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Lance Stephenson pays the price to get his jersey number back

By Ben Gibson

Apr 23, 2017; Indianapolis, IN, USA; Indiana Pacers forward Paul George (13) and guard Lance Stephenson (6) argue with referee Mike Callahan (24) after he calls a technical foul against forward Kevin Seraphin (1) in a game against the Cleveland Cavaliers in game four of the first round of the 2017 NBA Playoffs at Bankers Life Fieldhouse. Cleveland defeats Indiana 106-102. Mandatory Credit: Brian Spurlock-USA TODAY Sports
Apr 23, 2017; Indianapolis, IN, USA; Indiana Pacers forward Paul George (13) and guard Lance Stephenson (6) argue with referee Mike Callahan (24) after he calls a technical foul against forward Kevin Seraphin (1) in a game against the Cleveland Cavaliers in game four of the first round of the 2017 NBA Playoffs at Bankers Life Fieldhouse. Cleveland defeats Indiana 106-102. Mandatory Credit: Brian Spurlock-USA TODAY Sports /
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Lance Stephenson swapped numbers with Kevin Seraphin, returning Born Ready to the number most remember him wearing with the Indiana Pacers.

When Lance Stephenson returned to the Indiana Pacers, he didn’t get to return to the jersey number we knew him best by, No. 1, because Kevin Seraphin was already wearing it.

While it didn’t help that Lance came back with only six games in the regular season, Seraphin was a savvy businessman and patiently waited Stephenson out until this offseason. The duo handled the situation with the time-honored practice of exchanging cash, and the two finally struck a deal for Stephenson to return to No. 1 while Seraphin will don the No. 6 next season.

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Vigilant Sports’ Scott Agness talked with Seraphin to find out how it all worked out.

"Big man Kevin Seraphin wore No. 1 last season. In their short time together, Seraphin and Stephenson became good friends. It was inevitable the Seraphin surrendered No. 8.“I told him I was waiting for him to bring it up,” he said of Lance making an offer. “We’ll see how much money he’s willing to put on the table.”"

The Seraphin-Stephenson duo was fun to watch at the end of last season, as the two clearly had chemistry on and off the court, so it isn’t surprising that the two came to a deal once the season was over.

While some of the numbers weren’t favorable when the two shared the court — the small sample size isn’t completely trustable — Seraphin got the most assists of anyone from Stephenson. Hopefully, that’s something that the two can replicate once the season gets underway in October.

Next: Pritchard preaches patience on PG trade

Stephenson is now fully back to being Born Ready with his return no No. 1, or Né Prêt, if you want to say it in French.

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