Indiana Pacers: Media Day Takeaways

NBA Media days are meant to be entertaining, jubilant, and light-hearted, aren’t they?

Not for the 2014-15 Indiana Pacers, a franchise that had all the negatives pointing in their direction mid-way through the offseason.

Lance Stephenson sure enjoyed his media day … in a different city, with different teammates, in different colors.  He’s embracing the purple and teal, and quickly putting the “blue collar, gold swagger” behind him.

Now with the Charlotte Hornets, Stephenson left the Pacers during mid-July, since Michael Jordan was kind enough to offer him a three-year, $27 million contract.  It allows the triple double motor to get out of his contract earlier than he would if he signed with Indiana.  The deal is two years shorter, and his market worth could jump tremendously once the salary cap rises.

That was just the start of the offseason mix, however.  The finished cake had a sour, unpleasant icing on top.  It was Paul George‘s devastating leg break on August 1, which dropped the Pacers from a middle-of-the-pack playoff team to one searching for answers.

It wasn’t easy, and took a lot of wiggling to stay under the 2014-15 salary cap, but Larry Bird and the gang was able to draw in eight new players.  When is the last time you noticed a No. 1 seed — one that earned 56 wins the previous year — completely reload with eight new faces?  I’m willing to bet it’s never happened, and finding the last No. 1 seed to miss the playoffs the ensuing season would be nearly impossible.

C.J. Miles, Damjan Rudez, Rodney Stuckey, Chris Singleton, Shayne Whittington, Adonis Thomas, Arinze Onuaku, and C.J. Fair would be your new faces around town.

Of course, there’s always a possibility some of those names fail to stick with the team as the season nears.  As it stands, the roster is at 19 players, and the league maximum after training camp is 15 slots.  The city was put on notice last season that head coach Frank Vogel rarely goes deep into his bench, so it may end up at the bare minimum of 13.  Nobody, probably including President Larry Bird, has a solid idea of what to do with this mess.

One positive — or consistency — Indiana can reflect on from this offseason is that nothing happened to their powerful frontcourt.  At least, nothing tragic.  David West and Roy Hibbert realize their roles changed somewhat overnight, as they can no longer hang back and let the backcourt draw all the attention.

Last season, West and Hibbert shot 49.1 percent and 43.9 percent from 2-point range, respectively.  West certainly holds himself to a higher standard, and he would need to be reliable night in and night out with this new roster.  That mark of 43.9 percent undoubtedly makes Hibbert appear shoddy, and that’s something he worked on all summer.

If you recall, it was Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (the All-Time scoring leader) that took the 7-2 mammoth under his wing all offseason.  Even Kareem was fed up with big men having all the necessary physical tools, and failing to put it to use on the offensive end.

Did Hibbert receive a large impact from his short period with the six-time NBA champion?

“It was good,” Hibbert said Monday.  “I appreciate the time he spent with me this past summer.  He’s very knowledgeable.  We spent time on the court, he came to my house after every court session, so it was a learning experience.”

Most of Hibbert’s soft-spoken, bashful spill to the media had one common denominator.  He was extremely open with his number one goal for next season:  Keeping his mouth closed to the public.

“This season, I’m going to do a better job of not talking, saying stuff on my mind to the media,” Hibbert said.

Actually, he said it over and over during the presser, ingraining it into everyone’s mind.  He phrased it differently each time, but the message was received.

Life has transformed in the Eastern Conference, and that’s putting it mildly.  The Central Division — where Indiana rests — is now the third strongest division in the league, and even the teams projected to steal final playoff spots (Atlanta, New York, Miami) all have their core returning injury free.  Over half of the conference has a better outlook than the Pacers at this point, and that’s not a good place to be as the season is starting.

Instantly, you would believe George’s scoring and offensive versatility would be missed the most.  In reality, it’s his defensive-minded attitude that will put a damper on the Pacers next year.

On media day, Vogel was loud and clear about handling the loss of George’s wing defense.  Who will be encouraged to step up in Indiana’s favorite category?

“It’s going to be a team approach,” Vogel said.  “No one  guy can duplicate what Paul George is able to do with his versatility, particularly on the defensive end.  I do think Solomon Hill has the ability to be an elite wing defender, but everybody is going to have to step up.  C.J. [Miles] and Rodney [Stuckey] are going to have to guard at a high level, Copeland and Rudez are going to have to come in and guard at a high level.”

Putting that much hope in newcomers that’s never been a part of this defensive scheme will be something to watch.  For better or worse, it’s a shakeup Vogel and the Pacers haven’t had to deal with since the building of their title-contending rosters.  Just when they were getting the pieces they could rely on, everything has to restart.  Bad luck forced them to pound the reset button, three or four times.

Veteran David West, now entering his 12th year at age 34, is expected to be the leading scorer, and carry a team to the postseason.  Huh?  How is that logical at this stage of his career?  He’s had his time as a 20 point per game scorer (2007-09).  He’s not supposed to be faced with this sense of offensive pressure.

