With Kevin Pritchard stepping in as general manager for the Indiana Pacers, a new direction may be in order.
Make no mistake about it, Larry Bird was very good to the Indiana Pacers while in the front office. He nailed multiple high draft picks such as, Paul George, Myles Turner and Danny Granger, as well as constructed a team that reached the Eastern Conference Finals two years in a row.
But, all good things come to an end and it might be time for yet another rebuild. This time under the watch of Kevin Pritchard.
Just because this move was made does not mean that Paul is gone. It doesn’t mean that Pritchard will pass on Jeff Teague and C.J Miles in free agency. It doesn’t mean that Indy will throw in the towel on what they have and start from scratch.
But it could.
A strong front office and a fair amount of assets, the Indiana Pacer faithful should not be scared of a rebuild.
The front office is in good hands
Kevin Pritchard has been a GM in the NBA. He knows how to take a team from the bottom to the top.
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Not only that but he knows talent when he sees it as he had a hand in a couple of high profile draft day trades. Both trades proved to be huge steals for Kevin Pritchard and the Portland Trail Blazers.
And for the people who think that Larry is out of Indy. He’s still there and could be in the perfect role as a consultant. These two coupled with long time adviser Donnie Walsh the front office shouldn’t skip a beat.
Assets not named Paul George
While Indiana is not in the same boat as the Boston Celtics in terms of talent depth and trade-able pieces. Indy still has some resources to work with.
In this scenario it would be wise to let both Jeff Teague and C.J Miles walk in free agency as they are sure to cash in on very solid seasons. This move, or lack thereof frees up a good chunk of cap space for one or two younger players with more upside.
Thad Young is on a very team friendly contract and has shown to be a nice role player for a contending team.
The two that could present problems in a possible trade are Monta Ellis and Al Jefferson. Although it would be nice to net a prospect in return, I don’t think it would be the end of the world to keep both players until next year. Both would be playing on expiring contracts.
A potential franchise altering trade for PG-13.
This is the big one. If the Pacer front office nails this trade, the rebuild is jump started into something that could be much shorter than expected. There are only a handful of teams that have the mix of picks and assets for the Pacers.
These are the type of packages you can look for and I would want in a potential Paul George trade — if the lottery stands as is.
Boston Celtics
Indiana receives: The first pick of the draft (Markelle Fultz?), Jaylen Brown, Terry Rozier
Boston receives: Paul George
Los Angeles Lakers
Indiana receives: LA’s top three pick (Josh Jackson/Malik Monk/Jayson Tatum?), Brandon Ingram
LA receives: Paul George
Philadelphia 76ers
Indiana receives: Philly’s top 5 pick (Jayson Tatum/Malik Monk?), Philly’s 2019 first round pick, Dario Saric, Timothe Luwawu-Carrabot
Philly receives: Paul George, Monta Ellis
The summer of 2017 holds the future in it’s hands for the Indiana Pacers.
Next: Larry Bird steps down, Kevin Pritchard steps up
To rebuild or not to rebuild. Will PG decide Indianapolis is the city for him or will missing out on All-NBA ruin his plans? With huge decisions on the horizon the only thing left to do for Pacer faithful is to put your trust in the front office and believe that they can get the job done.