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Q&A with Pacers coach Jim O'Brien
O'Brien expects he will be coaching O'Neal next season
Jim O'Brien isn't a gambler. But the new Indiana Pacers coach said he believes the odds favor All-Star forward Jermaine O'Neal wearing a Pacers uniform next season.
"I've sat down and talked at length with Jermaine and where he sees his career going," O'Brien said from his office Thursday afternoon. "If I'm his coach next year, which I expect to be and want to be, my job and Jermaine's job as leaders is to be on the same page, which I think we will be, and we both need to be examples for the team."
O'Neal, along with Kevin Garnett and Kobe Bryant, are the marquee names being discussed in trade rumors.
O'Neal has said he doesn't want to stay if the Pacers rebuild.
"I know trades are hard to make when you're talking about a big trade involving somebody like Jermaine O'Neal or Kevin Garnett because they are extremely important to the future of your franchise, and you cannot make a mistake, nor will we make a mistake about that," O'Brien said. "I have a sense that the odds are against the fact that Jermaine O'Neal will be traded.
It's just reality. . . . With that in mind, I'm playing the odds. I'm planning on coaching him."
O'Brien has met or spoken by phone with each player. He said O'Neal (knee surgery) and swingman Marquis Daniels (knee tendinitis) are doing on-the-court work. Center David Harrison will not participate in the team's summer league next month because he is not fully healed from shoulder surgery in late April.
Question: What have the past three weeks been like?
Answer: The main thing is you get your staff set, which I have, and you get yourself in front of as many players as you can, as quickly as you can, which I have, and I start getting a feel and develop a relationship prior to getting into the nitty-gritty of the season.
Q: Have you had a chance to catch up with all the players yet?
A: I've talked to everybody either in person or on the phone. The guys I haven't seen in person, I'll go to wherever they are. I think next week I'm going to be up in New York seeing Troy (Murphy) and Mike (Dunleavy). I've talked to them on the phone. Ike (Diogu) is in school and if he doesn't have a chance to come back for summer league, I'll go out there to Phoenix.
Q: Who do you expect to take part in (during) summer league next month?
A: We hope to possibly sign a free agent before then. So whoever we sign will be involved. Shawne (Williams) will be involved. Danny (Granger) is going to practice with us. He may or may not play in some games. If we pick up the option on Orien (Greene) (by June 30), he would be involved and we have a bunch of free agents that we have looked at.
Q: As is, can you take this roster to the playoffs?
A: One word: Absolutely.
Q: Do you feel like you have established a connection with Jermaine (O'Neal)?
A: You make connections with people over a course of time. . . . I've never really had a difficulty getting players to lead.
Q: Do you get a sense he wants to be here?
A: I think he has a real concern about his future here in Indiana. If he could be put in a situation most favorable to him winning a championship, I'm sure he would be interested in that. But my viewpoint is that I was asked by (Pacers president) Larry (Bird) and (CEO) Donnie (Walsh) to be a part of helping build a champion here. That's my focus. I don't have the ultimate say on who is going to be here. I have a lot of input. If Larry thinks he can get equal value for Jermaine -- in two different guys or one guy that would really like to be here -- I'm sure he would do it. If he can't, we want to create an environment where Jermaine will be very, very motivated to be a Pacer.
Q: Do you think Jermaine is comfortable with your philosophies?
A: Of course not. I don't have a player in this franchise that's comfortable with me. Nor am I comfortable with any of them. You don't walk into an organization with somebody for 30 minutes and work with them on the court for two weeks and get comfortable. It doesn't happen. Comfort level takes time to build. I am as focused on relationship building as I am on anything that's on the court. I know how valuable chemistry is to a basketball team.
Q: What's the one question fans have asked you the most?
A: Are we going to make the playoffs or are we going to get this back to the level that we're accustomed to. They are all very passionate about wanting us to do well. I've found a tremendous amount of support.
Q: How was your conversation with Jamaal Tinsley?
A: Great. I think we had a wonderful conversation. I really had a sense that we're going to have a strong relationship. You need that with veterans, and veterans that are point guards. I believe that he is a guy that I have to create an offensive situation that allows him to do what he can do. We're going to push the tempo more and I think that's going to be very good for Jermaine because we need to be unpredictable offensively more than we have in the past. To be 30th in field goal offense is alarming. If NBA teams know what you're constantly going to run, they are going to shut down your players.
Q: Do you have a sense that there will be a bunch of changes this summer?
A: We have some decisions to make. . . . When you come into a new situation, the chances of you making changes to your top five doesn't happen very often, but you can really improve that next five.
Q: Do you have huge gaps to fill?
A: If I had to start a team just knowing what I know now, these guys will be told at the beginning of training camp, Jermaine O'Neal has a starting job, and probably Jamaal; everything else is up for grabs. If I look at our team, I would start Jamaal, Granger, Dunleavy, O'Neal and Troy Murphy. That's nothing against (Jeff) Foster. I think he's a quality starter.
Call Star reporter Mike Wells at (317) 444-6053.
