Larry Bird received a vote of confidence from the Indiana Pacers’ top offices today, in a move that guarantees the Pacers will be nowhere near above .500 and yet never get a significant draft pick for years to come.
Bird’s reluctance to properly detonate the Pacers has been seen primarily as an avoidance caused by fears of plummeting ticket sales, but at this point, the Pacers are on a slow bleed. You don’t opt out of surgery because you’re afraid of the trauma when you have internal bleeding. Combine that with his preference for drafting players whose college pedigree far outweighs their pro potential, and you have a franchise that seems to be headed nowhere fast.
Still, Bird is a legend, and has tried to maintain that there is a longterm plan in place. At least with Granger and Hibbert (along with Price, and if he’s ever healthy, Hansbrough) they have somewhat of a talent base, but you just get the feeling like unless there is a significant rebuilding effort in the future, the future will remain bleak for Indy.
