By: Dustin Chapman

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• Selected Jerryd Bayless 11th overall and traded his rights along with Ike Diogu to Portland for Jarrett Jack, Josh McRoberts, and the rights to Brandon Rush (13th overall).

• Toronto selected Roy Hibbert 17th overall for Indiana, as a product of this draft pick being involved in the aforementioned Pacers-Raptors deal.

• Selected Nathan Jawai 41st overall for Toronto, which will also be included in the Pacers-Raptors deal.

Indiana has been wheelin’ n’ dealin’, and as a product of it, they had a terrific draft (assuming both deals go through).

First off, the reported deal with Toronto will bring T.J. Ford, Rasho Nesterovic, Maceo Baston, and the rights to the 17th overall pick (Roy Hibbert) in exchange for Jermaine O’Neal and the rights to the 41st overall pick (Nathan Jawai). That brings Indiana a true playmaking point guard who is built for the up-tempo game in Ford, Nesterovic’s big expiring contract, an athletic bench player in Baston, and a polished young center in Roy Hibbert. When considering the fact that they’re getting that entire package for a declining, overpaid big man in Jermaine O’Neal, that’s outstanding value.

As for Brandon Rush, he can fit in any system. He’s a Mr. Do-It-All that can shoot the ball, run the floor, defend the perimeter, play both wing positions, and has solid athletic ability. Rush is hands down one of the most complete players in this draft class, and still even has room to grow. Pairing him with Danny Granger out on the perimeter in the future would give Indiana an extremely versatile wing duo that can contribute on both ends of the floor.

Roy Hibbert may not be the most athletic player in the world, and his stock surely has taken a hit since he decided to pull out of the 2007 draft pool, but the fact of the matter is that this guy can play. He’s as fundamentally sound as any player in this draft, he’s got a high basketball IQ, he can block shots, he’s a great passer for a center, he’s got four years of experience at a top-notch program at Georgetown, and he is 7’2’’. “You can’t teach size” has become cliché, but this size has skill along with it.

Nabbing Jarrett Jack from Portland was also an excellent pickup, as Jack is indisputably one of the better backup guards in the entire league and is a great complement to T.J. Ford on account of his size. Josh McRoberts also has a chance to become a solid role player, as well. For a power forward, his athleticism is terrific, as is his vision.

Needless to say, the Indiana Pacers have finally taken steps in the right direction. They’ve finally began a rebuilding movement and they’re finally regaining hope. The best part about it? They aren’t finished dealing, friends. They’ve still got a baggage-filled point guard in Jamaal Tinsley to move. Stay tuned, but so far so good.

Grade: A-

The Indiana Pacers own the 11th and 41st overall picks in this month’s NBA Draft, and the organization has been undergoing the eventful pre-draft workout process. Pacers.com has provided fans with excellent coverage following each day of workouts, as they’ve put together a terrific Draft Central section consisting of player interviews, videos, and articles. Here’s a look at the action from Thursday and Friday’s strenuous sessions:

6/4: D.J. Augustin Interview

6/4: Stanley Burrell Interview

6:4: Jamar Butler Interview

6/4: Sasha Kaun Interview

6/4: Ty Lawson Interview

6/4: Aleks Maric Interview

6/4 Videos

6/5: Wayne Ellington Interview

6/5: Richard Hendrix Interview

6/5: Rob Kurz Interview

6/5: Courtney Lee Interview

6/5 Videos

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Posted By: Dustin Chapman

By: Dustin Chapman

Andrew Perna of RealGM.com reports that the Indiana Pacers do not anticipate forward Jermaine O’Neal to opt out of his contract this summer.

The Pacers have no reason to believe that franchise forward/center Jermaine O’Neal will exercise the early-termination option in his contract this summer.

“Jermaine hasn’t given us any indication that he will opt out,” David Morway, Indiana’s new General Manager, told RealGM in an exclusive interview on Tuesday night.

“We don’t anticipate that he will, but we also feel as though he’d give us notice. It would have a huge impact on what we do in free agency, if only because of the amount of money that would be freed up.”

O’Neal is owed nearly $20 million next season.

O’Neal, a 12-year NBA veteran, did not put together a strong season in his injury plagued 2007-2008 campaign. The five-time All-Star appeared in just 42 of Indiana’s 81 games, a product of a severe left knee injury he has battled for over a year’s time. In just under 29 minutes per game, O’Neal held underwhelming averages of 13.6 points and 6.7 rebounds per outing, marking his lowest numbers since becoming a Pacer in the summer of 2000.

