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Roy Hibbert Yet to Reveal if He Will Stay in Indiana or Test Free Agency

By Ben Gibson

Apr 12, 2015; Indianapolis, IN, USA; Indiana Pacers guard C.J. Miles (0) celebrates the victory with center Roy Hibbert (55) after the game against the Oklahoma City Thunder at Bankers Life Fieldhouse. Indiana defeats Oklahoma City 116-104. Mandatory Credit: Brian Spurlock-USA TODAY Sports
Apr 12, 2015; Indianapolis, IN, USA; Indiana Pacers guard C.J. Miles (0) celebrates the victory with center Roy Hibbert (55) after the game against the Oklahoma City Thunder at Bankers Life Fieldhouse. Indiana defeats Oklahoma City 116-104. Mandatory Credit: Brian Spurlock-USA TODAY Sports /
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Both Roy Hibbert and David West hold player options that take up around $30 million of the roughly $75 million budget Indiana works with for the 2015-16 season. By salary alone, the two’s decisions greatly affect how the Pacers go forward. We know Bird expects West and his $12 million salary back, but Hibbert’s return isn’t so clear.

Bird openly questioned the center’s role with the team going forward, seemingly daring Hibbert to turn down his player option and head off to play somewhere else.

With less than two weeks to go until his deadline to make that decision, Hibbert still hasn’t revealed the decision. Scott Agness of Vigilant Sports recently reached out to Roy’s agent, and they either remain undecided or are staying quiet about their plans.

"When asked by VigilantSports.com in an email Wednesday about Hibbert’s status and a timetable for finalizing his decision, [his agent David] Falk wrote, “We are not discussing this publicly. We will inform the Pacers first when a decision is made.”Hibbert, meanwhile, is spending the offseason in Los Angeles and learning jiu-jitsu.Robert Mathis, his friend and a fellow professional athlete in Indianapolis spoke with him by phone earlier this month.“He’s out in Cali just relaxing, clearing his head and being Roy,” Mathis shared. “… He’s the same old Roy. He’s still big, goofy Roy.”In my conversations with several of Hibbert’s teammates over the last few weeks, they were unsure of what Hibbert is thinking. Most uttered, “If Roy comes back,” when discussing next year."

Even if Hibbert does pick up the option, there is the option of trading Hibbert him after the draft (and the same goes for West). I’m sure Bird and company have an idea of what both players will do, but they are some what limited in the decisions they can make not knowing for sure. And the front office would love to know what Hibbert (and West) are doing before the draft on June 25.

Despite all the grief that fans have given Roy Hibbert the past few years, he’s still one of the NBA’s best rim protectors. The Pacers’ entire defensive scheme is built around him. It is simple, guard the 3-point line, let Roy patrol the paint and hope the opponent has an average night while taking contested mid-range jumpers.

If the Pacers don’t have Hibbert next season, that scheme might not work as well as it has the past few seasons. If the Pacers are committed to being smaller and faster then Hibbert wouldn’t appear to be a major player in that plan. Either Bird isn’t serious about the doing that or Hibbert’s role in Indiana is likely to diminish.

Next: Profiling Potential Pacers Picks: Kelly Oubre

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