http://www.nba.com/pacers/news/walsh_moves_060712.html
Walsh Outlines "Restoration" Project
By Conrad Brunner | July 12, 2006
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
So far, the summer scorecard reads like this:
Marquis Daniels, Orien Greene, Shawne Williams and James White are in;
Peja Stojakovic and Austin Croshere are out.
For a team that has been largely intact for three years, the moves already made constitute substantial turnover, but don't be confused by the intent.
"I wouldn't call it a rebuilding process," said Donnie Walsh. "I'd call it a restoration."
With the lifting of the NBA's moratorium preventing team officials from announcing or even commenting on pending trades or free agent signings, the franchise CEO and President met with the media to discuss the state of the team's offseason plan. That included two transactions that became official Wednesday: the acquisition of Daniels in a trade that sent Croshere to Dallas, and the decision to essentially allow Stojakovic to sign with the New Orleans Hornets as a free agent.
A 6-6, 200-pound perimeter player with three seasons of NBA experience, Daniels averaged a career-high 10.2 points with the Mavericks last season. He is the archetype of the player the Pacers are remodeling with: long, lean, versatile, aggressive and athletic. Walsh said Daniels reminded him of "a Derrick McKey type" of player.
"You could play him anywhere," Walsh said, referring to McKey, who played for the Pacers from 1993-2001. "If he started fine, if he didn't start, fine. He'd play any position you wanted, and he was always there when the game was on the line and always did the most important things – he either got the rebound or stopped a shot or got a steal or made a 3-point shot right when you had to have it.
"I call them winning players and I think Marquis fits into that role somewhere. Whether he's going to start or not will be proven in training camp. But I do know he's going to be able to play. I think he's going to be a good player."
Stojakovic signed a long-term contract reportedly averaging nearly $13 million per season with the Hornets. When he was acquired from Sacramento for Ron Artest, the Pacers anticipated he would be a difficult free-agent to re-sign but placed a high value on the payroll flexibility that would be created if he departed.
"Based on the last two years, which we were disappointed in -- and when I say I mean management, coaches and players – we felt we needed more flexibility than that and we were going to be dangerously around the luxury tax if we (signed Stojakovic)," Walsh said. "It was part of the reason it was attractive to trade Ron for Peja, because he had one year left on his contract and we felt he would take the option so we'd be faced with a free-agent situation.
"It's almost a motto that if you give up a player you should get a player back and that, pretty much throughout the history of the NBA, is the way you did it – up until the luxury tax. That is no longer the truth because basically what you have to look at now is an asset can be just bringing your (payroll) down and having the flexibility to go out and get other players. That would be true, particularly if you're not happy with the direction of your team and where you're going."
Easing the loss of Stojakovic will be the anticipated emergence of Danny Granger, who, after a solid rookie season is expected to step into the starter's role at small forward. Creating a platform for his potential, Walsh said, was a major factor in the Stojakovic decision.
"We have a lot of faith in Danny Granger," he said. "We think he can be a terrific player. Now, if you sign Peja for six years, you're either relegating Danny Granger to the four position, which is not his real position, or he's not going to play as much.
"Over the years, in many cases, I've been in situations where it's best to take a guy you think can play and put him out there. I think he'll live up to the expectations we have because I think he's that good, and I think I'll be fun watching him develop."
The moves made thus far signal a shift both in terms of the team's style of play and its identity. After two seasons of unrelenting trauma, primarily self-induced, the team is in need of rejuvenation. Over the remainder of the summer, Walsh said he will look to bolster the frontcourt and sort out the overcrowding at point guard. He repeatedly stressed that the NBA personnel marketplace has just opened and there is much yet to be done.
"This is going to be another two months of us trying to go out and make this the kind of team we want to put out on the floor," he said. "When I say that, I speak for management, ownership, players and coaches. None of us had a lot of fun the last two years. And that's a thing I'd like to inject back on our team: having fun with this."
-----
Man. Donnie is so good. He sees they need the fun. I hope LB understands that...