At this stage of his career, which appears to be initiating its downfall, it may be borderline insane for O’Neal to turn down the approximate $44.4 million that is owed to him over the course of the next two years. The unreliable soon-to-be 30-year-old inevitably will not find a franchise willing to match those figures. Finding a team willing to match even 50% of that salary would be brutally astonishing.

Indiana’s front office should not be feeling anything short of a convincing aura of regret regarding the Jermaine O’Neal situation. Executive Director of Basketball Operations Larry Bird has annually been reluctant to part ways with his 6′11” star via trade, and it looks as though he has waited far too long. Instead of shipping O’Neal to another organization and bringing in pieces necessary to begin a much-needed rebuilding operation, Bird and Donnie Walsh, who recently left Indiana for New York, has remained loyal to a fault and it has come back to haunt them. Here we are, beginning the offseason of 2008, with a banged up Jermaine O’Neal who possesses trade value diminished to the point where it may be a waste of time to shop him altogether.

A notion of additional patience with the O’Neal situation was never fathomed in the past, but it may be the intelligent route to take at this stage. As previously mentioned, his value in the trade market is as low as it has ever been throughout his career, meaning that the next time he might be an attractive option will be when his contract is in the midst of its expiration. That expiration follows the 2009-2010 season, which is conveniently the same year that guard Jamaal Tinsley’s deal comes off the books.

At that point, the Pacers may finally be in the driver’s seat during trade discussions. Indiana needs to choose a direction as soon as possible, but it may come down to yet another apathetic year of waiting for Pacers fans. As tough as this may sound, it’s well-worth the wait.

By: Dustin Chapman

Similar to the Milwaukee Bucks, the Indiana Pacers are in the deep end of mediocrity. Throughout the past three seasons, they’ve made the postseason just once, in which they were eliminated in the first round by the New Jersey Nets. The last two years have been as apathetic as can be, as the club has combined those two seasons with a 71-93 overall record. They’ve inherited an array of long, unwarranted contracts to go along with annual health issues, a coaching change, and some off-court drama (in which they’ve attempted to clean up on). They have not been a truly competitive basketball team since 2004, and their young talent isn’t exactly the cream of the crop. Danny Granger shows a great deal of promise, but the word “mediocrity” sums up the rest of the bunch as well.

For the past few years, Larry Bird and Donnie Walsh, who recently jumped ship for New York, have failed to put together a plan. They are virtually directionles. They’ve waited far too long on the Jermaine O’Neal situation, and have kept him in town long enough to destroy the trade value he once had.

It’s time for Larry Bird and company to man up, choose a direction, and stick with a plan in order to revive this franchise. With their lack of tradeable assets, it’s nearly inevitable that they must put together a “fire sale” and start from scratch.

Whether they will decide to go that route or not is up in the air, but they’ve stalled long enough. It’s time to form a plan ASAP. Not next year, not “we’ll see how this works out.” None of that. Big decisions must be made right now.

If management fails to provide a turning point as quickly as this summer, maybe it’s time to reevaluate the orchestrator. God blessed Larry Bird as a basketball player and a basketball mind, but for whatever reason, he has not gotten it done as a President of Basketball Operations. “Larry Legend” has always noted that his goal is to deliver a championship to the state of Indiana. It may not be berserk to suggest that the way to go about doing that might be to simply step down.

 Well, the Pacers won last night, but I really won’t get into that. It’s preseason, and as we all know, it really doesn’t mean anything. It was nice to see the Pacers get their first win in about 7 months however. But for today, I am going to do a preview of the Central Division, the toughest division in my opinion. To make it easy, I will start with the team that I feel with finish 5th, and work my way up. Easy enough?

5.) Milwaukee Bucks - In order for this team to do well, Michael Redd has to play in all 82 games, something he failed to do last year. And to add to that, he needs to keep improving. Maurice Williams had a solid season last year, and he needs to repeat that. Bogut still has room for improvement, and Charlie V. needs to prove he’s not injury prone. All Yi has to do is work on not getting dunked on anymore. It also wouldn’t hurt him to put on some weight, he’s actually skinnier than Prince and Garnett.

4.) Indiana Pacers - To me, it’s important for the Pacers to finish no worse than 4th in the division. But in order for that to happen, Jermaine needs to have another career year, Tinsley needs to have a breakout year, Murph and Dunleavy need to step up, and Granger needs to keep improving. Basically, a lot needs to happen.

