Is Losing Lance Stephenson Addition by Subtraction?

May 30, 2014; Miami, FL, USA; Indiana Pacers guard

(1) looks on during a game against the Miami Heat in game six of the Eastern Conference Finals of the 2014 NBA Playoffs at American Airlines Arena. Mandatory Credit: Steve Mitchell-USA TODAY Sports

The Indiana Pacers lost in the Eastern Conference Finals to the Miami Heat once again last season, and Lance Stephenson was a name that became very prominent due to antics that he showed on the court against LeBron James. He was a very talented player for the Pacers throughout his tenure in Indiana, but never showed the type of consistency that fans were hoping to see. Stephenson ended up signing with the Charlotte Hornets this past offseason.

When he was originally drafted, Stephenson was considered a risk due to some off-the-court issues he had and the all-around attitude that he possessed. He was a fairly selfish player despite having playmaking skills, and seemed to focus more on personal statistics. That wasn’t the case when Stephenson took over for the injured Danny Granger a couple years back, and he fit into the lineup perfectly.

Stephenson was not selected to the All-Star game last season, and he took it as a disrespect to his personal game. Unfortunately, he decided to stop playing the game that made him great and resorted to a selfish brand of basketball with a few flashy passes here and there. He got away from playing the playmaker role with offense coming second, and turned those two aspects of his game around.

Up until the All-Star game last season, Stephenson was of the main reasons for the Pacers’ overwhelming success. After he took things personally, he became a major part of one of the NBA’s worst regular season collapses in recent history. The Pacers were able to hang on to the number one seed in the Eastern Conference, but they went from being title contenders to a team that was playing at half of their full potential.

It appeared that the team became much more selfish, and Stephenson led the way in that category. He began focusing on getting his shots up each and every night, rather than letting his shots come to him throughout the flow of the game. Frank Vogel wasn’t able to control him, and allowed him to continue playing that brand of basketball.

So the question becomes, is losing Stephenson going to be addition by subtraction for the Pacers?

Quite simply, the answer to that question is, yes. The Pacers are going to miss both Stephenson and George’s potential, but they aren’t going to miss the locker room issues and overall team chemistry issues that Stephenson brought to the team. Larry Bird loved the future potential that Stephenson possessed, but he wasn’t willing to give him any kind of contract that was different from what Indiana offered.

There could be some issues with playmaking this coming season, but the Pacers are already looking at next offseason to replace some of the talent that they lost this year. Stephenson is going to have a big impact with the Hornets, but he simply wasn’t a good fit for the Pacers down the stretch of last season. It’s going to be intriguing to see what happens this year with the Pacers, but losing Stephenson doesn’t do them any long-term harm once George does return to the court.