More from RealGM
 Indiana Pacers WiretapPacers LinksNews ArchiveNBA News
Show me the moneyIt could be incredibly simple for the Indiana Pacers. They offer contracts to their three primary free agents, all of whom claim to prefer to stay with them, and it's over. Or it could grow scarily complicated. It all seems to hinge on Jermaine O'Neal. NBA teams can begin negotiating with free agents and discussing trades on Tuesday. They can begin executing transactions on July 16. The two-week interim figures to be a hyperactive period of teams recruiting players, negotiating with agents and discussing trades with one another. For the Pacers, the first order of business will be to retain O'Neal, Reggie Miller and Brad Miller. All are current or former All-Stars whom they consider essential to their plan for rebuilding a contending team. "We've committed to building a style of team and play that over the last three years has shown steady improvement," coach Isiah Thomas said. "It's important we continue to keep moving in that direction. When you develop players, when they become what they are, it's important that you keep them." O'Neal will be the primary focus because of what he means to them and the interest he could generate from other teams. His decision also could be the key to retaining Brad Miller, who stated after the season that he wanted to see what O'Neal does before making a decision. Read the Full Story Discuss Send Feedback Buy Tickets Pacers think 49th choice is perfectThe Indiana Pacers could have a worse fate than holding only a late second-round pick in tonight's NBA draft. They could have a late first-round pick. Given the contractual commitment to first-rounders and the similarity of the players available from the late first round to the late second round, teams often prefer the latter. "The best pick in the draft might be No. 30," Pacers president Donnie Walsh said, excluding, of course, the high lottery picks that have the best opportunity to bring future stars. The 30th pick, first of the second round, is gratefully owned by the New York Knicks. With it, they will only have to pay the player they select a minimum rookie salary of $366,931. Dallas, meanwhile, owns the 29th pick. If it can't trade it, which it would like to do, it will have to give its selection a guaranteed three-year deal that totals $2,159,100. Read the Full Story Discuss Send Feedback Buy Tickets Pacers try for repeat of success in round 2nba draft 2003 Pacers try for repeat of success in round 2 With no pick in 1st round, Indiana execs hope they can land another Antonio Davis. Matt Bonner (with ball) could fall to the Pacers with all the international players in the draft. He is a 6-10 forward who spent four years at Florida. -- Phil Sandlin / Associated Press Related content • Pacers try for repeat of success in round 2 • Bulls decide to give Wade the twice over NBA draft • When: 6 p.m., Thursday • TV: ESPN • Pacers pick: First round, none; second round, 49th overall Arrive late, stay long Some notable second-round NBA draft picks since 1990: • 1990: Antonio Davis, 45th pick Of note: Played six seasons for Pacers; made All-Star team with Toronto • 1990: Cedric Ceballos, 48th pick Of note: Averaged 14.3 points over 11 NBA seasons; made All-Star team in '95 • 1991: Bobby Phills, 45th pick Of note: Played nine seasons for Cleveland, Charlotte before fatal auto accident • 1992: P.J. Brown, 29th pick Of note: Has averaged 9.2 points, 7.9 rebounds in 10 seasons; solid defender • 1993: Nick Van Exel, 37th pick Of note: Averaging 15.5 points over 10 seasons, 19.5 in playoffs this year • 1994: Voshon Lenard, 46th pick Of note: Career average of 11.9 points in eight seasons with three teams • 1995: Eric Snow, 43th pick Of note: Nine-year veteran blossomed in Philadelphia under Larry Brown • 1996: Othella Harrington, 30th pick Of note: Averaging 8.5 points on 51 percent shooting in seven seasons • 1997: Marc Jackson, 38th pick Of note: Was Rookie of the Year candidate with Warriors in 2000-01 • 1997: Alvin Williams, 48th pick Of note: Had double-figure scoring average the past two seasons for Raptors • 1998: Cuttino Mobley, 41th pick Of note: Averaging 17.4 points in five seasons with Houston • 1999: Manu Ginobili, 57th pick Of note: Coming off solid rookie season with Spurs, averaging 7.6 points • 2000: Michael Redd, 43th pick Of note: Was Sixth Man