3.) Cleveland Cavaliers - I think the Cavs are going to drop from where they were last year, they will not be a 50 win team. And for several reasons. The Cavs did nothing to improve their point guard situation. Gibson has yet to prove he can compete at a consistent level, and Snow might be the worst PG in the NBA. To add to that, Larry Hughes has missed a big amount of games in his two years in Cleveland, Big Z is getting older, and Anderson V. has yet to resign. King James can’t carry this team to the ECF again.

2.) Detroit Pistons - It is hard to put them at number two, because they always seem to be in the title picture. But soon enough, age will start to catch up to this team. Chris Webber, Rasheed Wallace, Chauncey Billups, Antonio McDyess, these aren’t young guns anymore. They did very well in the draft however, so it is hard to pinpoint this team. They have a solid mixture of youth and veterans, which I feel is key.

1.) That leaves the Baby Bulls, who will eventually lose the nickname. They still have all their gems from last year, Hinrich, Gordon and Deng, Tyrus will keep improving, Wallace will still rebound, and they added another solid draft pick to their team. Noah will not put up huge numbers, nor will be be on anyone’s fantasy team, but this is a kid who knows a little something about winning Championships. Yeah, there is a big difference from winning an NCAA Championship and an NBA Championship, but this is yet another hustle player added to a young hustle team. The only question is their 4 spot. I think they could have done a little better than Joe Smith.

 So there you have it. Bulls take the division, the Pistons finally have to settle for second, the Cavs falter, the Pacers don’t come in last, and the Bucks, well, it won’t be a great year for them.

D.S.

 You know how to reach me.

 There are a ton of unknowns surrounding the Indiana Pacers for this upcoming season. But I’m not getting into a ton. Nah, I’ll just take a look at 5.  And I must warn you, my assumptions can be way off and are only accurate 93.1% of the time.

1.)  Jermaine O’Neal - Last year, Jermaine played arguably his best NBA season. He averaged 19.4 ppg, 9.6 rpg, 2.6 bpg, and 2.4 apg. But he only played in 69 games, again failing to play in every regular season game. Health is crucial for team successs, especially when you are an Indiana Pacers team who ranked dead last in shooting percentage last year. We need Jermaine O’Neal to not only put up the numbers he did last year, but to stay healthy and at least reach the 70 marker for games played.

2.) Danny Granger - As long as I’m talking about staying healthy, Danny Granger did end up playing in all 82 games last season. He averaged 13.9 ppg and 4.6 rpg in his sophomore campaign, not fully reaching his potential. But Granger accepts full responsibility. On Pacers.com, Danny admits that not only did he not expect to be one of the top options for the Pacers, but that he didn’t prepare for that in the offseason either. This year he promises to be ready. I really don’t have any reasons not to believe him. He is a crucial part of the Pacers team, and as long as he has a consistent starting job, something he didn’t have last year(only starting 57 games), he should do just fine.

3.) Jamaal Tinsley - Jamaal Tinsley made it a goal to play every single game last year. I almost chocked on my cherry cola from laughing so hard when I heard that. He didn’t end up playing all 82 games last season, but nobody expected him to. Nobody also expected him to start and play in 72 games, which is a good thing to see if you are a Pacer fan. We need Tinsley to stay healthy, and also, we need him to thrive under Jim O’Brien, the new head coach. He plans to unleash a faster tempo, which easily plays into Tinsley’s favor. Tinsley is a solid ball handler, and can be a great passer, but he has yet to live up to his potential. I hope that changes under O’Brien.

4.) Jim O’Brien - Jim might be the most important person on this list. How the Pacers do this season falls mainly on Jim’s shoulders. It might not be fair, but it’s the truth. Larry talks about solid chemistry, but I don’t see it. Jim needs to take Tinsley, Dunleavy, Granger, O’Neal, and Murphy, and figure out how to make the pieces fit. This is the set starting five for the Pacers, who have talent, but like I implied earlier, lack chemistry. If this team can play like they can, and do it all as a TEAM, I see playoffs for this team. But if not, we’ll get a sequel to last year’s season.

5.) Ex Warriors - Keith is no longer a Pacer, but the three biggest names that the Pacers received in the trade are still here. Mike Dunleavy, Troy Murphy, and Ike Diogu(who deserves more minutes). These three players consist of two starters and a key bench player, and how they do will have a big impact on the Pacer’s season. While it is important for Jermaine, Granger, and Tinsley to have great seasons, we need these other 3 to play just as solid and consistent.

