New voice: What to expect from the Kevin Pritchard era

Kevin Pritchard is the new president of basketball operations in Indiana. But what should fans expect during this new era of Pacers basketball?

It’s time for a new voice around Bankers Life Fieldhouse. Larry Bird has stepped down as president of basketball operations for the Pacers, and Kevin Pritchard is taking over.

Indiana is heading into the most critical offseason in franchise history with question marks lurking around every corner, the biggest being Paul George‘s status with the team. With Bird relieving himself of his duties, Pritchard is the new captain of an allegedly sinking ship.

However, there is hope for Pacers basketball. Pritchard has a history of savvy executive decisions from his time as general manager of the Portland Trailblazers.

History of Excellence?

Alright, lets get this out in the open. Kevin Pritchard is responsible for one of the biggest blunders in NBA Draft history. In 2007, Pritchard and company selected Greg Oden with the number one overall pick over Kevin Durant. But 10 years ago, Pritchard would’ve been heralded as a lunatic to pass on Oden. In high school, Oden was labeled as the next Shaq and considered a can’t-miss player. In hindsight, this was a terrible pick. Durant is a top five NBA talent leading the Golden State Warriors through the playoffs, and Oden is out of the league and recently recently made news for headlining an Ohio State alumni team in this year’s The Basketball Tournament.

While Pritchard whiffed on Durant, he earned respect around the franchise in Portland for constructing an up-and-coming team around Brandon Roy in his three-year tenure.

"[Pritchard] was promoted as general manager in 2007 and was charged with rescuing the Blazers from their “Jail Blazers” reputation as a team of malcontents who couldn’t manage to stay out of trouble."

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Sound familiar, Pacers fans? To Pritchard’s credit, he took over a non-competitive 32-50 team in 2006-07 and built up to a 50-32 team in his last season in 2009-10. This should be a point of optimism for Pacers fans. Moreover, Pritchard constructed those winning teams with Nate McMillan as his head coach.

Smart Spending

Other key points from Pritchard’s tenure in Portland include his ability to shed liability contracts. The 2006-07 Trailblazers were a financial disaster. Zach Randolph earned $12 million that year, a necessary evil considering Randolph was a 25 year-old post-dominant power forward in an era where big men were still useful.

After Randolph followed a slew of bad contracts: Raef LaFrentz earning $11.5 million, Derek Anderson earning $9.7 million and Jamaal Magloire earning $8.4 million. Of those contracts, Randolph was the only one to finish in the top five on the team in PER.

By 2010, none of those contracts remained on the team, and Portland wasn’t paying any player more than $9 million per year. This is an impressive feat considering the 2009-10 Trailblazers roster included Roy, LaMarcus Aldridge, Steve Blake and Nic Batum.

What To Expect From Kevin Pritchard

In a word, activity. Kevin Pritchard has a history of being hyper-active in the draft and free agency. For example, on draft night in 2007, Pritchard traded five different players and drafted five guys as well. Pacers fans should expect a very active draft next month. Whether or not they’ll have a top pick remains to be seen.

Fans should also expect a reloaded, not rebuilt, roster for the 2017 season. It’s no secret that the Pacers are eating a handful of bad contracts (Monta Ellis and Al Jefferson getting paid $20.9 million last year to ride the bench was killer), and Pritchard is faced with the tall task of making one team’s trash another team’s treasure. If the Pacers want any hope of retaining Paul George, Pritchard needs to flip these contracts into viable assets.

Speaking of Paul George, Kevin Pritchard has to figure out what’s best for the franchise regarding PG’s pending free agency. He can either trade PG at peak value this offseason for a blockbuster package of assets the franchise can use to rebuild for the future, or he can work some magic and build a contender that George will want to play for.

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Pritchard has his work cut out for him but Pacers fans should be excited for “a new voice around here.”