Harrington and Bender future All-Stars? WHAT?
Al Harrington and Jonathan Bender are both potential All-Stars? DUDE!
I like Harrington, I really do, but he's more of a glue-type player. He's not the kind of guy who goes to the All-Star Game.
Jonathan Bender, meanwhile, has NO IDEA what is going on out there! NO IDEA! Great athlete, but that's it! If the Pacers can include him and a couple other guys in a package for an available STAR (Andre Miller, Baron Davis, perhaps even Vince Carter or Allen Iverson), they need to do it NOW, before teams start realizing that Bender will never be a star.
Jamaal Tinsley was a steal at #27 (or wherever) last season, but he turns the ball over a ton, he isn't a good outside shooter, he doesn't have a lot of upside, and he was losing lots of minutes in the playoffs to KEVIN OLLIE, which says a LOT.
Ron Mercer is certainly overpaid, but GOOD LUCK getting somebody to trade for this guy. He's a journeyman and he's not even 30 yet.
Brad Miller is nothing special, although he's certainly an above-average center. However, the fact that so many teams are so willing to give a LOT of money to centers, even bad ones (watch how much money somebody gives Jerome James this offseason, and DO NOT tell me that Jerome James at 5 ppg and 4 rpg is a "good player" if you want to retain any credibility), WELL, at least a couple of teams are going to be willing to give Brad Miller a LOT of money when he is a free agent next summer. Do you really think the Pacers are going to have time to make him a good offer while they are freaking out about losing Jermaine O'Neal to the Magic and Reggie Miller to a legitimate contender?
Ron Artest has a lot of trade value, and I guess I think the team should probably include him in a package offer for a legitimate star.
Maybe offer Bender, Artest, Mercer, and a future #1 for Andre Miller and filler (Tyrone Hill and Lamond Murray, two veterans who do NOT fit in with the Cleveland youth movement)? The Cavs are probably determined to trade him, to get what they can for him--and my guess is that the Clips are going to keep beating around the bush. Hell, throw in a future first-rounder if you have to! If the Pacers and Cavs do this deal--and if the Pacers ALSO do that deal with Boston--here are yr 2002-03 Indiana Pacers (best backcourt in the East? Probably!):
PG Andre Miller--Kenny Anderson--Jamison Brewer
SG Reggie Miller--Fred Jones
SF Al Harrington--Lamond Murray
PF Jermaine O'Neal--Tyrone Hill
C Brad Miller--Jeff Foster--Primoz Brezec
In THIS situation, the Pacers add a legit STAR (Miller), they unload Croshere's salary, they eliminate the SF logjam, they clear the way for Fred Jones to actually get minutes behind Reggie. And both Kenny Anderson AND Tyrone Hill will be off the books after next season, allowing the team to re-sign Jermaine O'Neal (and possibly Brad Miller) and to give Andre Miller the longterm extension (probably a max-out deal) that he's going to want and need. Murray's contract goes on for several more seasons, but oh well, if that's the price you pay for getting Andre Miller (and make no mistake, Jonathan Bender will NEVER be a star in this league, his stock will go nowhere but down starting in November; Mercer is ridiculously overpaid and will never put up good numbers for anything other than a 20-win team; and Artest is a bit of a headcase and won't like losing minutes to Al Harrington; and if the Pacers are as good next year as everybody thinks, that lottery pick is nothing special, anyway; so, you know what, you haven't given up very much in order to get Andre!), GOOD!
Of course, the team STILL needs to fire Isiah--but this is starting to look like something that won't happen until during or after next season... OH WELL...