The Pacers' offseason has gotten off to a rocky start.

First of all, Roy Hibbert got a max contract offer from the Portland Trailblazers -- $58 million for 4 years. Frankly, that stinks.  Not because Roy is likely to leave Indiana because I doubt the Pacers would allow that to happen, but because it means the Pacers will now likely have to offer Roy a similar contract (they can offer as much as $79 million over 5 years), which will take a significant chunk out of the team's cap and its ability to pursue other free agents. And we all know that Roy, as much as he has improved, as rare as he is, and as popular as he is with the Indiana fans, is NOT a max contract player.

Roy wants to stay in Indiana, but reports say he is "leaning" towards accepting the Blazers' offer, meaning the Pacers would have 3 days to match it if they want to keep the 7'2" big man. That's likely just a tactic from Roy's agent, who wants to maximize Roy's earnings. I don't think they intend to go to Portland. They just want to force Indiana to give him a max contract. It's a murky area. I mean, everyone will say Roy's contract will kill the Pacers' financial flexibility, but wouldn't you do the same if you were in his position?

Secondly, the Pacers have not been mentioned as a team in the running for Deron Williams or Steve Nash. They never had much of a chance anyway, but the lack of being mentioned at all has gotta hurt.

On the bright side, Eric Gordon has reportedly agreed to meet with the Pacers, but I won't read too much into it. With Anthony Davis and a massive contract awaiting him in New Orleans, why would he want to bolt?

The other big piece of news is that George Hill has apparently signed a 5-year deal for an unspecified amount. Hill is hardly the team's savior, but he's darn valauble.

The truth is, I'm disappointed. We have been hearing about what a great position the Pacers are in, with so much "financial flexibility" and cap room to play with. And all we've done so far is sign George Hill and struggle to sign Roy Hibbert, guys we already have. No big names. No David Wests this year. Sucks being a small market team, I guess.


 

The dust has settled and the verdict is in. The Pacers' selection with the 26th pick of the 2012 NBA Draft, Duke senior Miles Plumlee, is widely regarded as one of the worst (or as some have said, most "laughable") of the entire night. A D-, or at worst, an F, is what the majority of analysts have been giving the pick.

The general consensus is that Plumlee did not warrant a first round selection. He was tipped to be a second round guy, probably in the middle of that round. He is a white 7-footer with a 40-inch vertical but limited offensive skills. His averages at Duke in 2011-2012? 20.5 minutes, 6.6 points, 7.1 rebounds. Eek.

The Pacers, believe them or not, are describing Plumlee as their dream guy. The one they had their eyes on from the beginning. Their new Jeff Foster -- that high-energy guy that will play solid D, grab a ton of boards and change the game with their hustle and dirty work. But Foster, who played four seasons at SW Texas, at least averaged a more respectable 28.1 minutes, 14.2 points and 11.1 rebounds as a senior.

I guess there are a couple of ways to dissect this pick. The first is that Larry Bird has decided to go out on a whimper in botching the pick. Guys such as Arnett Moultrie and Perry Jones III were still available, so there's no excuse for picking this guy, whom many say isn't even the best Plumlee on the team (that honor apparently goes to his brother Marshall). The guy is raw and extremely limited offensively. Plus his game did not take any huge strides during his four years at Duke, suggesting he might have already approached his ceiling as a player. At best, he offers an insurance policy in case Roy Hibbert decides to sign elsewhere. At best, he is a bigger, more defensive-minded but less offensively capable Tyler Hansbrough.

The other way to look at it is that the Pacers made a good pick. Sure, there have been great players, or at least very serviceable NBA starters, who have been selected late in the first round (George Hill, for instance, was selected at 26 by the Spurs), but the probability is relatively low. The Pacers weren't going to find someone at 26 that could make a big splash on the team or take them to the next level. Instead, they did the safe thing by going for a guy that filled a need. It gives them a third energy guy off the bench (the other two being Hansbrough and Lou Amundson, if the latter re-signs as expected), and Plumlee would be the biggest and most athletic out of the three. Furthermore, even though Plumlee does not have eye-popping numbers, he reportedly tested extremely well during tests in Indiana. Perhaps his game will suit the NBA more than we expect?

The problem is, however, that many say the Pacers could have traded down and still gotten Plumlee, if he's the one they were really after (although some sources suggested that other teams were looking to snatch him up first).

To be honest, I think Plumlee doesn't hurt. They didn't get a star or a likely star, but they got an Indiana native would works hard, brings energy, is a big body and very athletic for his size -- PLUS he might be able to contribute right away. The Pacers are already a relatively young team, so getting a senior might be better for team chemistry. Plumlee can also battle Roy Hibbert in practice at force Hansbrough and Amundson to work even harder for minutes. I dunno, he might turn out to be better than first impressions.


The other guy the Pacers got on draft night was Orlando Johnson, the 36th pick whom the Pacers acquired from the Kings for cash. If you can get a draft pick for cash I guess it means they don't think very highly of them.

Johnson is a 6'4" guard with decent scoring capabilities but not much of a passer. Not sure how he helps the Pacers right now considering they've already got Lance Stephenson and Dahntay Jones. Another insurance policy should they find takers for Dahntay or if Stephenson loses his head again? Not sure.

