Pacers Notebook: Looking ahead to free agency
By CHRIS GOFF
ISL Correspondent
The Indiana Pacers have their lone draft pick, Solomon Hill, in the fold. Now it’s time for free agency, which opens July 1. Here’s the to-do list:
1. Re-signing David West. New president of basketball operations Larry Bird made it clear when introduced Thursday that the Pacers want to keep West. “That’s our number one priority,” he said. However, the Sporting News reported that the Los Angeles Clippers are prepared to make West an offer, and more suitors might come forward. The 32-year-old power forward has said on multiple occasions that he can’t imagine leaving Indianapolis. The maximum contract the Pacers may extend is for four seasons and $77.9 million. They’ll bid far lower on the total compensation. But re-upping West is expected to be a matter of when, not if.
2. Adding a backup point guard. C.J. Watson, Devin Harris, Nate Robinson, Will Bynum, Beno Udrih and Eric Maynor are among the reserve floor generals who might fit in the Pacers’ budget. They only have a full midlevel exception of $5.15 million and a bi-annual exception of $2.02 million with which to operate, on top of the usual allowance for contracts at the minimum salary. Veteran starters Jose Calderon and Mo Williams could get a look if two conditions are met. First, they must fall into the Pacers’ price range. Secondly, the team has to be willing to use all of that $5.15 million on a point guard.
3. Settling on a backup power forward. By Monday, the Pacers must decide whether to extend qualifying offers of $4.14 million to Tyler Hansbrough and $1.88 million to Jeff Pendergraph. Those are tough calls. Hansbrough might not want to return. “Minutes are a big issue,” he told Pacers.com after the season ended. Meanwhile, coach Frank Vogel wanted to find some minutes for Jeff Pendergraph, but West and Hansbrough stayed so healthy that few were available.
A higher offer on the open market with the potential to start could mean Hansbrough doesn’t return. In that case, the front office would likely replace him with Pendergraph or add a big man. An upgraded role could encourage Pendergraph to want to stay in Indiana for more minutes. As for outsiders, Jason Maxiell, Antawn Jamison, Elton Brand, Chris Wilcox and Kenyon Martin would be serviceable candidates.
A sleeper resolution is Miles Plumlee, last year’s first-round draft pick. While he played in only 14 games as a rookie, Pacer brass made it clear they still believe in Plumlee and have him in the team’s future plans. Although Plumlee told IndySportsLegends.com in October that learning to play power forward was a long-term project, perhaps the time is here for him to get a shot.
4. Adding a shooter or scorer to the bench. Keeping Danny Granger, who is entering the final year of his contract, would negate this concern. Granger is both a volume scorer and perimeter threat. Even if he were to rejoin the starting lineup after a season ruined by left knee surgery, that’d move Lance Stephenson, who gets buckets, to the second unit.
If the Pacers trade Granger, then finding a sixth man becomes a bigger priority. As for wings who can shoot or score, the ideal candidates would be J.J. Redick, Jarrett Jack and O.J. Mayo. But would any of those three accept less cash to play in Indy? More realistic options are names such as Marco Belinelli, Randy Foye, Martell Webster and Nick Young. Of course, the Pacers still have sharpshooter Orlando Johnson, entering Year 2 of his NBA career, on the roster, and Christian Watford is playing for the Pacers’ summer league team.