 I am getting excited as the season draws nearer, and I have a good feeling about how the Pacers do this season. I am by no means expecting a championship. I am suggesting that the Pacers will show us two things that we haven’t seen in a while. Hard work and consistency.

 D.S.

  I can be reached at david.tunafishsandwich@gmail.com

  A lot can change in 3 years. Especially if you’re the Indiana Pacers. The Pacers ended their 2003-2004 season with a franchise record 61 wins. Good golly, that seems like decades ago. Coming off 61 wins, the Pacers were labeled contenders for the 2004-2005 season, and being an avid Pacer fan, I agreed. But we all know how the season turned out. The Pacers started off hot, winning 6 of their first 8 games. Then they went to play against their biggest rival at the time, the Detroit Pistons. The Pacers ended up winning the game, but lost their chance at a championship.

 I won’t get into the brawl. We all know what happened, and we’ve seen it probably more times than we cared to, but the aftershock of the brawl still haunts the Pacers. Not to mention, that season was Reggie Miller’s last NBA season, and it appears that he picked the perfect time to retire. The next year wasn’t much better for the Pacers. Artest demanded a trade, tried to take it back, and was finally traded to the Kings. The Pacers received Peja Stojakovic, which on paper made the Pacers look pretty darn good. Jermaine O’Neal, Peja Stojakovic, Jamaal Tinsley, Stephen Jackson, Danny Granger…ect.

  But the Pacers were eliminated by the New Jersey Nets in the first round of the playoffs, their only two wins coming from the games in which Peja played. Of course, Peja didn’t resign with the Pacers, why would he? But Larry and Donnie made things okay. They traded their trade exemption and 1st round draft pick for Al Harrington, reuniting him with his former team. Harrington was traded 38 games later, along with Stephen Jackson, Sarunas, and Josh Powell. In return, the Pacers welcomed Troy Murphy, Mike Dunleavy Jr., Ike Diogu, and Keith McLeod. The trade was made to improve team chemistry, and the Pacers lost 23 of their last 29 games, missing the playoffs for the first time since 1998.

 So what does this up and coming season bring for the Indiana Pacers? A coaching change was finally made, and it appears the Jim O’Brien looks to make the Pacers play more of an uptempo game, which hopefully will suit Jamaal Tinsley. However, this season brings alot more questions than answers. Will Jermaine O’Neal be traded? If he’s not, will he opt out of his contract at the end of the season? Who will be the starting five, and for once, will we have a set rotation? Better yet, why on earth was Darrell Armstrong released? Whatever happens, I will be watching every minute of it (most likely frustrated), but still rooting for my Pacers, and hoping a little lady luck comes our way.

  D.S.

 If you have any comments, questions, or just want to debate sports, I can be reached at david.tunafishsandwich@gmail.com

Honestly I think it is time to trade O’Neal, but only if the right deal comes along.  The thing with Jermaine is, I don’t think any team will ever win a title with him as it’s #1 option. And with him here, is it really possible to get another superstar in here?  I’m not sure we can.

So if we could package him for a package of 2 youngin’s and a first, i’d do it in a second.  I’d want one of those kids to definitely be a Point Guard though…if not then i’m not sure i’d pull the trigger as we’d be in the same situation.  One option would be Chicago.  The problem with that is, obviously they are a division rival.  You give them Jermaine O’Neal and they could be winning titles for a few years…but does that really matter because we won’t be winning titles anyway?

How about a team like Dallas in a Package for newly signed Devin Harris?  Dirk and Jermaine would be the best frontcourt the NBA has seen in a while.  And of course there is always the lakers rumor looming.

How do you feel?  Should we trade him?

I really think this Indiana Pacer team is going to present a ton of matchup problems when the playoffs come.  If used right, they could end up being equalizers when playing teams with a little more talent then them.  This team is pretty well rounded and could focus on their best matchup and continue to pound it.

Defensively they are long, but also quick. Great defense always kicks in when the playoffs start, as teams begin giving it their all without concern for wearing down.  I look for the Pacers to really step it up a few notches.  Past Detroit, I think this Indiana team could beat any other team in the conference.  After just beating Detroit last week, I wouldn’t put it past this team to come out of the East .  No doubt they must start to play better, but it could really happen.