Smith: Letting Lance Stephenson go would be a huge mistake for Pacers
By TYLER SMITH
ISL Editor
A lot of eyes have been glued to Lance Stephenson for much of this crazy season. From his triple-doubles, to his interviews, to his on-court antics, he’s been entertaining to say the least. With free agency looming, the question on everybody’s mind is: Should the Pacers give this guy a big contract?
My answer: An emphatic yes.
I understand it would be a big risk for the Pacers organization. I understand it could limit the franchise greatly moving forward by having all five starters making big money on a small-market team. I understand he’s a loose cannon that can make you very nervous at times. I also understand he is a special talent and a risk worth taking.
There are several things to consider when contemplating whether or not Stephenson deserves big money. First of all, the guy is 23 years old. For those questioning his maturity, look at how far he has come in that regard in the last few seasons. He still has his moments, but he has surprised a whole lot of people with his growth. At just 23 years of age, why would anyone rule out the possibility of that maturation continuing?
Not only has he matured greatly in the last few years, but look at the growth in his game:
2012-2013 season: 8.8 points, 3.9 rebounds, 2.9 assists, 46% FG, 33% from 3
2013-2014 season: 13.8 points, 7.2 rebounds, 4.6 assists, 49% FG, 35% from 3
Again, who’s to say those numbers won’t continue to improve as he enters his prime years?
Let’s look at some of his numbers more closely: He led all NBA shooting guards with 7.2 rebounds per game. Utah’s Gordon Hayward was second at 5.1 rebounds. You have to go all the way back to 2002 to find a shooting guard with more rebounds (McGrady).
Stephenson was also third among NBA shooting guards in field goal percentage at 49 percent, and fifth among shooting guards in assists at 4.6 per game.
How about Stephenson’s big-time playoff performances in the last two seasons?
With the Pacers trailing the Hawks 3-2 in the series, Stephenson scored 21 points and grabbed nine rebounds in Game 6. He followed that up with 19 points, 14 rebounds and five assists in Game 7 while shooting 15-of-25 in those two elimination games. In the Game 6 clincher in Washington, Stephenson contributed 17 points, five rebounds and eight assists.
Last season (at age 22), Stephenson was huge in the Game 6 clinching win over the Knicks with 25 points and 10 rebounds. He also had a monster Game 4 against the Heat in which the Pacers trailed 2-1 in the series, contributing 20 points.
In the conference finals this season (through five games) he has averaged 14.6 points, 6.2 rebounds and 5.8 assists.
Fans seem to forget about those big-time performances and focus more on the few games that he struggles.
Where would the Pacers be without Stephenson? If he was replaced with an average NBA shooting guard, this year’s team probably ends up as a 5-seed at best, even in a weak Eastern Conference. This team also would have had no playoff success, and definitely would not have been a conference finals team for two straight years (which by the way, was just the third time this franchise has ever gone that far in consecutive seasons).
Another question to consider: Would Stephenson change as a player once he has a big contract? You can’t blame a guy for wanting the best statistics possible entering free agency. If you do, you’d be blaming every NBA player to ever play the game. Once he is no longer young and vastly underpaid, I have a feeling Stephenson would focus solely on winning. He already is a fierce competitor who hates to lose. My guess is that desire to win will only increase with time.
The comparisons to Ron Artest are ludicrous to me. Yes, Artest ruined the franchise for about a decade, so there’s bound to be some caution among Pacer fans to see anyone even resemble him. But Stephenson isn’t going into a crowd to fight someone any time soon. He’s not going to threaten to retire to work on his rap album. He’s not going to change his mind every 30 seconds on which team he wants to play for. Not to mention, I believe this Pacer locker room is a better environment for Stephenson than any of those Pacer teams from a decade ago would have been.
The Pacers have prided themselves on the “built not bought” model. Stephenson was the 40th pick in the NBA draft, and playing like he should’ve been a top-5 pick that season. Letting a talent like that walk would set the franchise back.
Yes, Stephenson needs to grow up. Yes, he tends to talk too much (what Pacer doesn’t?). And yes, giving him a big contract would be a big risk.
For the sake of the franchise: It’s a risk they simply have to take.
Follow Tyler on Twitter: @sports_tys_20
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