While Jamaal Tinsley remains on the Pacers' roster, the team revealed on Wednesday that he will never represent the team again, the Associated Press is reporting.

Indiana failed in their attempts to deal the point guard this season, but still hold out hope that a trade can be made.

"Later on this summer, we'll probably go into arbitration," Larry Bird said this week. "Whether we win or lose, it's going to be the same as it is now -- we're going forward without Jamaal. Hopefully, we can trade him before it comes up, but we'll see what happens."

Pacers president Larry Bird says that the team will extend an offer to guard Jarrett Jack, which will make him a restricted free agent.

Bird also expressed his desire to re-sign forward Josh McRoberts, and to get the team under the salary cap before the collective bargaining agreement expires in 2011.

Danny Granger is the only player Indiana has that is signed beyond the 2010-11 season.

"I'm not saying we won't re-sign any of them, but it won't be the same deals. We'll have a lot of flexibility," Bird said.

Pacers president Larry Bird said in his annual postseason news conference on Tuesday that coach Jim O'Brien is safe for now.

Coaches have been getting the axe rather quickly as of late in the NBA, but Indiana is going to allow O'Brien to return despite back-to-back losing seasons.

"That's the situation Jimmy's in," Bird said, according to the Associated Press. "I think he needs an opportunity to let these guys grow."

O'Brien is entering the final year of his contract, and Bird made no indication that signing the coach to an extension will be a priority.

"I haven't really thought about that, but obviously, if Jimmy wants to talk about it, we'll do that," Bird said. "He's under contract, and we expect him to fulfill his contract."

Pacers president of basketball operations Larry Bird held his annual postseason new conference on Tuesday and focused on the team's defensive shortcomings.

"I think all the problems are on the defensive end," Bird said. "We're going to score points, but (the defense) is something we've got to address, and hopefully get better next year."

Indiana allowed 106 points per game this season, fifth worst in the NBA. Coach Jim O'Brien, who is heading into the final year of his contract, has said that he wants more athletic defenders to fit in his style.

"When I coached, we weren't the quickest or most athletic team, and (assistant coach) Dick Harter did an excellent job getting those guys to play defense. I think they have more in them than they're giving right now," Bird said.

"Maybe it's the way we do it. Maybe we'll change some of our tactics on the defensive end. That's up to the coach. I see things out there, and I'll talk to Jimmy about it. Obviously we have to get better. If we're better on the defensive end, we'll win more games."

Mavericks coach Rick Carlisle recently gave Ron Artest praise for his growth, while Artest has admitted that he was tough on his coach during their time together with the Pacers.

"When I was with him, I had a lot of problems," Artest said. "He really showed a lot of genuine care for me. ... He always came over and made sure I was OK, talked to me, made sure my family was OK. ... He knew I was an emotional kid. He always took time out to make sure I was all right. It was just unfortunate I wasn't really listening.

"He taught me a lot. He taught me how to play intelligent basketball, taught me a lot about defense."

Pacers forward Troy Murphy can accomplish something not even his famous boss did in Wednesday's season finale.

Murphy currently ranks second in the NBA in rebounding (11.8 per game) and third in three-point shooting percentage (45.0%).

No player in NBA history has ever finished in the top five in both categories in the same season, and only Larry Bird, Indiana's president of basketball operations, has finished in the top ten.

The Pacers were officially eliminated from the playoff race this weekend, which means that T.J. Ford and Rasho Nesterovic will miss the postseason for the first time in their careers.

"I don't know what it's going to be like," Nesterovic said. "I've never been in this position before. But, hey, it's part of life. We tried hard. It just didn't work out."

Nesterovic and Ford have appeared in 80 combined playoff games, and were acquired by Indiana from Toronto last summer.

"Being in the playoffs, the whole world is watching," Ford said. "Everybody is tuned in and there's so much hype that goes into the playoffs. The best out of seven. You're just going to miss going against the same guy and trying to get the better of that guy and performing and get your team a victory."

Knick forward Al Harrington surpassed 10,000 career points during Sunday's loss to the Miami Heat, the team's official website is reporting.

Harrington passed the milestone when he drilled a 13-foot jumper for his 17th point less than three minutes into the third quarter. He has now amassed 10,005 career points in 727 games with Indiana, Atlanta, Golden State and New York.

?It was a long time coming, but I wish I could have did it and got a win,? Harrington said. ?I guess that?s a lot of points and I am happy that I got to accomplish that, but I wish we would have won the game.?

Pacers forward Mike Dunleavy admitted to the Associated Press on Sunday that his knee injury was at one point career-threatening.

He agreed to a risky surgery to remove a bone spur in early March, even though he was told he might not be able to play again after the procedure.

"Beforehand, they were probably saying 50-50," Dunleavy told The Associated Press. "Now, the way I'm progressing and the way I'm moving forward, we feel very confident that I'll be able to get back, and probably better than I was."

Doctors discovered that the bone spur was doing significant damage to his patella tendon.

"I was forced to get the surgery to remove it [the bone spur], which I guess you would call a last resort," Dunleavy said. "They removed the spur and without doing any major damage to the tendon. They were able to sew the tendon back up. Now, it's a matter of waiting to let that tendon heal, getting it strong again, and that process is going to take some time."

The Pacers don't expect to get Dunleavy back until at least January 2010.

The Pacers were officially eliminated from the playoff race on Friday night, extending their postseason drought to three consecutive years.

"Total frustration," forward Danny Granger said after Friday's loss to the Hawks. "No other way to put it. We really underachieved, that's all I have to say."

Missing the playoffs wasn't a huge surprise for the Pacers, who slipped behind the eight-ball three weeks ago when they went on a five-game losing streak.

"It's frustrating," center Jeff Foster said. "Seven years of making the playoffs every year and being competitive. For a certain period of time, we were expected to go to the Finals and win championships. Now we've had three years of mediocrity."