After the signing of All-Star forward David West, I expected the good news to keep rolling in.
But alas, it was not to be. The Pacers failed again in their attempt to procure OJ Mayo from the Memphis Grizzlies through a sign a trade involving Josh McRoberts (and possibly Brandon Rush, which is probably what killed the deal), and now it looks like the Pacers will be without the swingman this season, at least for now.
Is that a bad thing? I dunno. Mayo was unhappy in Memphis with his playing time and had some off court issues. But the awesome playoff run the Grizzlies had may have rejuvenated him a little. Now Mayo certainly would have been a super upgrade on Brandon Rush, but he would have taken away valuable on-court development time from Paul George, and we need George to be the best player he can be. Plus the Pacers finally got rid of all their questionable character guys (well, the old ones at least — Stephenson and Rush are still on the roster) — so if Mayo does not getting as much as he expected, would he start causing problems in the locker room?
Perhaps I am just trying to make myself feel better, because the Pacers certainly could have used a player with Mayo’s scoring prowress and ability to create his own shot.
Speaking of which, the other guy the Pacers wanted was Jamal Crawford, but he turned down the Pacers’ almost insulting $5 million x 2 years deal. No biggie. If Crawford was willing to sign for that price, then great, but the Pacers don’t really need him right now. With the core additions of George Hill and David West, plus the subtractions of TJ Ford, Mike Dunleavy and James Posey, the Pacers have made decent strides this offseason already.
BUT, in some sad news, Josh McRoberts has decided to sign with the LA Lakers. I don’t know why, but the Pacers didn’t think McBob was worth bringing back. McBob had a decent year and for a big man has a unique skill set (can jump and pass), but he’s clearly a role player at best. I think if the price was right the Pacers would have brought him back, but clearly McBob was going to demand more money than he was really worth.
McBob was obviously disappointed because he stated before that he would like to return to Indiana, but was glad that he was going to a team that “wanted” him. Words of hurt, perhaps?
All the best to McBob. We’ll miss your highlights every night.
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