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INDIANAPOLIS – Fans have weighed in with their immense displeasure in the Pacers declining the player option on Lance Stephenson.
Without question, Stephenson’s entertainment is welcomed by the vast majority of Pacers’ fans. On a Tuesday night in early December, against insert lottery team here, the jolt inside of Bankers Life Fieldhouse usually surrounds something done by Stephenson.
Putting Stephenson’s unpredictable nature aside, this is a guy who was an important cog in the Pacers’ main rotation last season.
Stephenson often sparked second-half runs, or even closed out 4th quarters. He was a versatile guard who could create offense on his own, while also rebounding well for his position. In the playoffs, Stephenson once again stood tall against LeBron James, serving as a more than serviceable defender versus the best player in the world, while chipping in 10 points per game.
So why did the Pacers say no thanks to a more than reasonable player option of $4.3 million?
Wouldn’t bringing Stephenson back, thus having him highly motivated in a contract year, make sense?
Not to the Pacers.
Whether fans want to admit it or not, there are several reasons why the Pacers wanted to move on from Stephenson.
First, employing Stephenson and dealing with his volatile on-court nature has to be taxing. Remember this quote from Kevin Pritchard last month about Lance: “Sometimes he’s the best player on our team. Sometimes he’s the best player on the other team.” That sounds like an employee you are always unsure of what you’re going to get.
Second, the Pacers have a clear goal of obtaining more shooting to put around Victor Oladipo. Stephenson connected on just 28 percent of his three pointers last season, not sufficient enough percentage for a guard.
Third, Indiana knows they have the resources to strike on something bigger this summer. While the team option on Stephenson was small by NBA standards (when comparing it to Lance’s numbers), it does add more than $4 million to the Pacers’ cap space for free agency. Indiana has only strengthened their ability to make a strong offer (or two) in free agency, something that not a lot of playoff teams can say this time of year.
Let’s take a look at how the Pacers might handle finding a new guard off the bench this summer:
-Go Find a Shooter: J.J. Redick? Will Barton? Wayne Ellington? Joe Harris? There’s a variety of names the Pacers can look to in free agency in hopes of bolstering their shooting off the bench. Moving forward, the Pacers would love to surround Victor Oladipo with 4 shooters on the floor. They want defenders to have to second guess whether or not to help off when Oladipo is putting his head down for a drive. Stephenson didn’t command such attention.
-Bigger Name Coming? Have the Pacers decided the time is now to make their push with cap space starting to grow? The Pacers could be enticed by a Tyreke Evans or Zach LaVine (although injuries have stunted their full development, especially Evans). Or maybe 24-year-old Marcus Smart, who isn’t a shooter, but is younger and would bring a desired toughness that the Pacers are seeking. Now, both LaVine and Smart are restricted free agents so that means some bidding wars could happen.
-Re-Sign Lance: Yes, the Pacers could still re-sign Stephenson. However, this doesn’t look to be too realistic given how affordable his team option was, and not forcing yourself into a multi-year deal, thus having Lance’s contract on the books past the 2019 season. It will be really curious to see what the market looks like for Lance. He’s 27 years old, but has had zero success in 5 other stops around the NBA. A team must decide that they will live with ‘Lance being Lance,’ which the Pacers did. If the Pacers strike out on bigger moves in the next week or so, and Lance doesn’t attract a lucrative market, maybe there is a possible return. But that seems very unlikely.
