Larry Bird Pacing Indiana's Rebuilding

ORLANDO -- Larry Bird won't get the salary cap space and the star he needs in Indiana until the summer of 2011. But in the meantime, he has a pretty clear plan: Assemble the supporting cast first.

A normally impatient man is preaching patience now.

"Looking at the teams like the Lakers, Cleveland, Orlando, they are pretty damn good. We can't compete with that now on a night-to-night basis,'' said Bird, the Pacers President of Basketball Operations. "Not now, but we will. The ultimate goal is to win a championship. It's just not going to happen overnight.''

Bird has spent the last two years changing the culture of the Pacers, dismantling a decent team that kept finding itself with off-court problems and personality issues, and reassembling it with a younger, harder-working core.

It's why he traded for rookies Roy Hibbert and Brandon Rush last summer. It's why he drafted Tyler Hansbrough last month. He is at the Orlando Pro Summer League this week, watching the three of them, and liking what he sees. "I've changed the culture [at Indiana]. No question about that. Now we just have to keep moving forward.''
-- Larry Bird

Hansbrough has scored 23 and 24 points in the last two games. Hibbert has scored 24 and 21.

"My vision was to get as many of a core group of guys together that we can move forward with. I just want to put together a group that plays hard, works hard, every single night,'' he said. "Then when we have the room [in 2011], we add a star or two to put us over the hump.''

Bird already has one semi-star he likes a lot in Danny Granger, who averaged 25.8 points and 5.1 rebounds last season. He is one of the few guys on his roster that has a contract beyond two years.

"I want guys like Danny. He works his tail off every summer, through the season. You want guys that play tough, play hard and don't miss games because of injuries. If you do that, you get better,'' he said. "This whole thing is a process, and hopefully, it won't take too long. We want back in the playoffs without waiting too long.''

Unlike Cleveland and Orlando, which had to hit bottom to get a top draft choice in the right year (LeBron James and Dwight Howard) to get really good, Bird is trying to do it without letting Indiana completely collapse. Granger was the 17th pick of the 2005 Draft.

"You'd love to have one great player who can take the pressure off the rest of the team,'' Bird said. "But if I can get two Danny Grangers and a couple more Hansbroughs, I'll be pretty good.''

Bird didn't win a championship as a coach for the Pacers (1997-2000), although he did reach the NBA Finals in 2000 and lost to Chicago in the conference final in 1998. He still has hopes of doing it as an executive.

"I like the Summer League stuff. I love watching these players, watching tape, the draft, just trying to judge players,'' he said. "I've changed the culture [at Indiana]. No question about that. Now we just have to keep moving forward.''

2009 NBA Draft

Eric "Pooh" Evans, 30, left, guards his brother Tyreke Evans, the fourth pick overall in the 2009 NBA Draft. (Jose Luis Villegas/Sacramento Bee/MCT)

MCT

Tyreke Evans, the fourth pick overall in the 2009 NBA Draft, will bring stability at the point guard position for the Sacramento Kings, July 01, 2009. (Jose Luis Villegas/Sacramento Bee/MCT)

MCT

Tyreke Evans, the fourth pick overall in the 2009 NBA Draft, will bring stability at the point guard position for the Sacramento Kings, July 01, 2009. (Jose Luis Villegas/Sacramento Bee/MCT)

MCT

DeMar DeRozan, drafted ninth overall in the 2009 NBA Draft by the Toronto Raptors of the National Basketball Association, watches second half action at the Los Angeles Sparks-Phoenix Mercury WNBA basketball game in Los Angeles, Sunday, July 5, 2009. (AP Photo/Lori Shepler)

Kevin Hart attends an NBA draft party at the M2 Ultra Lounge on June 25, 2009 in New York City. NBA Draft Party At M2 Ultra Lounge M2 Ultra Lounge New York, NY United States June 25, 2009 Photo by Shareif Ziyadat/FilmMagic.com To license this image (16857995), contact FilmMagic.com

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Charlie Alexander Villanueva attends an NBA draft party at the M2 Ultra Lounge on June 25, 2009 in New York City. NBA Draft Party At M2 Ultra Lounge M2 Ultra Lounge New York, NY United States June 25, 2009 Photo by Shareif Ziyadat/FilmMagic.com To license this image (16857986), contact FilmMagic.com

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NEW ORLEANS - JUNE 26: Marcus Thorton and Darren Collison and of the New Orleans Hornets attend a basketball camp and press conference after being selected by the Hornets in the 2009 NBA draft on June 26, 2009 at the University of New Orleans in New Orleans, Louisiana. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2009 NBAE (Photo by Layne Murdoch/NBAE via Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** Marcus Thorton;Darren Collison

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NEW ORLEANS - JUNE 26: Marcus Thorton and Darren Collison and of the New Orleans Hornets stand with Chad Shinn, Hornets Executive Officer of the Board as they attend a basketball camp and press conference after being selected by the Hornets in the 2009 NBA draft on June 26, 2009 at the University of New Orleans in New Orleans, Louisiana. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2009 NBAE (Photo by Layne Murdoch/NBAE via Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** Marcus Thorton;Darren Collison;Chad Shinn

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NEW ORLEANS - JUNE 26: Darren Collison of the New Orleans Hornets attends a basketball camp and press conference after being selected by the Hornets in the 2009 NBA draft on June 26, 2009 at the University of New Orleans in New Orleans, Louisiana. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2009 NBAE (Photo by Layne Murdoch/NBAE via Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** Darren Collison

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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

7-09-2009 @ 3:22AM

Giles said...

Danny Granger was a solid all star wing man last season, and should be expected to be again next season, not a super star, but much better than just a semi star.

7-09-2009 @ 10:27AM

harrill7 said...

While some idiot has accussed Bird of putting together a team that is "too white", he actually is putting together a team that plays BB like it should be played. "Team first" guys are what it takes to win. Kobe will play in pain to win a game, as did Bird, Magic, Jordan ect. He is doing a good job, and he will be laughing at every critic that said he made a mistake in taking Hansbrough. As for the "whiteness" -he has been trying to trade 2 white players for a while now, and about 80% of his draft picks have been black. Go figure.