Indiana Pacers Have Plenty of Decisions To Make (And Wait For)

With the Golden State Warriors taking the championship on Tuesday the offseason is officially here for the NBA. Time to relax.

Yeah right.

With the NBA Draft just a week away, it is crunch time for Larry Bird and every front office in the league as they decide what choices to make for their franchise’s future. For Bird there are a few decisions he will be making and a few that are out of his hands.

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One of those decisions might be to trade away their pick, something 8p9s’ Dylan Hughes took a look at as the Brooklyn Nets are shopping center Mason Plumlee. It is an interesting possibility, but it should be noted there aren’t any rumors swirling around that suggest Indiana will trade for the other Plumlee brother… Wait, there are three Plumlees? And a sister? Well, this isn’t the Plumlee the Indiana Pacers had before, that was Miles Plumlee. But let’s forget about the Plumlee family tree for a moment and look at what the Indiana Pacers have to consider before next week’s draft.

Indiana’s front office may want to move and shake things up this off-season, but not everything is in their own hands. One problem for the Pacers right now is two of their starters hold player options and have until after the draft to decide. Roy Hibbert still hasn’t revealed whether he will stay to earn $15.5 million next year or test free agency. An Indiana team without Roy Hibbert is something we haven’t seen in over 7 years, but it seems the organization and the players relationship is coming to an end sooner than later. Since he has until June 29 to tell the Pacers and the draft is on June 25, the team might have to draft without knowing what — literally — a big part of next year’s rotation will look like.

Then again, drafting for need over drafting the best player available is usually a poor move. And it isn’t like Hibbert’s choice will affect the next half-decade or anything; whether he plays in Indiana in 2015-16 or not, he likely won’t be around for 2016-17 regardless.

So Hibbert’s decision really shouldn’t affect the Pacers decision on June 25 that much, but still has an effect on the decisions they make now.

Of course, if they hold on to the 11th pick it looks like they may take Cameron Payne, who is slotted there in Zach Harper’s latest mock draft while Chad Ford has Willie Cauley-Stein as the Pacers choice.

But that’s just another decision to make.

For the first time in a few years, the Pacers offseason is filled with a considerable amount of intrigue with the possibility of big changes. Along with the starting line up, the bench will be changing considerably as Bird said he doesn’t plan on bringing C.J. Watson back. Copeland is unlikely to return either while Donald Sloan and Lavoy Allen’s contracts are expiring. The only two players Bird talked about brining back were Luis Scola and Rodney Stuckey.

By the end of the month we’ll have a clearer idea of what Indiana’s roster will look like next season, but Bird and Vogel have a lot of choices to make between now and then.

Next: 8p9s Roundtable: Best and Worst Draft Picks in Pacers History