Former Indiana Pacers forward Antonio Davis had no problem criticizing Larry Bird earlier this week.
Things didn’t go as planned for the Indiana Pacers this season as all of Larry Bird’s recent offseason moves ended up breaking even and not improving the team.
While Jeff Teague and Thaddeus Young were assets for Indiana, Al Jefferson and some of the other recent additions ended up negating those advantages.
Part of the blame goes to Nate McMillan, who didn’t keep Ellis coming off the bench after all signs pointed to his best work coming as a sixth man, but a good deal of the blame goes to Larry Bird for building a team that didn’t make McMillan’s job any easier.
More from 8 Points, 9 Seconds
- 2 Studs, 1 dud from gut-wrenching Indiana Pacers loss to Charlotte Hornets
- Handing out early-season grades for Pacers’ Bruce Brown, Obi Toppin
- 3 positives, 2 negatives in Pacers In-Season Tournament win vs. Cavaliers
- 2 positives, 3 negatives from first week of Indiana Pacers basketball
- Should Isaiah Jackson’s days with Indiana Pacers be numbered?
We were critical of the moves for some time now, and so have many others, including former Indiana Pacers forward Antonio Davis.
Here’s what he said earlier this week.
“I thought he should have stepped down. To me, you didn’t think out your strategy, starting with firing Frank Vogel as head coach (in 2016). If you’re going to fire Frank Vogel, why hire Nate McMillan, one of his assistants? You need to bring in a whole new staff that’s going to head in another direction. Did you really expect the Pacers to be better this year? Did they give McMillan the players you needed to get better?” Davis said.
“They made a couple of moves, but not the kind that were going to take you from where they were to another level. I’m not blaming everything on him (Bird), but they’ve been trending down, not trending up. You’re either heading in one direction or the other.”
Davis went on to talk about Paul George and the likelihood of him staying, something Davis doesn’t see happening.
“I want the Pacers to succeed, but I have a hard time seeing how he stays there,” Davis said. “He could go back to L.A. and help rebuild the Lakers, try to be part of something special. Or go to Boston, or Toronto, an Eastern team that has a chance to knock Cleveland off. Or if I was him, I’d also think about the (Los Angeles) Clippers if they can get him and they can keep Chris Paul. That might be a great deal for the Clippers that’s not great for the Pacers. But maybe the Pacers can get Blake Griffin, do something crazy like get Carmelo Anthony, then find a two-guard. Now you’re trending upward. But right now, they’re not really in the topic of discussion to me, as far as being a contender.”
Davis hopes if PG does want to leave, he’ll tell the Pacers so they can start planning their future without him. That’s a sentiment most Pacers fans can agree on. Paul George staying in Indiana is what’s best for the Pacers, but right now it seems more likely than not this is his last year in the blue and gold of Indiana.
Next: Rumor: Pacers are not interested in trading Paul George
Bird has stepped down, leaving the job handling the Paul George situation to Kevin Pritchard. Pritchard’s first summer in his new role might be his most critical as he must decide to do with the franchise’s best player.