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Kravitz: Larry Bird, please stay with the Pacers

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  • #1

    Kravitz: Larry Bird, please stay with the Pacers

    http://www.indystar.com/article/2012...IndyStar.com|p

    Why would Indiana Pacers President Larry Bird even think about leaving now?

    That's a question only Bird can answer, and right now, Bird doesn't have any answers.

    "Honestly, it's not even a debate around my house," he said the other day. "I'll sit down with Herbie (team owner Herb Simon) when it's all done and we'll move from there. Herbie will ask me about it every once in a while, but I don't want to be a distraction. Right now, it's the furthest thing from my mind."

    It doesn't make sense for Bird to leave now, but, then, it didn't make sense for Bird, as the coach, to walk away after he led the Pacers to the NBA Finals in the 2000 season.

    Now, here he is, having put together an exciting, growing young team, on the cusp of maybe winning the Executive of the Year award, and there are whispers he may walk away at season's end.

    I asked him the pros and cons of staying and leaving.

    "Like I've told Herbie, this is a great job; there are only 30 of them and I've learned a lot," Bird said. "We had a plan, I told Herbie it would be rough sailing and I didn't think we'd win 35 games for a couple of years and we'd make the playoffs last year. Not that I don't like the job. I really like it. But it's a lot of hours. A lot of hours. And I'm not real good at sitting in this chair because of my back. At the same time, I've got access to the trainers, so that's good."

    Well.

    That should clear up everything, right?

    One minute, Bird talks about what he has built, how he can continue to build, how this team has overachieved this season. The next minute, same conversation, he talks about how the next general manager will be in prime position to take the Pacers to the next level of competition.

    Here's my plea:

    Larry, please stay.

    There have been some mistakes along the way but, by and large, Bird has done a masterful, if understated job moving the Brawling Pacers into this new era.

    First he got rid of all the problem players.

    Then he got rid of the nice guys who couldn't play.

    Look at this current team and look at how it was assembled:

    He got Roy Hibbert out of the draft, trading away Jermaine O'Neal's onerous contract in the process.

    He drafted Danny Granger, Paul George and Tyler Hansbrough.

    He signed David West to a salary cap-friendly two-year free agent contract.

    He got Darren Collison for a song.

    He got Lou Amundson, George Hill and Leandro Barbosa this season for next to nothing.

    And there's money available for further additions. The Pacers have the 21st-highest payroll out of 30 teams and don't have a single player whose salary ranks among the league's 35 highest.

    "Well, all I can say is, I held up my end of the bargain," he said of guiding the team from The Brawl of Nov. 19, 2004, to third position in the Eastern Conference. "I know it was tough back then, one of the worst patches in the history of the NBA. Believe me, I was as pissed as the fans were. I couldn't believe what I was seeing, and that was a championship-level team. It took a long time. But now we're headed in the right direction."

    So why leave now?

    It's like building a house from the foundation up, getting it done and then deciding to go live in somebody else's basement. Bird has done all the heavy lifting. Now it's time to enjoy the fruits of the labor, to use the financial freedom still at the team's disposal to continue growing around a young nucleus.

    "I love my players; we've got one of the best locker rooms I've ever been around," Bird said. "I thought we'd win 34 to 38 games this year (in a 66-game schedule) and we've already done that (40 wins) with a few games to go."

    But there are frustrations. Not that those frustrations would have anything to do with Bird deciding to leave, if that's what he chooses to do, but the frustrations linger. Among those concerns: The Pacers are second-to-last in the league in average attendance.

    "I wish our fans would come out and watch our games more," he said. "Look, revenues drive everything. It's easy to sit here and say, 'We'll go get this guy,' but if the revenues aren't there, you can't compete with teams that have $80-90 million payrolls. We just can't be where we were three, four years ago when we were losing $20 million a year.

    "We're in a good place. I want to tie up the guys we like for a long time, and I can still keep this together for under $60-65 million (the Pacers' current payroll is $57 million and change). But as far as going out and getting a Dwight Howard, we just don't have it."

    So the question will linger: Will he stay or will he go?

    Nobody seems to know at this point.

    Least of all Bird himself.
    Good stuff, love the part where Bird talks about how much he loves our guys.

    Highlighted parts = sales pitch to the fans that likely spawned this entire interview. Bird's obviously not going anywhere.
    Tags: None
  • #2
    Re: Kravitz: Larry Bird, please stay with the Pacers

    "We're in a good place. I want to tie up the guys we like for a long time, and I can still keep this together for under $60-65 million (the Pacers' current payroll is $57 million and change). But as far as going out and getting a Dwight Howard, we just don't have it."

    I guess the hope many have had, that we will go after D-Will because we could fit him in before resigning Hibbert with a little bit of cap manipulation, probably will never come to life.
    Time for a new sig.

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    • #3
      Re: Kravitz: Larry Bird, please stay with the Pacers

      Originally posted by aamcguy View Post
      I guess the hope many have had, that we will go after D-Will because we could fit him in before resigning Hibbert with a little bit of cap manipulation, probably will never come to life.
      or, there's a reason he said Dwight and not Deron.


      Comment

      • #4
        Re: Kravitz: Larry Bird, please stay with the Pacers

        I love how many people are hanging on Larry's nuts, that just 2 or 3 years ago were calling for his head.

        "What have you done for me lately" attitude, smh.

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        • #5
          Re: Kravitz: Larry Bird, please stay with the Pacers

          Originally posted by LetsTalkPacers View Post
          I love how many people are hanging on Larry's nuts, that just 2 or 3 years ago were calling for his head.

          "What have you done for me lately" attitude, smh.
          Come on man, this is how it is in all of sports (and rightfully so IMHO).

