Indianapolis Star sports reporter Mark Montieth answers your questions about the Pacers.
September 24, 2003
Question: Do you believe the Pacers' offseason moves have made them a better team than last year? I like many of the moves, but I am still concerned about the center spot. (Derek from Rensselaer, Ind.)
Answer: The center position is the team's biggest issue heading into training camp. Most people around the NBA believe Scot Pollard is an equal or superior rebounder and defender compared to Brad Miller. He's not as good a shooter, but the Pacers shouldn't have too much difficulty absorbing Miller's scoring. It's possible they won't lose anything in the transition.
Rick Carlisle also might wind up playing Jermaine O'Neal more at center and playing Al Harrington and/or Austin Croshere more often at forward.
I believe the point guard position has been upgraded with the addition of Kenny Anderson. Jamaal Tinsley should improve from last season, and Anderson is more of a true point guard than Erick Strickland.
Ultimately, I believe the team's fate will depend most on how much improvement their core group of young players show -- particularly Tinsley, Harrington, Ron Artest, Jonathan Bender, O'Neal, and Jeff Foster. Each of them are at a stage in their career when they should be improving each year. If they all make progress from last season, the overall impact on the team could be significant.
Question: I think you missed the point of the question about the trade exception from the Brad Miller trade. I've been trying to find this amount for a while. I believe the Pacers can trade Ron Artest straight up for Brent Barry, even with Artest's BYC (Base Year Compensation) status, if the trade exception is used. This would also not have a luxury tax implication.
I believe the Pacers could also, hypothetically, package Artest, Jeff Foster, Scot Pollard, Danny Ferry and the exception for Eddie Jones (who could be traded to Chicago for Jalen Rose, completely un-doing Isiah Thomas' biggest mistake, trading talent for thugs.) But this would have luxury tax implications for reasons you've already mentioned.
This would have to be a three-team trade because, as a current Chicago resident, I can vouch for the fact that Artest's behavior has been the same whether he's on a really bad team or a potentially great one, and he wouldn't be welcomed back here with open arms. (Jay from Chicago, Ill.)
Answer: Any talk of an Artest-Barry trade is a waste of breath. It never was discussed seriously. Donnie Walsh has told me the Pacers showed interest in Barry, who has just one year left on his contract, and were checking to see what it would take to get him. Artest's name came up, as did all of the other Pacers. But the Pacers weren't looking to make that trade and Seattle wasn't interested in it anyway.
I haven't checked on the viability of the three-team trade you mention. Forgive me for not taking the time to do it, but I'm not that interested in hypothetical trades. Remember my theory on trades: The vast majority of the time, those that are rumored don't happen and those that occur are not rumored. We just happen to be in an era when trade rumors pass for journalism in some places and fans seem to have an appe e for them.
I wouldn't call the trade with Chicago Isiah's "biggest mistake." Donnie Walsh was responsible for all trades until Larry Bird took over the basketball operations, and it was regarded as a trade that heavily favored the Pacers. The Bulls have since tried to trade Rose more than once and although the Pacers wound up losing Brad Miller and Ron Mercer this summer, they could not have anticipated the luxury tax implications and the salary Miller would command on the open marketplace when they made that deal.
Question: The Kenny Anderson deal really increases my comfort zone. Please tell me he will be the starting point and not Jamaal Tinsley's backup/mentor. I agree with Larry Bird's assessment that Tinsley needs to mature and could quite possibly be a legit starter in 2 or 3 years. Does the Anderson deal make Avery Johnson an extravagant insurance policy and Jamison Brewer a self-imposed luxury tax? Or does it push Tinsley out of the picture with Anderson and Johnson taking over? (Tim from Maplewood, N.J.)
Answer: The point guard position will be open heading into training camp. There's no reason to declare a starter beforehand. Rick Carlisle will simply let it work itself out. He'll want to see how much Tinsley has improved and what Anderson is still capable of doing.