“I really haven’t talked to [West] a lot about that,” Vogel said regarding his mentality change.  “But, he’s going to do whatever it takes to win.  That’s really all you have to know about David West.  If that’s to make sure the newer guys are getting comfortable, getting some touches, and sharing the rock, then he’ll do that.  If it means carrying the scoring load, he’ll do that.  David West is just a ‘whatever it takes to win’ kind of guy.”

West seemed pessimistic throughout his entire session, but not because he thinks the team is in terrible danger.  It was more of disbelief (still) that everything he’s been fighting for during his contract with the Pacers has been taken away.  He signed a three-year deal in summer 2013, with a player option in the last year.  The intention was to win his first championship, and then retire a Pacer as the deal ended.

It’s all out the window … for now.

“You have to give yourself a realistic starting point,” West said.  “So, obviously, we can’t be talking about competing for a championship, or being in title contention, or anything like that.  I think we just got to be talking about figuring out a way to get the best lineups on the floor, and the best guys on the floor that will give us a chance to compete.”

There was nothing more gut-wrenching than the hesitation in West’s sentence when the words “competing for a championship” tried to escape.  It absolutely killed him to say it.  In a flash, you could see him reminisce on the last two seasons, being in the NBA’s version of the Final Four, just inches away from playing in the Finals.

As this unfortunate setback pains the veteran, it forced him to take a quick look at how he envisions his career.  The ending point may be near, as West implied he didn’t want to be a Kevin Garnett of the league, sticking around for 20 years.

“I understand this is a key moment, for me personally, because I know I don’t have a lot of time left,” West said.  “I’m not one of these guys that’s going to play forever.  It’s just never been my intention.  I always said I was going to play 10 years, and everything beyond 10 years would just be added bonus.  And that’s where I am now.”

Switching teams within the division, veteran guard C.J. Miles also joins the mix as a first-time Pacer.

Miles has nine seasons under his belt, and nobody recognizes it.  He didn’t attend college, as he was among the final waves of players to come directly from high school, and he doesn’t turn 28 years old until March.  Having that much experience on your wing, but still considered “youth,” can only be a great thing.

It’s part of the reason why he’ll be the biggest steal of the offseason for the Pacers, and probably a top five addition in the Eastern Conference.

The other aspect that makes him valuable for a younger team is his blazing outside attack.  After beginning his career as a mild 3-point shooter, shooting less than 30 percent for the first two years in his career, Miles has turned that ship around.

He’s recorded three seasons shooting over 38 percent from long-range, with two of those coming in his last couple years with the Cleveland Cavaliers.  Taking over four attempts per game, Miles managed to shoot 209-of-539 from outside with Cleveland (38.8 percent) since 2012-13.  If David Blatt still had him along in the rotation, life would be demented for East defenses.

Instead, he’s joining a team that desperately needed floor spacing and variety on offense.  Even better, he’s embracing the fact that so many people are now recognizing him as a 3-point specialist.

“It’s cool to have that respect from your peers,” Miles said.  For everybody else to see the work you put in throughout the summers, and throughout every day in the gym during the season, and be able to just build a reputation of being a threat.  I think that’s the most fun thing about it.  It’s always fun when you check into a game and you see the coaches trying to figure out what they’re going to do to make sure which you do, they don’t let you.  I think that’s always fun.

Keep in mind, Miles will be transitioning from playing with Kyrie Irving — among the top 10 point guards in the league — to lining up with George Hill in the backcourt.  Hill has vastly improved every part of his game this summer, but he is one of the few starting “point guards” around the league that doesn’t fit the true model of a floor general.

Does that affect Miles’ performance, or will he be able to quickly adjust to the personnel?

“I don’t think so,” Miles said.  “As we both know, Kyrie can score the heck out of the basketball.  I mean, I’ve played with guys that play [point guard] that way.  I’ve played with [Deron Williams], and Deron is a great passer, Kyrie can pass, and George Hill can pass.  But they’re also three guys that can score the basketball, and they take advantage of their skill-sets.”

Larry Bird wasn’t anywhere present during the media scrums, but he would admire what all he heard out of Miles, who should get the starting nod if Vogel wants to compete right away.

Opening night is Wednesday, Oct. 29, in Bankers Life Fieldhouse.  Nerlens Noel and the Philadelphia 76ers will be in town, so Roy Hibbert has a month to wipe the frown off his face and get to work.

Even if something goes awry, we’ve learned that he won’t be commenting on it.

Give the keys to the new backcourt, and perhaps Vogel is more generous with minutes.

Shane Young is an NBA credentialed writer for 8 Points, 9 Seconds and HoopsHabit.com. For all Indiana Pacers, Los Angeles Lakers, or general NBA coverage, follow @YoungNBA and @HoopsHabit on Twitter.