RUMOR: Rodney Stuckey Was Forced to Sign Minimum Deal Due to Pistons Smear Campaign

Last summer, the Indiana Pacers signed Rodney Stuckey to a one-year, $1.2 million contract. That is a lot of money in the real world, but in the NBA it is the veteran’s minimum salary — the lowest paycheck a player who has been in the league for seven year can make according to NBA rules.

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Over the past month, however, he has been playing more like a max-salary player — say, the Pacer who broke his leg last summer and has yet to play a game — than a minimum-deal guy.

But the only reason that Stuckey wound up in Indiana is because he couldn’t get any teams to make him a good offer. And no teams with more money to throw around would make him a reasonable offer because someone with the Detroit Pistons was actively trying to sully his name around the league, according to Mark Montieth of Pacers.com.

"Stuckey took a cut in pay to come to the Pacers to clear his name, and so far is doing a dramatic job of that.“A lot of people were questioning my character,” he said. “’Oh, he’s not a good teammate.’ This and that. That and this. I’m a great guy. I’m very humble, I come to work each and every day, do my business.”But someone with the Pistons tried to sully his reputation, he said.“It’s just unfortunate,” he said. “I’m not going to say names, but I know who it was. It’s just unfortunate for that person to throw me under the bus.”"

Montieth elaborated.

"If he hadn’t been forced to deal with that whispered defamation of character following his seven seasons in Detroit, Stuckey likely would have signed with another team over the summer – a team that could have offered to pay far more money than the reported veteran’s minimum the Pacers could offer. But Stuckey had nothing but one-year offers to select from, so he chose the team he thought offered the best opportunity to rehabilitate his image, regardless of the money."

So there is a world in which Rodney Stuckey never joins the Indiana Pacers.

But he is now glad he did and hopes that his tenure in Indiana lasts longer than just the original one-year deal. Stuckey will be a free agent this summer, but he expects to re-sign with the Pacers.

"Stuckey’s recent play has fans wondering and worrying if the Pacers will be able to keep him beyond this season. He says not to worry.“I want to be here,” he said. “When that time comes, we’ll definitely figure something out.” Coach Frank Vogel is on board with that, saying before the game the plan all along has been to make Stuckey a more permanent fixture of the team … Stuckey wants to stay. And he appears to have complete control over all decisions regarding his future.“I love it here, man,” he said. “I’m staying in the city, close to everything. I love it here. My family loves it here. I love the people in this organization. Definitely, I want to come back. That’s a no-brainer. Having a guy like Paul George here, of course I want to come play with an All-Star. Who doesn’t? Definitely want to be back here.”"

The Indiana Pacers should be able to re-sign Stuckey this summer if they want to.

They will have at least the full mid-level exception to offer, which would be around $5.5 million per year and up to almost $23 million over four years. But that is probably the highest they can go since Stuckey just joined the franchise last summer, and they don’t have his full Bird rights.

If Roy Hibbert (highly unlikely) and/or David West (probably more unlikely) opt out of their contracts this summer, then they would have more room to play around with. But that probably won’t happen, so the $23 million guaranteed is likely the ceiling.

“I’m not going to say names, but I know who it was. It’s just unfortunate for that person to throw me under the bus.” – Rodney Stuckey

Will any teams offer something larger than that?

They could. I mean, Stuckey hasn’t been a coveted player around the league for years now. Perhaps he keeps up his current production and has a great playoffs. But presuming he cools off a bit and doesn’t go Teen Wolf in the first round, it’s hard to see a lot of teams really going after him.

I could see him — maybe — getting an offer in, say, the neighborhood of $32 million over four years. That is obviously a big jump from $23 million. But Stuckey already had one decent payday in Detroit (he has made about $33 million so far in his career), so it’s certainly possible that he would prefer a great situation where he knows the team and has already thrived than some extra money.

Then again, never bet against a player taking the biggest offer.

We will see. It’s really to early to speculate any more about exact figures. He could average 50 points per game the rest of the year or blow out a knee tomorrow. The NBA is a weird place, and anything can happen.

But as of now, it sounds like Rodney Stuckey wants to stay — and the Pacers may just have enough money lying around to keep him.

Next: Paul George Return Now a Bonus, Not the Only Hope

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