $0.2 | 30 |
Nice little player who could fit into Indy’s front court but probably doesn’t fit the team’s long-term situation. | ||||
Carl Landry | NOH | 18.31 | $8.5 | 28 |
The best big man, fit-wise, that the Pacers could realistically acquire other than Illysova. | ||||
Spencer Hawes | PHI | 18.19 | $4.1 | 24 |
Not a fan. Could backup Hibbert, but will probably get overpaid by someone cause he’s tall. | ||||
Nate Robinson | GSW | 18.05 | $0.8 | 28 |
Nah. | ||||
Goran Dragic | HOU | 18.03 | $2.1 | 26 |
Houston reportedly plans to retain him and Indy already has enough middle-of-the-pack starting point guards. | ||||
Kris Humphries | BKN | 17.98 | $8.0 | 27 |
Hard to root for this guy but he could suppy some badly needed rebounding and finishing at the rim. | ||||
Ramon Sessions | LAL | 16.79 | $4.3 | 26 |
Wasn’t good for the Lakers in the playoffs. Would be fairly superfluous in Indy. | ||||
John Lucas III | CHI | 16.41 | $0.9 | 29 |
Was a revelation at times in Chicago and could be a cheap spark off the bench, but tough to have him and DC on the same team size-wise. | ||||
Hamed Haddadi | MEM | 16.31 | $1.3 | 27 |
He isn’t a stiff. | ||||
Marcus Camby | HOU | 16.25 | $12.9 | 38 |
Could teach some of the young Pacers bigs some stuff — about the Vietnam era. | ||||
Antawn Jamison | CLE | 16.17 | $15.1 | 35 |
Tawn is one of the league’s greatest gentlemen, so I’ll just say this: No thank you, sir. | ||||
Chauncey Billups | LAC | 16.10 | $2.0 | 35 |
Has been fading for years and is trying to comeback from one of the most devastating injuries a player can sustain. At 35. | ||||
Steve Novak | NYK | 15.95 | $1.0 | 28 |
Every team could use the best three-point shooter in the league. | ||||
Gerald Green | BKN | 15.88 | $0.4 | 26 |
Will believe it if I see him produce for a full year for an actual NBA team (Read: not the Nets). | ||||
Jason Terry | DAL | 15.80 | $10.7 | 34 |
Not what he was a few years ago, but a gamer who can still straight score off the bench. Best airplane imitator in the league, too. | ||||
Jordan Hill | LAL | 15.80 | $2.9 | 24 |
Young, athletic, servicable big man who may still improve. If he’s cheap enough, not a terrible option. | ||||
Jamal Crawford | POR | 15.80 | $5.0 | 32 |
Like OJ Mayo, Indy pursued him heavilly last offseason. They could use his scoring. | ||||
Matt Barnes | LAL | 15.55 | $1.9 | 32 |
Not sure he gives you much that Dahntay Jones’ doesn’t. Maybe a little versatility. | ||||
Chris Kaman | NOH | 15.42 | $12.7 | 30 |
Worthwhile backup center for sure. Pricetag may be too high for that role. | ||||
J.R. Smith | NYK | 15.27 | $1.4 | 26 |
Reportedly opted out of his deal just to re-sign with NYK on a longer deal. Could be useful in Indy. | ||||
Jeff Green | BOS | 15.00 | $4.5 | 25 |
About to mount a noble comeback effort from heart condition, but never liked his game much when he seemingly had no risk. | ||||
Andre Miller | DEN | 14.84 | $7.8 | 36 |
Even when young, he made Mark Jackson look like Brandon Jennings so mileage hasn’t hurt his game much. | ||||
Ray Allen | BOS | 14.83 | $10.0 | 36 |
No-brainer if he would come over for reasonable money. Paul George/Ray Allen SG rotation would be enviable. | ||||
O.J. Mayo | MEM | 14.76 | $5.6 | 24 |
Indy has been trying to acquire him for years. Expect it to continue this summer. Great fit. | ||||
Jameer Nelson | ORL | 14.66 | $7.8 | 30 |
Not sure he gives you anything that George Hill and Darren Collison doesn’t. | ||||
