Nothing new here, even as he admits. But somebody has to post it.
My only real disagreement is that whatever we do will be a start over. The fact is that we have been stuck in neutral for the better part of several years now. Whatever we can get for O'Neal and Tinsley is better than what we are getting from them right now.
Other than die hard Jamaal & Jermaine fans I think most of us understand that there is no "when J.O. & J.T. get 100% we will have a good team".
No matter what you think of them as people or even as players the fact is that now for the past 3 years at least these two have missed almost half of the games and probably 3/4 of the practices.
Even if we don't get fair value in return, it is still better than what they have produced in the past month assuming the new players can play at all.
But I digress, take it away Bob.
http://www.indystar.com/apps/pbcs.dl...TS15/803090395
So Herb Simon has spoken. And that's a good thing, a necessary thing, because even as a hands-off owner of the Pacers, he needed to get his hands on a once-proud franchise that is in deep crisis on the floor and off.
The question, though, remains: Will Simon tell team CEO and president Donnie Walsh and president Larry Bird that they absolutely, positively must clean house and begin the tough and oftentimes uncomfortable process of rebuilding this franchise?
Because that's what he must tell them, with no reservations. Blow it up. Start over. Bite the bullet, swallow hard and move this thing in an entirely new direction. (This is a recording. I started writing about this, what, three years ago?)
If Walsh and Bird are willing to spend this next summer cleaning house, then give them ample time to get the job done. Two years, three, whatever.
If Walsh and Bird are unwilling or unable to do the necessary dirty work, then send them along and bring in a new architect, somebody like Kiki Vandeweghe, who rescued the Denver Nuggets after years of abject futility.
Simon must make it clear. No more tinkering. No more working around the edges in the hope of winning 38 games and earning a bogus playoff spot in the Eastern Conference. The fans aren't buying what the Pacers are selling. Seven years after an NBA Finals run, the Pacers are dead last in the league in attendance. Imagine, here in Indiana, where the soul of basketball resides, where Conseco Fieldhouse is an absolute jewel of a facility, the Pacers can't give away their tickets.
It's time to start over.
Get rid of Jermaine O'Neal. He has been a solid citizen and an All-Star when healthy, but he's the one player who has semi-significant value on the open market.
Get rid of Jamaal Tinsley. He's always hurt and he's always in trouble, or at least trouble always seems to find him. As long as he is part of this franchise, fans will stay away, just on principle.
Get rid of David Harrison. Not at the end of the season, but now. This minute. If the Players Association wants to fight it, fine. But Harrison has blown his last chance. Understand, I like the guy and hope he gets his act together, but his presence gives Pacers fans another excuse for staying home.
Get rid of Marquis Daniels. Another guy who can't steer clear of trouble. The legal system may eventually determine that he's not guilty of any wrongdoing these past two years, but his continued presence will serve as a perpetual reminder to fans why they can't stand this team.
Get rid of Shawne Williams. I keep hearing he's a really good kid. I keep hearing that he's been reticent about turning his back on some of the neighborhood friends who helped him survive West Memphis. I understand that. But he got a public mulligan the first time he was found hanging around with the wrong folks. This is the second time. In the same season. With a guy who's involved in a murder case. If he hasn't gotten it by now, he never will.
Understand, there are building blocks here. Not great building blocks, mind you, but there are players here who have remained professional, played hard and represented the franchise with grace. There's Danny Granger. There's Mike Dunleavy. There's Jeff Foster. There's Stephen Graham. There's Travis Diener. There's Kareem Rush. There's even Troy Murphy, who's come around nicely the past month.
It's a start.
But only a start.
Now Simon, who is paying two team presidents and getting very little in return, has to decide who is best suited to do the dirty work of cleaning up this franchise.
Understandably, there's been a lot of screaming about Bird's job performance, and I would quickly agree that he has not covered himself in glory. He was the one who coveted Sarunas Jasikevicius, who flamed out. He was the one who wanted Williams in the first round, then moved up and took James White in the second, gave White a two-year guaranteed contract, then cut him before the season.
The problem, though, is it's hard to know which moves belong to Walsh and which ones belong to Bird -- and which ones belong to both. It's readily accepted that this is Bird's first full year of autonomy, but his voice was heard during his years as Walsh's apprentice, so he bears some responsibility for this mess.
In Bird's defense, there was no way he could move the injured O'Neal or the injured Tinsley before this trading deadline. Who wants a player who can't help them get over the hump this postseason? They had zero value. It made more sense to wait until the summer.
So now it's up to Simon, who, despite his vast wealth, is not in any business to lose money. If he's as smart about basketball as he is about malls, he will hear the voice of the public and act accordingly.
Tell Donnie and Larry it's time to start over.
