In somewhat bittersweet news, the Indiana Pacers have reached an agreement to ship out-of-favor center Roy Hibbert to the Los Angeles Lakers for what has been reported to be cash and an unspecified second round pick.
The details are still being worked out as the trade won’t be finalized until after July 9, when the NBA’s moratorium is lifted, but essentially the deal is a salary dump that will free up the $15.5m cap space Roy would have hogged up next season.
It’s a win-win for both sides. Larry Bird made it clear at the end of last season that the Pacers want to play faster, and the 7’2″ Hibbert is as lumbering as they come. As David West put it, they threw Roy “under the bus” and basically said his minutes would be limited if he opts in to the final year of his contract. They then went ahead and drafted Myles Turner, an athletic center (who happened to put up 20 and 8 on 8-11 shooting in his Summer League debut), just to rub salt into the wound.
Hibbert had no future in Indy even had he stayed — he would have been in the dog house and on the bench, and his depression would probably have a negative effect on the locker room.
Now he gets to go to a rebuilding situation in LA, where he has spent his entire offseason already, and anchor a team badly in need of rim protection. That is something he can still do relatively well when he feels like it, and he should have a chip on his shoulder seeing that this is a contract year and just about everyone in Indy wanted him out.
The Lakers, haven’t struck out on the top tier free agents, don’t lose much by picking up Hibbert’s salary. They keep him for the year, and if he does well, they can consider re-signing him at a discount. If not, he goes off their books anyway and they maintain their flexibility in going after the big names next offseason.
Personally, I’m curious to see how the mentally fragile Hibbert would perform on a team with Kobe Bryant. Would Kobe destroy what little confidence he has left or would he light a much-needed fire under that ass?
All the best to Roy. Selected 17th by the Pacers seven seasons ago, Hibbert ended up playing in two All-Star games and was a perennial candidate for Defensive Player of the Year for being the poster child of the rule of “verticality.” He was a monster in a couple of Miami series in the playoffs, which got him that big contract, but he was never able to generate any consistency in his offensive game. When his confidence fell, so did his defense and rebounding, and at his nadir in the playoffs last year he put up some inexcusable performances. You must remember those zero point, zero rebound games.
At the end of the day, Hibbert wore out his welcome in Indiana. He was great for the community, and people should remember all the good things he did, such as Area 55 and the flash mobs. He’ll always have that block on Carmelo that sent the Pacers to the Conference Finals a few years back.
Sadly, Hibbert appeared to have peaked and has been heading in the wrong direction since. His best year was 2011-2012, when he averaged 12.8 points, 8.8 rebounds and 2 blocks on 49.7% shooting. Last season, he averaged 10.6 points, 7.1 rebounds and 1.6 blocks on 44.6% shooting. For someone turning 29 at the end of the year, it doesn’t look like he’ll be any better than he is now. I hope I am wrong for his sake, but Hibbert’s problem has always been his tendency to get too high and too low. And when he gets low the body language is terrible and the effort drops.
With him finally gone, the Pacers now have room to re-sign some players and/or sign some free agents. Ideally, they’ll bring back Rodney Stuckey, who proved last year he can be a key piece off the bench and possibly even challenge for 6th man of the year. But I’m not optimistic about the Pacers bringing Stuckey back despite an expression of mutual interest. Stuckey wants to be 6th man on a contender, according to reports, and teams like the Rockets, Cavs and Wizards have already reached out to him.
Luis Scola could be back at a discount — he ranged between very good and terrible during his time in Indy, but he always plays hard and will be needed now that West is gone. The only big men the Pacers have under contract now are Mahinmi, Lavoy Allen (re-signed), Shayne Whittington (the “worst player in the NBA” according to ESPN’s player rankings last year), and rookie Myles Turner. Damo Rudez is tall but he’s a perimeter player. So another reliable big man would be nice, and a reserve point guard would be sweet too, given that CJ Watson is heading to Orlando and there arne’t indications the Pacers intend on re-signing Donald Sloan.
Stay posted because moves are bound to happen.
PS: David West may go to Spurs, Cavs or Wizards; former Pacer Danny Granger has been traded from Phoenix to Detroit (6th team in 18 months).
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