The Indiana Pacers came within one game of the reaching the NBA Finals and did so without one of their best players. This off-season, the Pacers are looking to build off their successful 2012-13 season and put themselves in a position to make another run next year.
Indiana Pacers (49-32 last year)
2012-13 Season Summary:
We learned a few things about the Indiana Pacers this year. With their current core, they are capable of competing for an NBA Championship. Paul George is on pace to become a superstar. Roy Hibbert was well worth the max contract he received last summer.
It’s rather impressive that Indiana was able to take the Heat to seven games in the Eastern Conference finals even with their supposed star player Danny Granger sidelined for pretty much the entire season due to a knee injury. With Granger in street clothes for all but five games, George took the torch and had a breakout season earning the NBA’s Most Improved Player Award and developing into one of the most versatile and talented young players in the league.
Hibbert took a step forward in becoming a monster presence in the paint on both ends of the floor but particularly defensively. What Hibbert might have lacked on the offensive end, David West (aka king of the 15-foot jumper) picked up the slack, bouncing back from a rather lackluster 2011-12 campaign. The bench play up-front was marginal. Tyler Hansbrough and Ian Mahinmi brought energy and toughness but not a whole lot of skill while first round draft pick, Miles Plumlee (I gave an F- to that pick on draft night) was pretty much useless.
Fresh off his contract extension, George Hill posted career-highs in both points and assists to become the true floor leader of the team. With Granger out of the lineup, Frank Vogel moved George to the three and turned to Lance Stephenson to take over as starting shooting guard. “Born Ready” seemed to figure out his role with the team, adding toughness and a defensive aggressiveness on the wing. Once again, the reserve play was average at best as free agent acquisitions D.J. Augustin and Gerald Green did nothing to amaze.
2013-14 Projected Depth Chart:
C: Roy Hibbert/Ian Mahinmi/Miles Plumlee
PF: *Tyler Hansbrough/*Jeff Pendergraph
SF: Danny Granger/Gerald Green
SG: Paul George/^Lance Stephenson/Orlando Johnson
PG: George Hill/*Ben Hansbrough
NBA Free Agents:
PF-David West (UFA)
PG-D.J. Augustin (UFA)
G/F-Sam Young (UFA)
^SG-Lance Stephenson (TO)
*PF-Tyler Hansbrough (RFA)
*PF-Jeff Pendergraph (RFA)
*PG-Ben Hansbrough (RFA)
2013-14 Team Salary: approximately $50 million
Team Needs:
1. Power Forward: Priority number one for the Indiana Pacers this off-season should be re-signing David West. With him being an unrestricted free agent and Tyler Hansbrough a restricted free agent, Indy has a hole at power forward. Lacking the cap space to really make a run at any upgrade in free agency, West is a terrific fit due to his experience, toughness, and ability to hit mid-range jumpers. It might once again cost the Pacers in the ballpark of ten million dollars per year to keep him but that wouldn’t be a terrible extension.
2. Shop Granger: Granger’s trade value took a major hit this past season due to his problematic knee injury. If West ends up walking, the Pacers might be forced to trade Granger for fifty cents on the dollar in hopes of finding a replacement at the four. After the way George and Stephenson played this past postseason, Granger has become expendable, plus he entering the final year of his contract.
3. Backup Point Guard: D.J. Augustin plugged this hole for a year but really didn’t perform well enough to make Indiana want to re-up him to a multi-year deal. If they choose to let him walk, finding a backup to George Hill will become a priority for the Pacers once they figure out their power forward position.
OTHER NBA TEAM NEEDS PAGES:
Atlanta Hawks
Boston Celtics
Brooklyn Nets
Charlotte Bobcats
Chicago Bulls
Cleveland Cavaliers
Dallas Mavericks
Detroit Pistons
Golden State Warriors
Houston Rockets
Los Angeles Clippers
Los Angeles Lakers
Memphis Grizzlies
Milwaukee Bucks
Minnesota Timberwolves
New Orleans Pelicans
New York Knicks
Orlando Magic
Phoenix Suns
Portland Blazers
Sacramento Kings
Toronto Raptors
Utah Jazz
Washington Wizards
CLICK HERE FOR THE SPORTS BANK’S 2013 NBA MOCK DRAFT
David Kay is a senior feature NBA Draft, NBA, and college basketball writer for the Sports Bank. He also heads up the NBA and college basketball material at Walter Football.com and is a former contributor at The Washington Times Communities. David has appeared on numerous national radio programs spanning from Cleveland to New Orleans to Honolulu. He also had the most accurate 2011 NBA Mock Draft and the most accurate 2012 NBA Mock Draft on the internet (Yup, repeat champ… #humblebrag.)
You can follow him on Twitter at David_Kmiecik.