NBA Indianapolis

Hey, it's the first day. It's the Summer League. It was one game. The first game. Of the Summer League. It's a long week, a long season, a long career. And I'm going to doubt any of that makes Chicago fans that were paying attention to the first day of the NBA's Orlando Summer League feel better, or Miami fans feel worse about today's little exhibition.

Michael Beasley was, in a word, brilliant. 28 points, 9 rebounds, 2 assists, and a block in 22 minutes. He could have been playing against D-Leaguers, the Harlem Globetrotters, or Mrs. Wormtail's second grade class, those are some slick numbers. That he did it against No.1 overall pick Derrick Rose and the Chicago Bulls, in the midst of a 94-70 whupping made it all the more emphatic. The Heat dominated this game, even as Chicago started Rose, Joakim Noah, and Tyrus Thomas, who you may recognize as starters and heavy rotation guys. Not exactly a pretty start, even if its easy to brush off, given the absurd context of the Magic's practice facility in a meaningless exhibition in which D-League MVP Kasib Powell scored 15 and Keith Langford and Demetris Nichols led the Bulls. Beasley's game was in full effect today, as he worked his mid-range, long-range, post-work, and driving abilities. In a league that's meant to be used as a scrimmage clinic, Beasley put on one.

ESPN is reporting that Indiana picked Jerryd Bayless at #11 not for themselves, but for the active active Blazers. Chad Ford says the trade is Bayless and Ike Diogu in exchange for Brandon Rush, picked 13th, and Jarrett Jack. Of course, it's a coup for Portland's Kevin Pritchard, who came into the draft needing a point guard and ended up with arguably the second best one available. And hey! Portland gets to save money in the deal, too.

The heartbreak of this one is that Indiana had no intent or need for Bayless before Portland came calling. The team after Indiana -- my Sacramento Kings -- have no point guard on the roster. Beno Udrih's agent has requested the full mid-level exception ... and the Clippers, who drafted a two-guard in Eric Gordon, are expected to offer as much.

Kings fans would have forgiven David Stern for his accused transgressions just to hear him call Jerryd's name at #12. Instead ... well, hi Jason Thompson. Pleased to meet your acquaintance, I suppose.

Portland is going to win 11 of the next 12 championships. Indiana picked Roy Hibbert with the #17, which comes over in the Jermaine O'Neal deal.

The rumors had been fluttering for the past 24 hours, and it's apparently a done deal.

Jermaine O'Neal is headed to Toronto, in exchange for TJ Ford, Rasho Nesterovic, and the #17 pick.

For O'Neal, this is the fresh start he's been waiting years for. He's still a capable big man, and working in tandem with Chris Bosh means he doesn't have to shoulder the load under a body riddled with injuries.

For Ford, this settles the question of whether the Raptors wanted him or Jose Calderon. Ford has still proven he can be capable, and he goes to a team rebuilding, again, but with a lot of talent, again. The Pacers are very quietly building a considerably deep backcourt. Now they just have to do something with it. There's a lot of talk about how this is a win-win situation, but that's only if O'Neal stays healthy. If he does, though, the Raptors will have a frontcourt that could destroy small worlds. Likewise, TJ Ford has to prove his neck is up to go full speed. So many questions, and we're not even to draft night yet. Hang on to your hats, folks. This one's about to get rocky.

While Yahoo!'s Adrian Wojnarowski says the deal is off, two local reporters closer to the situation -- the Toronto Star's Doug Smith and the Indianapolis Star's Mike Wells -- indicate talks remain alive in a swap which would send T.J. Ford and Rasho Nesterovic to the Pacers in exchange for Jermaine O'Neal. Two beats one, so let's assume this could happen.

Dwyer at Ball Don't Lie explains why this is such a good deal for Toronto, which needs some defense badly. So let me explain my thoughts on why this works beautifully for Indiana, with an assist from Indy Cornrows, who writes:

Forget all the numbers, cap space, draft picks and expiring contracts for a moment. A deal like this has an aesthetic impact on the Pacers that is hard to quantify. When the two strongest personalities in the organization don't get along, it's a drag on everyone, fans included. I love Jermaine O'Neal and I love Larry Bird, but when it's apparent they don't get along you're almost forced to pick a side. It becomes an unmentionable black cloud hanging over the team and has to have at least a subtle impact on the team.

Sometimes, these clean breaks cause ephemeral periods of holy enlightenment for Earthbound teams weighed down by an old general. Remember Philadelphia? The post-Iverson burst had little to do with reality; in retrospect, I'd venture the mere removal of the long franchise shadow allowed the rest of the team to see the sun for the first time. While the terminal glow can't support itself, it can support future growth, as it has in Philly.

Also: Indiana really needs a point guard. The Pacers already play at a high tempo; Ford's one of the most efficient high-tempo lead guards in the league. And if you're worried about injury risk, um, you're trading Jermaine O'Neal, who played 42 games for the low, low price of $19.7 million last year. Considering Rasho has an expiring contract, and Ford's deal is not too long, this baby needs no more thought.

Crystal Ballin' takes a team-by-team look at what should, could, and probably will happen in the June 26th NBA Draft.

Larry Bird's got sole possession of the reins. Larry Bird does not have the best record of personnel decisions. Larry Bird seeks to completely rebuild in the Indiana roster, and that starts with the #11 pick in Thursday's draft. What could possibly go wrong?!

Picks: #11, #41.

Needs: The point guard position is currently manned by Jamaal Tinsley and Travis Diener. That tells you almost everything you need to know ... but we'll add that assuming Jermaine O'Neal gets traded this century, another big to augment the terrifying Jeff Foster-Troy Murphy gauntlet could be in order.

