Roy Hibbert Rumors: Pacers Still Shopping Center?
By Evan Massey
There were rumors all offseason long that the Indiana Pacers could look to trade Roy Hibbert, and there were actually some individual trade offers that reportedly had his name attached to them. One was the deal that would have sent Phoenix Suns’ point guard Goran Dragic back to Indiana, but the Suns weren’t interested in making that trade.
While Hibbert wasn’t traded this past offseason, that doesn’t mean that the Pacers aren’t going to move him or have stopped listening to offers. According to a report from John Zitzler of Basketball Insiders, believes that the Pacers have shopped Hibbert and that is ready to move on from Indiana.
"There have been rumblings over the past six months that Hibbert is ready to move on from the Pacers. There have also been rumors that the Pacers have been shopping around their towering center. At one point Hibbert appeared to an integral part Pacers’ future, but now his time with the team may soon be coming to an end. Hibbert has two years remaining on his current contract with the Pacers, with the second year being a player option. If the Pacers feel the chances of Hibbert exercising that player option are slim, they may look to move him this season."
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Indiana is currently heading into the 2014-15 NBA season with Hibbert being one of their main options on the offensive end of the court. With all of the injuries that the Pacers have had, he is one of the players that has stayed healthy and is ready to get going. Last year was an absolute train wreck for Hibbert, and any value that he had seemed to disappear with his disappearing act at the end of last year.
Hibbert started last year as one of the favorites to win the Defensive Player of the Year award, and was playing well on both sides of the floor. Take a look at his averages from last season:
Provided by Basketball-Reference.com: View Original Table
Generated 10/29/2014.
Those numbers aren’t terrible, but they certainly aren’t what he should be putting up as a starting center at 7’2″.
It wouldn’t be surprising to see the Pacers pull the trigger on a deal if they did get a good offer for him. He simply hasn’t shown that he can be that cornerstone big man that made him a maximum contract, and his attitude hasn’t been over the last couple of years.
All of that being said, it isn’t too surprising to hear the news that the Pacers are still shopping him around the league. They aren’t going to move him just to make a trade, but they would make a deal if they get a fair return. Don’t be surprised if there are plenty more rumors throughout the season involving the Pacers trading Hibbert.