Q&A with Pacers coach Jim O'Brien
O'Brien expects he will be coaching O'Neal next season
Jim O'Brien isn't a gambler. But the new Indiana Pacers coach said he believes the odds favor All-Star forward Jermaine O'Neal wearing a Pacers uniform next season.
"I've sat down and talked at length with Jermaine and where he sees his career going," O'Brien said from his office Thursday afternoon. "If I'm his coach next year, which I expect to be and want to be, my job and Jermaine's job as leaders is to be on the same page, which I think we will be, and we both need to be examples for the team."
O'Neal, along with Kevin Garnett and Kobe Bryant, are the marquee names being discussed in trade rumors.
O'Neal has said he doesn't want to stay if the Pacers rebuild.
"I know trades are hard to make when you're talking about a big trade involving somebody like Jermaine O'Neal or Kevin Garnett because they are extremely important to the future of your franchise, and you cannot make a mistake, nor will we make a mistake about that," O'Brien said. "I have a sense that the odds are against the fact that Jermaine O'Neal will be traded.
It's just reality. . . . With that in mind, I'm playing the odds. I'm planning on coaching him."
O'Brien has met or spoken by phone with each player. He said O'Neal (knee surgery) and swingman Marquis Daniels (knee tendinitis) are doing on-the-court work. Center David Harrison will not participate in the team's summer league next month because he is not fully healed from shoulder surgery in late April.
Question: What have the past three weeks been like?
Answer: The main thing is you get your staff set, which I have, and you get yourself in front of as many players as you can, as quickly as you can, which I have, and I start getting a feel and develop a relationship prior to getting into the nitty-gritty of the season.
Q: Have you had a chance to catch up with all the players yet?
A: I've talked to everybody either in person or on the phone. The guys I haven't seen in person, I'll go to wherever they are. I think next week I'm going to be up in New York seeing Troy (Murphy) and Mike (Dunleavy). I've talked to them on the phone. Ike (Diogu) is in school and if he doesn't have a chance to come back for summer league, I'll go out there to Phoenix.
Q: Who do you expect to take part in (during) summer league next month?
A: We hope to possibly sign a free agent before then. So whoever we sign will be involved. Shawne (Williams) will be involved. Danny (Granger) is going to practice with us. He may or may not play in some games. If we pick up the option on Orien (Greene) (by June 30), he would be involved and we have a bunch of free agents that we have looked at.
Q: As is, can you take this roster to the playoffs?
A: One word: Absolutely.
Q: Do you feel like you have established a connection with Jermaine (O'Neal)?
A: You make connections with people over a course of time. . . . I've never really had a difficulty getting players to lead.
Q: Do you get a sense he wants to be here?
A: I think he has a real concern about his future here in Indiana. If he could be put in a situation most favorable to him winning a championship, I'm sure he would be interested in that. But my viewpoint is that I was asked by (Pacers president) Larry (Bird) and (CEO) Donnie (Walsh) to be a part of helping build a champion here. That's my focus. I don't have the ultimate say on who is going to be here. I have a lot of input. If Larry thinks he can get equal value for Jermaine -- in two different guys or one guy that would really like to be here -- I'm sure he would do it. If he can't, we want to create an environment where Jermaine will be very, very motivated to be a Pacer.
Q: Do you think Jermaine is comfortable with your philosophies?
A: Of course not. I don't have a player in this franchise that's comfortable with me. Nor am I comfortable with any of them. You don't walk into an organization with somebody for 30 minutes and work with them on the court for two weeks and get comfortable. It doesn't happen. Comfort level takes time to build. I am as focused on relationship building as I am on anything that's on the court. I know how valuable chemistry is to a basketball team.
Q: What's the one question fans have asked you the most?
A: Are we going to make the playoffs or are we going to get this back to the level that we're accustomed to. They are all very passionate about wanting us to do well. I've found a tremendous amount of support.
Q: How was your conversation with Jamaal Tinsley?
A: Great. I think we had a wonderful conversation. I really had a sense that we're going to have a strong relationship. You need that with veterans, and veterans that are point guards. I believe that he is a guy that I have to create an offensive situation that allows him to do what he can do. We're going to push the tempo more and I think that's going to be very good for Jermaine because we need to be unpredictable offensively more than we have in the past. To be 30th in field goal offense is alarming. If NBA teams know what you're constantly going to run, they are going to shut down your players.
Q: Do you have a sense that there will be a bunch of changes this summer?
A: We have some decisions to make. . . . When you come into a new situation, the chances of you making changes to your top five doesn't happen very often, but you can really improve that next five.
Q: Do you have huge gaps to fill?
A: If I had to start a team just knowing what I know now, these guys will be told at the beginning of training camp, Jermaine O'Neal has a starting job, and probably Jamaal; everything else is up for grabs. If I look at our team, I would start Jamaal, Granger, Dunleavy, O'Neal and Troy Murphy. That's nothing against (Jeff) Foster. I think he's a quality starter.
Call Star reporter Mike Wells at (317) 444-6053.
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