candidate in Milwaukee last season, averaging 15.1 points • 2001: Gilbert Arenas, 31th pick Of note: Averaged 18.3 points last season for Warriors; now a premier free agent • 2002: Carlos Boozer, 35th pick Of note: Averaged 10 points, 7.5 rebounds as a rookie for Cavs By Mark Montieth mark.montieth@indystar.com June 25, 2003 Owning the 49th selection in the NBA draft doesn't exactly inspire hope for adding a LeBron James to your roster. But the Indiana Pacers would gladly settle for another Antonio Davis. The Pacers will attempt to pull off the difficult feat of adding an impact player with their late second-round pick on Thursday. History suggests most players who last late into the evening on draft night don't last long in training camp. The Pacers have a template for beating the odds: Take an athletic player, preferably a big man, with a solid work ethic who needs time to become stronger and improve his skills. That approach worked when they took Davis with the 45th pick in 1990, and could work this year with all the young, unproven international players in the draft. "He was thin and wasn't developed yet," said Pacers president Donnie Walsh, who had personally scouted Davis when he played at the University of Texas-El Paso. "He went to Europe for three years and came back a completely different human being." Davis was a valuable reserve for the Pacers for six seasons, then was traded to Toronto for the fifth overall pick in 1999. He made the All-Star team in 2001 and received a contract that still owes him $37 million over the next three years. Davis grew stronger and better on someone else's payroll in Europe before joining the Pacers. Walsh wouldn't mind waiting on another second-round pick, given his roster's depth. The team has yet to make much use of two of its previous three first-round picks -- Primoz Brezec (2000) and Fred Jones (2002) -- so it's unlikely a second-round pick could have an immediate impact. "That's the ideal scenario for us this year," Walsh said. "Some 7-foot guy drops to us and we don't need him next season. He's playing in Europe and we can say, 'OK, when you're ready to come to America we'll see you then.' " The challenge for the Pacers is that the Antonio Davises of the draft are rarities. They've selected 13 players in the second round since Walsh took over the front office in 1986. Of that group, seven played at least one full season, an unusually high ratio. But the odds have dropped since they began a run of winning seasons in 1993-94. Three of their seven second-round picks since '93 survived. Only Fred Hoiberg had significant impact as a reserve for four seasons. Mark Pope lasted two seasons, in which he played sporadically. Jamison Brewer was recently retained for a third season. He's played just 123 minutes. Projecting a second-round pick is nearly impossible, and Walsh doesn't drop any names. International players who fit the Davis-like mold and could be available include Szymon Szewczyk, a 6-10 power forward from Poland; Zoltan Bencze, a 6-11 center from Hungary; Slavko Vranes, a 7-5 center from Serbia and Montenegro; and Uche Nswondu-Amadi, a 6-10 power forward from Nigeria who played three seasons at the University of Wyoming. International players also push promising Americans deeper into the draft. Some NBA observers believe the best bargains can be found with players coming out of U.S. colleges or high schools. "In the past a lot of (international) guys slipped to the second round," said David Morway, the Pacers' vice president of basketball operations. "More of those guys are going in the first round now. It's going to drop the American players down. If you've done your homework you can get good players there." Should the Pacers decide to "stay home" with their pick, they might consider Matt Bonner, a 6-10 forward from Florida; Keith Bogans, a shooting guard from Kentucky; Carl English, a combo guard from Hawaii; and Jason Kapono, a forward from UCLA. They all might rank as long shots to have significant NBA careers. But they all have the potential to beat the odds. "Each year, there are 15 to 20 guys who make a difference," said Al Menendez, the Pacers' scouting director. "But they're not the first 20 guys in the draft. "It's like a lotto. You just hope one of the lotto numbers is 49 this year." Read the Full Story Discuss Send Feedback Buy Tickets Pacers Jun 2003 Archive
|