Here are some of his highlights, though you gotta remember: everyone looks good in highlights.


 

Okay, so as it turned out, I was wrong. Larry Bird, despite sounding like he wanted to return, will resign as Pacers president. He'll apparently stick around for the draft, but after that, he will be replaced by the familiar face of Donnie Walsh, who is coming off a one-year hiatus as Knicks president.

Dang.

Not that I have anything against Walsh. After all, he was the dude that drafted Reggie Miller, but it's sad to see the Legend go, especially after all that patience and hard work is beginning to finally pay off.

Oh, and as expected, David Morway will be replaced as GM by Kevin Pritchard. Several sources claim Pritchard is a colossal prick who cares more about his own career advancement than the team (partly due to his messy split from Portland) but Bird trusts him and he does appear to be pretty competent.

Pritchard and Walsh are apparently already speaking up to 15 times and meeting 5 times a day to discuss...stuff. Hopefully they know that they are doing.

Right now, the priority is to re-sign Roy Hibbert and George Hill, which I believe they will. After that, the Pacers have a bit of space, but not as lot as initially envisaged, to sign a free agent or two. The Pacers need someone to facilitate the offense, and of course, they would LOVE Deron Williams, but the chances of him coming are ZERO (he has already narrowed it down to Brooklyn and the Dallas, apparently). And the next best option, Steve Nash only has a slightly higher chance than ZERO of joining the Pacers. So you can all stop dreaming. Then again, I may have said the same thing about David West, so you never know...

So who's left after that? There's OJ Mayo, who almost came to the Pacers before Morway botched it. There's Jamal Crawford, whom the Pacers remain interested in. Both would be upgrades on Leandro Barbosa and provide much needed bench scoring.

The Pacers also need another reserve big to relieve Big Roy, and Chris Kaman had come up before in conversations, but is regarded as risky because of health concerns. 

Another alternative is the Bucks' Ersan Ilyasova, a skiled big man who put up impressive numbers last season but it remains to be seen whether it was a fluke.

Indiana native Eric Gordon would be a massive boost (provided he remains healthy), but he is a restricted free agent and the Hornets have cleared up enough cap room to keep him, so he's pretty much out. Plus with Anthony Davis heading to New Orleans the team might eventually get somewhere...eventually.

Oh, and apparently Brandon Roy is making a comeback. He is supposedly better now, and the Pacers could have a shot, albeit a slim one.
 

So the Miami Heat just beat the Oklahoma City Thunder in 5 games to clinch Lebron James's first ever NBA title. Possibly the first of many to come.

The Indiana Pacers, on the other hand, have been relatively quiet since bowing out the second round to the eventual NBA champs. I know a lot of people were thinking maybe, just maybe, this Pacers team could have won it all this year, but now that the dust has settled you realize how far away they really are.

There's not a lot happening, so apart from the 2011-2012 team and player reviews, I'll be posting a summary update of what's been happening with the Pacers this offseason.

Here's the first.

• Larry Bird is most likely to be back as team president, though the official decision will not be made for a couple of weeks. 

• General manager David Morway is gone. It's been reported that Morway has fallen out of favor with Bird and the two no longer have a relationship (whatever that means). Apparently, Morway is responsible for screwing up the deal that would hve landed OJ Mayo in Indiana for Josh McRoberts, as well as pushing the Pacers out of the running for Jamal Crawford.

• Morway is likely to be replaced with former Blazers GM Kevin Pritchard, who was hired as the Pacers' director of player personnel in the 2011 offseason.

• Sources claim former Pacers CEO Donnie Walsh could be returning to the team in some capacity. Whatever the capacity, it will be a positive influence for the team.

• Roy Hibbert and George Hill have yet to be re-signed. Roy looks like he really wants to stay. He took fans from Area 55 to watch Prometheus. The big fella was also on a scavenger hunt segment on Jimmy Kemmel live with Jeremy Lin (video here).

• Associate head coach Brian Shaw missed out on a head coaching job with the Charlotte Bobcats. I have a feeling Shaw lucked out there. No one can save that team, not with the talent they've got on it right now. But what it means is that there is not a bigger chance Shaw will stay with the Pacers for another year. That's great news.

• Pacers have the 26th pick in the upcoming NBA draft.

As the NBA's final four teams slug it out, the Pacers have not been without news.

Despite rumors that Larry Bird was going to step down as team president this year, he has revealed that he wants to come back for a short term deal. Great news for Pacers. The Legend has a lot of work ahead of him though, if it that is the case. The re-signings of Roy Hibbert and George Hill will be the first order of the day. Adding a player or two that could take the Pacers to the next level is another.

The bad news on the grapevine is that associate head coach (ie assistant coach) Brian Shaw, is looking for a head coaching job again. Shaw is a fantastic locker room guy and his presence will be missed if he decides to go elsewhere. He has apparently talked to the Bobcats and the Magic, the latter of which apparently wants him bad. Neither place looks ideal, if you ask me. In fact, Charlotte and Orlando are probably the last two places any coach would want to be right now. Maybe Shaw will come to his senses and realize that another hopeless season with the Bobcats or another tumultuous Dwight Howard backstabbing season with the Magic is not preferable to staying another year with the Pacers.