After finishing with the best record in the Eastern Conference, it appeared as if the Indiana Pacers were poised to dethrone the Miami Heat. However, a late season spiral carried into the playoffs as Indy was not playing their best basketball when it counted most and as a result, were defeated by LeBron and company in the Conference Finals.
Led by one of the league’s blossoming stars in Paul George, the Pacers have a few key decisions to make this off-season that affects whether or not they can remain among the best teams in the NBA. Most notably, what to do with free agents Lance Stephenson and Evan Turner.
Indiana Pacers (56-26 last year)
2014-15 Projected Depth Chart:
C: Roy Hibbert/Ian Mahinmi
PF: David West/Luis Scola/*Lavoy Allen
SF: Paul George/Chris Copeland/Solomon Hill
SG: *Evan Turner
PG: George Hill/C.J Watson/David Sloan
NBA Free Agents:
*SF-Evan Turner (RFA)
*PF-Lavoy Allen (RFA)
SG-Lance Stephenson (UFA)
C-Andrew Bynum (UFA)
SF-Rasual Butler (UFA)
2014-15 Team Salary: approximately $65.3 million
Team Needs:
1. Let Lance Leave?:
George isn’t the only young Pacer who made a leap this past season. Lance Stephenson is quickly becoming one of the best all-around two guards in the NBA. The former Cincy Bearcat is a free agent and due for a huge payraise this summer.
Indiana is already over the salary cap and Stephenson’s price tag might be too much for the Pacers to afford. If he does head elsewhere in free agency, Indy must find a new shooting guard but won’t have a ton of flexibility to do that on the open market which is why they might have to pay more for Stephenson than they are hoping.
2. Sign-and-trade Turner:
Turner was acquired prior to the trade deadline and management was hoping that he would be the late season addition that the Pacers needed to take them over the edge. Instead, Turner never seemed to figure out his role in Indiana. He is a restricted free agent with a qualifying offer worth more than $8.7 million and I can’t see the Pacers being in a major hurry to sign him to a long-term extension.
Indy can match any offer sheet Turner signs in the summer but I wouldn’t expect that to happen either. Rather than just letting him walk, the Pacers should look to move Turner in a sign-and-trade deal that can net them a quality piece or two, possibly a shooting guard if Stephenson does leave.
3. Point Guard:
George Hill took a bit of a step back this past season as Indiana’s floor general and C.J. Watson didn’t exactly wow anyone off the bench. The Pacers should look for an upgrade at the point guard position especially if Stephenson does not return since he spent a good amount of time with the ball in his hands initiating the offense.
OTHER NBA OFF-SEASON TEAM NEEDS PAGES:
ATLANTA HAWKS
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 Milwaukee 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), and finished with the second most accurate 2013 NBA Mock Draft (nearly a three-peat.) You can follow him on Twitter at David_Kmiecik.