Walsh Outlines "Restoration" Project
By Conrad Brunner | July 12, 2006
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
So far, the summer scorecard reads like this:
Marquis Daniels, Orien Greene, Shawne Williams and James White are in;
Peja Stojakovic and Austin Croshere are out.
For a team that has been largely intact for three years, the moves already made constitute substantial turnover, but don't be confused by the intent.
"I wouldn't call it a rebuilding process," said Donnie Walsh. "I'd call it a restoration."
With the lifting of the NBA's moratorium preventing team officials from announcing or even commenting on pending trades or free agent signings, the franchise CEO and President met with the media to discuss the state of the team's offseason plan. That included two transactions that became official Wednesday: the acquisition of Daniels in a trade that sent Croshere to Dallas, and the decision to essentially allow Stojakovic to sign with the New Orleans Hornets as a free agent.
A 6-6, 200-pound perimeter player with three seasons of NBA experience, Daniels averaged a career-high 10.2 points with the Mavericks last season. He is the archetype of the player the Pacers are remodeling with: long, lean, versatile, aggressive and athletic. Walsh said Daniels reminded him of "a Derrick McKey type" of player.
"You could play him anywhere," Walsh said, referring to McKey, who played for the Pacers from 1993-2001. "If he started fine, if he didn't start, fine. He'd play any position you wanted, and he was always there when the game was on the line and always did the most important things – he either got the rebound or stopped a shot or got a steal or made a 3-point shot right when you had to have it.
"I call them winning players and I think Marquis fits into that role somewhere. Whether he's going to start or not will be proven in training camp. But I do know he's going to be able to play. I think he's going to be a good player."
Stojakovic signed a long-term contract reportedly averaging nearly $13 million per season with the Hornets. When he was acquired from Sacramento for Ron Artest, the Pacers anticipated he would be a difficult free-agent to re-sign but placed a high value on the payroll flexibility that would be created if he departed.
"Based on the last two years, which we were disappointed in -- and when I say I mean management, coaches and players – we felt we needed more flexibility than that and we were going to be dangerously around the luxury tax if we (signed Stojakovic)," Walsh said. "It was part of the reason it was attractive to trade Ron for Peja, because he had one year left on his contract and we felt he would take the option so we'd be faced with a free-agent situation.
"It's almost a motto that if you give up a player you should get a player back and that, pretty much throughout the history of the NBA, is the way you did it – up until the luxury tax. That is no longer the truth because basically what you have to look at now is an asset can be just bringing your (payroll) down and having the flexibility to go out and get other players. That would be true, particularly if you're not happy with the direction of your team and where you're going."
Easing the loss of Stojakovic will be the anticipated emergence of Danny Granger, who, after a solid rookie season is expected to step into the starter's role at small forward. Creating a platform for his potential, Walsh said, was a major factor in the Stojakovic decision.
"We have a lot of faith in Danny Granger," he said. "We think he can be a terrific player. Now, if you sign Peja for six years, you're either relegating Danny Granger to the four position, which is not his real position, or he's not going to play as much.
"Over the years, in many cases, I've been in situations where it's best to take a guy you think can play and put him out there. I think he'll live up to the expectations we have because I think he's that good, and I think I'll be fun watching him develop."
The moves made thus far signal a shift both in terms of the team's style of play and its identity. After two seasons of unrelenting trauma, primarily self-induced, the team is in need of rejuvenation. Over the remainder of the summer, Walsh said he will look to bolster the frontcourt and sort out the overcrowding at point guard. He repeatedly stressed that the NBA personnel marketplace has just opened and there is much yet to be done.
"This is going to be another two months of us trying to go out and make this the kind of team we want to put out on the floor," he said. "When I say that, I speak for management, ownership, players and coaches. None of us had a lot of fun the last two years. And that's a thing I'd like to inject back on our team: having fun with this."
-----
Man. Donnie is so good. He sees they need the fun. I hope LB understands that...
Comment