Best case scenario: Everyone thinks D.J. Augustin would be beautiful in Pacers yellow (?), and the conventional wisdom appears to be correct: Augustin would be the best replacement possibly available. A second-rounder who could contribute immediately (J.J. Hickson, Richard Hendrix) would be great as well.

Ta' hell with Gilbert's high-altitude tent! Pacer hero Danny Granger's got a killer architectural project in the works. From a Granger interview on Pacers.com, via the unstoppable Indy Cornrows:

[W]hen I build a house a couple years down the line, I was telling my fiancée I wanted to have - once again with the superhero thing - you know how Batman drives into a hidden cave? I'm serious. I even met with like a builder and ask if this would be possible -- have a secret entrance to my house that no one knows about. Make it look like whatever, but have a secret way I can get to my house that I could drive my car in. It would probably cost way too much money but I really may think about doing that. Like seriously. I'm dead serious.

Granger's eligible for a contract extension this summer, and he should get $55 million plus for five more years. He's an excellent shooter and defender, a great kid, and the only positive thing Indiana's got going ... sort of like Sacramento's Kevin Martin last year (who got a $55 million deal). Granger can be an All-NBA player in his career. (That might make the Batcave more valuable, actually, considering Jamaal Tinsley's plight.)

A rumor that has Jermaine O'Neal headed to Cleveland (with the #11 pick) for expiring-in-2009 contracts has picked up plenty of heat over the past week, as happens with most J.O. rumors these days. But Pacers general manager David Morway squashed the idea in a conversation with RealGM's Andrew Perna Friday, saying the teams haven't discussed the center.

"It's tough to answer questions on trades, but in this particular case, I will say that the rumor is completely false," Morway added.

Morway's going to have to squash a lot of J.O. rumors this summer, it seems. Last year, the Lakers rumor strung from May to October and beyond, and almost became one of those inevitabilities, like Ron Artest-for-Peja Stojakovic circa 2005.

Indiana's decision (or inability, who knows) to begin the rebuilding process over the past 12 months has been a bit astonishing. The team has one solid youngster (Danny Granger) and two interesting roleplayer prospects (Shawne Williams and Ike Diogu). The team's best player (Mike Dunleavy Jr.) turns 28 this fall and might have just completed a huge fluke year. The highest paid player (J.O.) played only 1,200 minutes this season and has hit the 30-year-old wall of (potential) doom. The #11 pick could add a great piece ... but the Pacers need many great pieces to begin the healing process. Hopefully, they started working on that sometime soon, lest Indiana fans be trapped in the too-good-to-draft-a-franchise-player, too-bad-to-contend purgatory.

From the "was this even a question?" department comes the extremely un-shocking news that Jermaine O'Neal has decided not to opt out of the last two years on the contract. Indeed, a guy who's averaged 30.5 missed games over the last four years has decided not to leave $44 million on the table in pursuit of a new contract.

But while O'Neal correctly assumed that he couldn't make that much on the open market, that's not to say there won't be demand for his services. The Pacers are (still) rebuilding, so it doesn't make sense for them to carry a max contract. If they can get the right combination of expiring contracts and young talent, they'd probably jump on it. When healthy, O'Neal is an excellent defender and dominant post player -- there are only a small handful of teams in the league who couldn't use a guy like that.

In actual slightly surprising news, Ron Artest's agent indicated that his client is leaning toward not opting out of the final year of his contract. If he stays put, he'll earn just $7.4 million, or half of what Artest thinks he might make on the open market. Trouble is, not enough teams have that kind of money to spend this summer, so he's inclined to wait it out. It's possible the Kings could trade him, but I don't think they will. Sacramento is closer to contending than a lot of people realize -- they would have made the playoffs were they in the East.

Indy Cornrows has some transcribed quotes from a Larry Bird interview on Indianapolis radio regarding the Pacers' draft plans. Picking #11, most mocks have Bird selecting a point guard (D.J. Augustin, Russell Westbrook) or a potential-ridden big of some sort (DeAndre Jordan). In the interview, Bird reveals only that whomever Indy picks, it will be someone who can contribute immediately. (Cornrows notes that this could very well be some smoke.)

Bird also notes he has been watching tape on Nicolas Batum, though he couldn't tell you where he plays. He knows exactly where Beyoncé Knowles is ... or is not, actually.

[Host] Eddie [White]: Was Beyoncé there?

Larry: Uhh, well, if she was I probably would've seen her but I didn't see her.

Eddie: Oh boy, that's bad, go all the way to New York...if Jay-Z is sitting next to me, I would hope, because he's kind of ugly, I'd have love to have seen Beyoncé. She is strong, (Larry laughing) strong.

Larry: Yep, I'd agree with ya.

Larry Bird knows what he likes!

The New York Knicks are flushing the seeds of ineptitude out of Madison Square Garden, one step at a time. Ed Stefanski is leading a revival of the Sixers in Philly. Billy Knight has had enough of the ownership issues in Atlanta. Even successful franchises like the Mavericks and Suns are making drastic changes in coaching and leadership.

But in Indiana, even with the departure of Donnie Walsh to New York, the Pacers are keeping it in the family. In need of a GM to supplement Team President of Basketball, Larry Bird, the Pacers decided to promote from within. They have promoted Senior Vice President of Basketball Operations, David Morway to the GM position, where he will assume the duties of both positions.

The GM position in Indiana is little more than a figurehead, regardless, with Bird holding so much power including what is referred to as a "single voice." Furthermore, with Mark Cuban's recent comments that GM's are held essentially powerless to the will of the owner, that would make Morway third man in this totem pole. Bird has had success but the roster is fairly a mess. We'll see what effect, if any, this new "right hand man" will have in Indiana.