          Comment

          • #6
            Re: Kravitz: Larry Bird, please stay with the Pacers

            Originally posted by LetsTalkPacers View Post
            I love how many people are hanging on Larry's nuts, that just 2 or 3 years ago were calling for his head.

            "What have you done for me lately" attitude, smh.
            2 to 3 years ago we kept hearing about this mythical 3-year plan while having to watch JOB coach and then get his contract extended while our starting PF launched 5 3-pointers a night and kept getting articles written about how serious he was about his rebounds as he forgot to get serious about playing post defense.
            Time for a new sig.

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            • #7
              Re: Kravitz: Larry Bird, please stay with the Pacers

              Sounds like his back will dictate whether he stays or not. His head and heart seem to be in it for a while longer, but his back seems to be truly bothering him.

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              • #8
                Re: Kravitz: Larry Bird, please stay with the Pacers

                Originally posted by aamcguy View Post
                2 to 3 years ago we kept hearing about this mythical 3-year plan while having to watch JOB coach and then get his contract extended while our starting PF launched 5 3-pointers a night and kept getting articles written about how serious he was about his rebounds as he forgot to get serious about playing post defense.
                It was never mythical, but it was frequently misunderstood. I literally had David Morway explain it to me about 2 years ago, and they stuck with it.

                A lot of people misinterpreted it to mean this, that, or the other, but it was only ever about doing exactly what they ended up doing: Keep trying to draft well, try to get those guys playoff experience if at all possible, then shed the bloated salaries and spend that money on better veteran pieces to then be ready to win again. That's what happened.

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                • #9
                  Re: Kravitz: Larry Bird, please stay with the Pacers

                  Originally posted by aamcguy View Post
                  2 to 3 years ago we kept hearing about this mythical 3-year plan while having to watch JOB coach and then get his contract extended while our starting PF launched 5 3-pointers a night and kept getting articles written about how serious he was about his rebounds as he forgot to get serious about playing post defense.
                  It's not Larry's fault that people weren't actually listening to what the plan was.

                  It was a 3 year plan on getting the Pacers back to square one. Not a 3 year plan on getting back to contending for a title. What was said, and what was heard weren't on the same level.

                  Larry has done exactly what he said he was going to do.
                  “Just because you're offended, doesn't mean you're right.” ― Ricky Gervais.

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                  • #10
                    Re: Kravitz: Larry Bird, please stay with the Pacers

                    Originally posted by CooperManning View Post
                    or, there's a reason he said Dwight and not Deron.


                    Anything could happen. But from all indications all through this season, Bird will re-sign most of the players needing signing and will go after the bargain players for fill in. Trades would be made to obtain a C/SF/and or PG.

                    But, I wouldn't rule anything out. I suspect (and maybe hope for) a trade of DC and/or Hans. DC will go if Hill is signed. Hans will go because he may want a bigger contract that he hasn't earned. Barbosa has proven too valuable to not sign again. And Hibbert is practically irreplaceable.

                    Comment

                    • #11
                      Re: Kravitz: Larry Bird, please stay with the Pacers

                      Originally posted by aamcguy View Post
                      I guess the hope many have had, that we will go after D-Will because we could fit him in before resigning Hibbert with a little bit of cap manipulation, probably will never come to life.
                      You caught that too. As soon as I read about money and Howard, my thoughts were Bird isn't going to spend the money on D'Will.

                      Now, some won't get get the message or are just adamant about getting D'Will, so we'll read all off season about needing to get D'Will. Unless Bird can get him at a bargain basement price, D'Will won't be donning on a Pacers uni as revenues aren't there to do it, and Herb isn't going to go into LT Land.


                      It just blows my mind Bird calls Herb Simon, Herbie. He's what 80 years old?He called O'Brien Jimmy too. That's exactly why I referred to O'Brien as Jimmy.

                      Comment

                      • #12
                        Re: Kravitz: Larry Bird, please stay with the Pacers

                        At least it sounds like Steve Nash may still fit in the budget

                        Comment

                        • #13
                          Re: Kravitz: Larry Bird, please stay with the Pacers

                          Originally posted by WhoLovesYaBaby? View Post
                          Anything could happen. But from all indications all through this season, Bird will re-sign most of the players needing signing and will go after the bargain players for fill in. Trades would be made to obtain a C/SF/and or PG.

                          But, I wouldn't rule anything out. I suspect (and maybe hope for) a trade of DC and/or Hans. DC will go if Hill is signed. Hans will go because he may want a bigger contract that he hasn't earned. Barbosa has proven too valuable to not sign again. And Hibbert is practically irreplaceable.
                          And why spend the last 3 years grooming him, just to let him walk? Not gonna happen.

                          I don't understand why LTP is frustrated that people who wanted Larry gone 3 years ago like him now. What has changed? Paul George, Vogel, West, Barbosa, George Hill. To name a few things.

                          Before it was all talk, there wasn't any evidence this was working. Now it is much more clear that Larry had a great plan and stuck with it. It's bad that people are recognizing that and changing their tune? Or do you want them all to apologize to the board for questioning Larry?

                          Comment

                          • #14
                            Re: Kravitz: Larry Bird, please stay with the Pacers

                            "We're in a good place. I want to tie up the guys we like for a long time, and I can still keep this together for under $60-65 million (the Pacers' current payroll is $57 million and change). But as far as going out and getting a Dwight Howard, we just don't have it."
                            @WhatTheFFacts: Studies show that sarcasm enhances the ability of the human mind to solve complex problems!

                            Comment

                            • #15
                              Re: Kravitz: Larry Bird, please stay with the Pacers

                              Originally posted by vnzla81 View Post
                              Yeah, because the Magic are really tearing it up with Dwight Howard right now.


                              Comment

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