Or say goodbye.
My only real disagreement is that whatever we do will be a start over. The fact is that we have been stuck in neutral for the better part of several years now. Whatever we can get for O'Neal and Tinsley is better than what we are getting from them right now.
Other than die hard Jamaal & Jermaine fans I think most of us understand that there is no "when J.O. & J.T. get 100% we will have a good team".
No matter what you think of them as people or even as players the fact is that now for the past 3 years at least these two have missed almost half of the games and probably 3/4 of the practices.
Even if we don't get fair value in return, it is still better than what they have produced in the past month assuming the new players can play at all.
But I digress, take it away Bob.
http://www.indystar.com/apps/pbcs.dl...TS15/803090395
So Herb Simon has spoken. And that's a good thing, a necessary thing, because even as a hands-off owner of the Pacers, he needed to get his hands on a once-proud franchise that is in deep crisis on the floor and off.
The question, though, remains: Will Simon tell team CEO and president Donnie Walsh and president Larry Bird that they absolutely, positively must clean house and begin the tough and oftentimes uncomfortable process of rebuilding this franchise?
Because that's what he must tell them, with no reservations. Blow it up. Start over. Bite the bullet, swallow hard and move this thing in an entirely new direction. (This is a recording. I started writing about this, what, three years ago?)
If Walsh and Bird are willing to spend this next summer cleaning house, then give them ample time to get the job done. Two years, three, whatever.
If Walsh and Bird are unwilling or unable to do the necessary dirty work, then send them along and bring in a new architect, somebody like Kiki Vandeweghe, who rescued the Denver Nuggets after years of abject futility.
Simon must make it clear. No more tinkering. No more working around the edges in the hope of winning 38 games and earning a bogus playoff spot in the Eastern Conference. The fans aren't buying what the Pacers are selling. Seven years after an NBA Finals run, the Pacers are dead last in the league in attendance. Imagine, here in Indiana, where the soul of basketball resides, where Conseco Fieldhouse is an absolute jewel of a facility, the Pacers can't give away their tickets.
It's time to start over.
Get rid of Jermaine O'Neal. He has been a solid citizen and an All-Star when healthy, but he's the one player who has semi-significant value on the open market.
Get rid of Jamaal Tinsley. He's always hurt and he's always in trouble, or at least trouble always seems to find him. As long as he is part of this franchise, fans will stay away, just on principle.
Get rid of David Harrison. Not at the end of the season, but now. This minute. If the Players Association wants to fight it, fine. But Harrison has blown his last chance. Understand, I like the guy and hope he gets his act together, but his presence gives Pacers fans another excuse for staying home.
Get rid of Marquis Daniels. Another guy who can't steer clear of trouble. The legal system may eventually determine that he's not guilty of any wrongdoing these past two years, but his continued presence will serve as a perpetual reminder to fans why they can't stand this team.
Get rid of Shawne Williams. I keep hearing he's a really good kid. I keep hearing that he's been reticent about turning his back on some of the neighborhood friends who helped him survive West Memphis. I understand that. But he got a public mulligan the first time he was found hanging around with the wrong folks. This is the second time. In the same season. With a guy who's involved in a murder case. If he hasn't gotten it by now, he never will.
Understand, there are building blocks here. Not great building blocks, mind you, but there are players here who have remained professional, played hard and represented the franchise with grace. There's Danny Granger. There's Mike Dunleavy. There's Jeff Foster. There's Stephen Graham. There's Travis Diener. There's Kareem Rush. There's even Troy Murphy, who's come around nicely the past month.
It's a start.
But only a start.
Now Simon, who is paying two team presidents and getting very little in return, has to decide who is best suited to do the dirty work of cleaning up this franchise.
Understandably, there's been a lot of screaming about Bird's job performance, and I would quickly agree that he has not covered himself in glory. He was the one who coveted Sarunas Jasikevicius, who flamed out. He was the one who wanted Williams in the first round, then moved up and took James White in the second, gave White a two-year guaranteed contract, then cut him before the season.
The problem, though, is it's hard to know which moves belong to Walsh and which ones belong to Bird -- and which ones belong to both. It's readily accepted that this is Bird's first full year of autonomy, but his voice was heard during his years as Walsh's apprentice, so he bears some responsibility for this mess.
In Bird's defense, there was no way he could move the injured O'Neal or the injured Tinsley before this trading deadline. Who wants a player who can't help them get over the hump this postseason? They had zero value. It made more sense to wait until the summer.
So now it's up to Simon, who, despite his vast wealth, is not in any business to lose money. If he's as smart about basketball as he is about malls, he will hear the voice of the public and act accordingly.
Tell Donnie and Larry it's time to start over.
Or say goodbye.
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