You mean Anthony Johnson, not Avery Johnson. He's regarded as a solid veteran who can help a team as a second or third point guard. I wouldn't classify him as "extravagant" because he signed for the minimum salary for one year. He, like Anderson, has to be regarded as a bargain. Brewer's status is uncertain. I have to wonder if he would have been re-signed if Bird had been making the basketball decisions in June. He'll have a difficult time getting off the injured list again, but if there's an injury or two he could become valuable.
Question: What games are you looking forward to most this season? I know it's early, but does anything on the schedule catch your eye? (John from Lakewood, Ohio)
Answer: I don't mean to sound like a shill for the Pacers, but I look forward to all of them fairly equally. Each game offers the potential of seeing something you've never seen before. Sometimes a December game against a weak team can turn out to be highly entertaining.
The games against Cleveland will have added interest because of LeBron James' presence. But although the Cavs were such a bad team the past couple of years, some of the games against them were fun to watch. Jermaine O'Neal scored a career-high 38 against them in Cleveland two seasons ago, for example. Artest played very well in a couple of the games against the Cavs last year. And then he had the incident with the fans in the final game at Cleveland last year after someone threw a quarter at him. As you can see, games against poor opponents often turn out to be very interesting.
Question: I saw Antonio Davis in town last week (9/15/03). Does he still live here or might we expect some Pacers'-related news via a trade? Maybe the Pacers would consider trading Austin Croshere and Jeff Foster for Davis? Would such a trade work? (Randy from Indianapolis)
Answer: I know that Davis still owned a house here as of last summer when he was playing for the U.S. team in the World Games. It's possible his visit here was related to that.
Of all the trade rumors involving the Pacers, one including Davis makes more sense than most. He told me last season how much he enjoyed playing here and living here, and made it clear he would like to finish his career here. He also has moved his family from Toronto to Chicago, and he seems to want a trade from the Raptors. He would be a good fit with the Pacers on the court and off.
The trade you mention could be done because the salaries match. I doubt the Raptors would go for it, though. The Raptors probably want more for a starting center and one-time All-Star than two backups.
Question: A couple of cap-related questions from items in the 9/18 Q&A:
(1) My understanding of the CBA contract rules is that team options (such as that of Danny Ferry) must be exercised by 7/1. Since the trade to Indiana did not happen until late July, does this mean that (a) the Spurs exercised the option and then traded him, (b) did not exercise but then did some sort of sign-n-trade, (c) the 7/1 date is wrong, or (d) the Pacers are actually on the hook for Ferry's contract? I don't understand how the Ferry situation could have resulted in the Pacers not being required to pay him.
(2) You said that in the Miller-Pollard-etc. trade the Pacers received a trade exception. Did this info come from the Pacers? Is this info that teams typically include in reports regarding trades? Or is it info that you calculated from personal knowledge of cap and trade rules?
Keep up the good work. Thanks for the info you provide to fans. (David from Dallas, Texas)
Answer: My goodness. I remember the days when fans just wanted to know about a trade rumor or how I thought a player would perform. Actually, I'm impressed by your level of interest and knowledge.
Ferry did not have an option in his contract with the Spurs, it was simply not guaranteed for the second year (the upcoming season). So a deadline doesn't apply. Also, there's no automatic deadline for options to be honored. The date is written into the contract by the team and the player. The Pacers, for example, had a deadline of June 30 to pick up the option on Jamison Brewer's contract. It could have been later, however.
Trade exemptions are not always obvious in a trade. In this case, the Pacers mentioned it after the deal. They acquired it from the Spurs in trading Ron Mercer and Hedo Turkoglu for Ferry's contract to make the salaries match. They received a partial exemption rather than a full exemption of more than $4 million.
Some of these people asking questions are complete idiots. To say that DW's biggest mistake ever was the bulls trade?? We still have Artest out of the trade and IMO i'd take artest over rose anyday. And then one of the other guys say now that Anderson and Johnson are in is tinsley out of the picture? Tinsley is still the starter! Oh well.
I guess some do not understand that Anderson and Johnson are only backups and not looking to take Tins place.
lol sorry I went a little overboard, I guess some people just don't know as much about the pacers as us.
Don't worry, it's an acquired taste. Goes good with tea.
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