Brandon Bass | BOS | 14.21 | $4.3 | 27 |
Ideal back-up for David West. | ||||
Leandro Barbosa | IND | 14.07 | $7.6 | 29 |
Indy has rhetorically talked about bringing him back. I doubt it’s high on the priority list. But he was a spark, so a return — on a good deal — would be better than losing him sans replacement. | ||||
Michael Redd | PHX | 14.00 | $1.3 | 32 |
Unofficial Comeback Player of the Year in 2012. Could help off the bench. Short-term stop gap, obviously. | ||||
Willie Green | ATL | 13.93 | $1.2 | 30 |
Nah. | ||||
Mike James | CHI | 13.81 | $0.6 | 36 |
Nah x 10 | ||||
Jannero Pargo | ATL | 13.69 | $1.1 | 32 |
Nope. | ||||
Tracy McGrady | ATL | 13.69 | $1.3 | 33 |
Sure. If cheap enough. Can’t hurt off the bench. | ||||
Shannon Brown | PHX | 13.68 | $3.5 | 26 |
I can’t say I enjoy his playing style but he isn’t bad. | ||||
Craig Smith | POR | 13.67 | $0.9 | 28 |
Homeless man’s Carl Landry. Narrowly out-ranks Craig Smith the apparent NHL player and “Craig Smith Auto Group” on Google search page. | ||||
Randy Foye | LAC | 13.56 | $4.3 | 28 |
Nice little bench guard who does a lot of things but nothing notably well. | ||||
Brian Scalabrine | CHI | 13.54 | $1.3 | 34 |
*insert white guy as team mascot joke* | ||||
Ian Mahinmi | DAL | 13.50 | $0.9 | 25 |
Really fun name to say. | ||||
Raymond Felton | POR | 13.46 | $7.6 | 27 |
Not fat meaning phat but fat meanting fat. | ||||
Terrence Williams | SAC | 13.17 | $2.4 | 24 |
Not worthwhile. | ||||
Jason Kidd | DAL | 13.11 | $8.6 | 39 |
Ol’ Man River could be a good pickup if for nothing else than to teach George Hill to play PG. Doubt he’s interested. | ||||
Nick Young | LAC | 12.93 | $3.7 | 27 |
Have thousands of problems with his play and wardrobe, but a volume, selfish scorer off the bench is actually somewhat of a need in Indy. | ||||
Cartier Martin | WAS | 12.85 | $0.1 | 27 |
Sounds like a guy Rick Ross would pretend can rap. | ||||
Daniel Orton | ORL | 12.71 | $1.1 | 21 |
Exceptional at being tall. | ||||
C.J. Miles | UTA | 12.46 | $3.7 | 25 |
The only 48-year NBA veteran who is only 25 years old. Can play. Would fit in sorta but doesn’t score much, which hurts his usefulness here. | ||||
Hasheem Thabeet | POR | 12.42 | $5.1 | 25 |
Nah. | ||||
Grant Hill | PHX | 12.34 | $6.5 | 39 |
If he’ll take a cheap, one-year deal … of course. Perfect veteran back-up for a squad trying to learn to win in the playoffs. | ||||
Delonte West | DAL | 12.32 | $1.1 | 28 |
Love ya, Redz but … nah. | ||||
Marco Belinelli | NOH | 12.00 | $3.4 | 26 |
No. | ||||
Shelden Williams | BKN | 11.94 | $1.0 | 28 |
Only NBA skill is trying hard and pushing people and the Pacers already have a few of those guys. | ||||
Dominic McGuire | GSW | 11.82 | $0.9 | 26 |
I’ve always felt like he’s good but he’s probably not. Tall though. | ||||
Carlos Delfino | MIL | 11.72 | $3.5 | 29 |
He is a pro. Could help. Plus, sounds like a premium bottled water. | ||||
Vladimir Radmanovic | ATL | 11.72 | $1.3 | 31 |
No longer a good basketball player. | ||||
Jerry Stackhouse | ATL | 11.58 | $1.3 | 37 |
Ditto. Also: a Miami Heat fan. | ||||
Louis Amundson | IND | 11.54 | $2.4 | 29 |
He was invaluable playing out of position last year at backup center. Bring him back cheap if you can. | ||||
Boris Diaw | SAS | 11.20 | $9.0 | 30 |
He had an excellent year in San Antonio but just seems like the type of guy you would rather see on the other team. | ||||
