Why the Indiana Pacers Rebuilding on the Fly Could Cost Them Paul George

Did early success spoil Paul George’s relationship with the Indiana Pacers? Andrew Perna of Real GM makes his case.

Remember the good old days of the Indiana Pacers? No, not the ABA days, the more recent ones. When Paul George and the Pacers were a thorn in LeBron James and the Miami Heat’s side. When they were just a game away from advancing to the NBA Finals.

There was nothing but hope then. It felt like the question was when, not if, the Pacers would play for a title, and maybe even win one if they could just break through.

Then, everything happened. The departures, Paul George’s injury, Frank Vogel’s exit. Zach Lowe of ESPN highlighted the downfall of that era earlier in the week. It seems that restarted the speculations on Paul George’s future. While it is impossible to know what’s going to happen next, there are plenty of people like Lowe probing into what’s happening now and how that effects PG’s future in Indiana.

Two popular themes in all of this is chemistry and stability. More so, how the two contributed to Indiana’s success in the past.

They could use both right now. It doesn’t take an expert to know this, but it is likely going to end up being the dominant narrative of the 2016-17 season.

You don’t have to wait to hear about how George feels about all of that, though. Jay King of Mass Live posted some of Paul George’s comments from before Wednesday’s game against the Boston Celtics.

"George has sounded dissatisfied throughout the season. Asked about the campaign Wednesday, he called it “probably one of the toughest seasons for me” before admitting he thinks back to the years when the Pacers threatened to win the Eastern Conference.“You always relive the glory days when they’re gone,” George said. “So I’m trying to bring that to this team, and that edge. But it’s taken some time. It’s been a toll.”“Usually I had two jobs: be the best defender and the best scorer,” George added. “Now it’s, be the leader, be the toughness guy, be the enforcer. It’s just a lot of roles that I’ve had to pick up this season. And that’s what’s been the toll. That’s what’s been the roughest part of it. It’s how do you put energy in every bit of places. And I’ve grown with it, I’ve gotten better throughout the season, as the season’s gone on, as different matchups have gone on, how to approach different teams. But it’s been a task.”"

The problem is, chemistry and players knowing their roles isn’t something that comes together quickly, even in the best circumstances. Paul is trying to make that happen for the Pacers, but it doesn’t happen just because he or anyone else wants it to happen. It is manufactured over time.

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This is the downside of Larry Bird’s plan of rebuilding on the fly. There was no time for a proper reset, just constant rollover.

Paul George is the longest tenured Pacer, with Lavoy Allen joining in as part of that last Indiana team in the conference finals in 2014. C.J. Miles and Rodney Stuckey joined the season of Paul George’s injury, but everyone else has only been with the team since last season at best.

This isn’t to blame Bird if George leaves, at least not directly in this case. Rebuilding as they went wasn’t such a terrible idea. But making mistakes along the way have contributed to certain failures. All of that contributes to second and third order effects, but you start to get into the realm of chaos theory once you try blaming any and every move for whatever happens next and not forgetting why those choices were made in the first place.

Either way, chaos is a byproduct of the process of making so many moves in an effort to build a championship contender. There are consequences to trying to build on the run and taking whatever is available to make your team better.

The lack of continuity and a roster that doesn’t make a ton of sense beyond their starting five has created a volatile situation for the Pacers. On paper, there is plenty of talent, but in the real world, a redundancy of skill sets in some areas and a complete lack in others is perhaps epitomized by their current 15-game win-loss streak. This team is too good to be below .500, but not built in a way to allow them to escape a .500 trajectory. For everyone from the players to the fans, it is incredibly frustrating.

This team is too good to be below .500, but not built in a way to allow them to escape a .500 trajectory. For everyone from the players to the fans, it is incredibly frustrating.

That frustration and lack of success is what fuels all the speculation of PG’s departure.

As Andrew Perna of Real GM highlights, George benefited from stability in his first few seasons, but chaos since then. According to Perna, Indiana has used 37 starting lineups since those glory days. He also noted Indiana only used five starting lineups in the 2013-14 season when the Pacers went to Game 7 with the Heat. Stability and success were the defining features of PG’s early years in the NBA.

Perna theorizes that this may be one of the biggest reasons for Paul George potentially leaving after next season. A want for a team that has stability and players know the exact roles they need to full. That’s something you can’t say about the Pacers right now.

It is also something Paul George hinted at to Perna when he asked him if he thought the team would be cohesive by now.

"“I’ve been here the longest. C.J. [Miles] hasn’t really been a part of this team long. He’s been with us for two, three years, but he hasn’t really been here. Some guys haven’t really been around for our tradition. Then you add new guys in Jeff [Teague], Thaddeus [Young] and Al [Jefferson], so it takes time. We didn’t think it would take this long. We thought at some point we’d turn the corner with all the talent we have, but that hasn’t been the case. It’s a long season and like we say, it’s zero-zero once playoffs start. We’ll fight out way into the playoffs and then it’s a new season for us.”"

Where does the blame for that belong? In his lap as a team leader? The rest of the team for not coming together? Larry Bird’s for rebuilding on the fly (while stripping almost everything around Paul George)? Nate McMillan for his coaching?