Thinking about the Pacers.

I don’t think any team surprised me come playoff time more than the Pacers. The way they competed with the Bulls with their roster I mean you had Collison a sophmore with potential, no real set 2 guard, Granger who was the only proven one come playoff time, Hansborough an energy guy who surpirsed many, and Hibbert who I heard was sort of a headcase but has potential. They competed big time and in my eyes had a chance to win that series looking back on it.

They are in a tough spot, do you use Granger + filler to try and lure CP3 or Dwight to your team or keep trying to build and maybe you get a few good FA signings and are able to compete come playoff time. Not sure which road they really want to go down.

Do you use that $$$ and spend on a ?group of PF’s or try to use that $$ to sign a decent pf (KHumphries) and then get a 12-14ppg SG i.e (Affalo, JRich, RIP,VCarter,JCraw) & what happens with George Hill is a PG or a SG? Is he a Starter or 6th man?  IDK what to expect out of these Small Market teams that do not have a Top 3 Value pick from their respective draft class, Although a case could be made that Granger is the 3rd best player from his draft class. 1st ? Is DGranger a star? He’s young so he can hit his prime & put up 25+ppg a game although he needs @least 2 sidekicks to get to the ECF. Granger is the Star for the Pacers but how do you surround him with enough talent get out of the 1st round.

3 teams fought to get that 8th seed last year Ind/Cha/Mil which of these teams made enough moves to get back/stay in the playoff race?

Trade Danny Granger to Houston for Kevin Martin…Martin slides to to the Sg spot and may remind Pacer fans of another sharp shooter they once loved…

Sign Tayshaun Prince or Jeff Green to start at Sf until Paul George is completely ready to start, right now he’s an awesome guy to come off the bench and provide a spark…I can also see him play a similar role as Jalen Rose in his time there…

Make a Run at Kris Humpries to split time with Hansbrough at Pf…together they’d be a energy duo that rebounds and tries hard on the defensive end…If a guy like Humpries isn’t available then go for a defensive/rebounding Pf in the mold of Dale Davis…

Roster could look like this…

Pg-George Hill-Darren Collison(change of Pace Pg-They could also make a play for Jerryd Bayless and Ed Davis using Collison as bait)

Sg-Kevin Martin(In a Reggie lite role)-Brandon Rush-Lance Stephanson

Sf-Tayshaun Prince or Jeff Green-Paul George(could become a 6th man in a sort time span backing up a veteran like Prince for a few years)

Pf-Kris Humpries-Tyler Hansbrough(could you get more energy and rebounding tenacity then this two paired together, not for the price tag Hump and Hans would come at)

C-Roy Hibbert-Jeff Foster(Or Other Veteran C) I think Roy could play a role close to that of Rik Smits, as a spot up shooter and low post option with passing ability…

Again all they lose is Granger via Trade, they can Add Prince and Humpries for a fair price and still hold on to their prospects and draft picks…

Thoughts…

 I wouldnt be surprised at all if they sign David West and Crawford

David West is damaged goods, and Jamal Crawford is a bit of a Mercenary…I think they should definitly make a run at Kevin Martin to play Sg, maybe they sign a Center like Nene using the Cap room and send him to Houston for K-mart 2.0…It would allow them to pair Martin and Granger,keeps Paul George around to develope around them and still allow them to get a Pf like Kris Humpries…

I think Kevin Martin makes perfect sense in Indiana…whether or not they keep Granger is up to their GM to figure out…But I think they need to make a decision soon…He is a valuable player to have but may end up a carreer 2nd Banana…A sharp shooter like Martin could open up space for him and Hibbert to operate…Hill and Collison are solid Pg’s and with PG and Hansbrough on the bench they do have a solid Team up and down…Really like the Pacers roster…Just don’t want to see them give out two bad contracts like Detroit did with Ben Gordon and Charlie V…

 Paul George is ready to go now.

Make a run at néné who’s a nba starting bigmen in a winning team(not the case of humphries or hansbrough), + nene can play with hibbert as a PF, with hansbrough as a C.

Keep the same team as last year, hill to compete with collison, individual upside of hibbert-hansbrough and george,  Néné, maybe add a vet at the SG spot, an offensive threat from the bench.

This team is set to make some damages, biggest team in the league on a physical standpoint, collison-george-granger-nene-hibbert, good energy guys from the bench.

This team will be better than the knicks this year, size and D don’t lie…

I don’t think they will do anything drastic, they have a pretty good team with chemistry you prob don’t want to break that up. David West is a great PF but is an injury risk – i just hope they don’t give him a big 4 or 5 year contract.  They might look at a team player – someone that will come in and help out in other ways and not demanding the ball or xxx amount of minutes or shots a game – Prince or Humphries would be great and wouldn’t demand big contracts

I’d love to see Nene in Indiana. That would be a very deep team with two great bench players in Hansborough and Hill coming off the bench. I think a team like that with a great bench and size would give shallow and smaller teams like Miami, NY, and Boston a run in the east when they meet in the playoffs.

 I’ve actually always been a big fan of Kevin martin joining the Pacers simply so I can get back to the glory days of Reggie,Rik Smits, Mark Jackson, and Jalen Rose. Going after Martin and Millsap would probably be their best bet honestly. mayo  wouldn’t be a bad get since they were so close to acquiring him and he’d be able to have the ball in his hands a bit more with them playing beside if Collison/Hill and Granger/George.