Jonny Flynn | POR | 11.20 | $3.4 | 23 |
Perhaps terrible. | ||||
Aaron Gray | TOR | 11.09 | $2.5 | 27 |
Enormous. The American Kyryrlo Fesenko. | ||||
Kwame Brown | MIL | 11.09 | $6.8 | 30 |
If he’s cheap, could play backup center. | ||||
Nazr Mohammed | OKC | 11.02 | $3.8 | 34 |
Same. How is he only 34 though? Feels like twice that. | ||||
Jared Jeffries | NYK | 10.96 | $1.2 | 30 |
Hasn’t scored a basket since he played in Bloomington. Great first name. | ||||
Anthony Parker | CLE | 10.94 | $2.3 | 36 |
Retired. | ||||
Ben Wallace | DET | 10.74 | $2.2 | 37 |
Should retire. | ||||
Josh Howard | UTA | 10.55 | $2.2 | 32 |
Isn’t a bad option. | ||||
Yi Jianlian | DAL | 10.48 | $0.8 | 24 |
Not good. | ||||
Earl Boykins | HOU | 10.37 | $0.2 | 36 |
Short. | ||||
Baron Davis | NYK | 10.05 | $1.3 | 33 |
Broken. | ||||
Gilbert Arenas | MEM | 9.96 | $0.4 | 30 |
Odd. | ||||
Kenyon Martin | LAC | 9.93 | $2.5 | 34 |
Optimal back-up for David West. So much energy and nastiness. Would be worth a small deal for sure. | ||||
Kirk Hinrich | ATL | 9.28 | $8.0 | 31 |
Would be an ideal backup guard. Can play both positions and is a smart defender. | ||||
Reggie Evans | LAC | 9.21 | $1.2 | 32 |
If Jeff Foster looked more like Issac Hayes, shrank a few inches and wasn’t as good of a defender he would be Reggie Evans. | ||||
Maurice Evans | WAS | 9.08 | $0.9 | 33 |
Better as an NBPA rep than a player. | ||||
Troy Murphy | LAL | 9.03 | $1.3 | 32 |
Ha. | ||||
Alan Anderson | TOR | 8.75 | $0.2 | 29 |
Wasn’t aware he was still in the NBA. | ||||
Morris Almond | WAS | 8.75 | $0.1 | 27 |
Not that good. | ||||
Mickael Pietrus | BOS | 8.58 | $1.2 | 30 |
Could be helpful backing up Granger and hitting threes. | ||||
Royal Ivey | OKC | 8.46 | $1.2 | 28 |
Nah. | ||||
Anthony Tolliver | MIN | 8.30 | $2.1 | 27 |
Isn’t bad. | ||||
Marquis Daniels | BOS | 8.12 | $1.2 | 31 |
His career seems near over and bad memories of the JailPacers era. | ||||
Derek Fisher | OKC | 8.02 | $3.4 | 37 |
He wouldn’t come to Indiana at this stage of his career. | ||||
Mike Bibby | NYK | 7.82 | $0.9 | 34 |
Nah. | ||||
Tony Battie | PHI | 7.28 | $1.3 | 36 |
Nope. | ||||
Ryan Hollins | BOS | 6.96 | $0.3 | 27 |
Have no idea what type of contract he’ll get but if it’s small enough, a decent bench big. | ||||
Damien Wilkins | DET | 6.95 | $1.1 | 32 |
Nah. | ||||
Keyon Dooling | BOS | 6.92 | $2.2 | 32 |
Homeless man’s Jason Terry. | ||||
Sasha Pavlovic | BOS | 6.78 | $1.2 | 28 |
Nah. | ||||
Mikki Moore | CHI | 6.34 | $0.1 | 36 |
Double nah. | ||||
Damion James | BKN | 6.17 | $1.2 | 24 |
Not that good. | ||||
Bobby Simmons | LAC | 6.06 | $0.5 | 32 |
Nah. | ||||
Joel Przybilla | POR | 6.03 | $0.7 | 32 |
Thought he retired. | ||||
Brian Cook | WAS | 5.85 | $1.3 | 31 |
Should retire. | ||||
Erick Dampier | ATL | 5.50 | $0.5 | 36 |
Ditto. | ||||
Eduardo Najera | CHA | 5.48 | $2.8 | 35 |
Not sure he has anything left. | ||||
Ronnie Price | PHX | 4.72 | $1.1 | 30 |
Serviceable. | ||||
DeShawn Stevenson | BKN | 4.33 | $2.5 | 31 |
No longer serviceable. | ||||
Craig Brackins | PHI | 4.30 | $1.4 | 24 |
Who is this? | ||||
Jason Collins | ATL | 3.76 | $1.3 | 33 |
There is no way he’s only 33. | ||||
Juwan Howard | MIA | 3.68 | $1.3 | 39 |
There is no way he’s only 39. | ||||
Eddy Curry | MIA | 3.67 | $1.2 | 29 |
Hehe. | ||||
Brian Cardinal | DAL | 3.28 | $1.3 | 35 |
Dad. | ||||
Jamaal Magloire | TOR | 2.71 | $1.3 | 34 |
Former All-Star. | ||||