Indiana Pacers: Is It Time To Tank?
By Evan Massey
Is it time for the Indiana Pacers to throw in the towl on the 2014-15 NBA season?
While the Indiana Pacers showed some fight early on this season, they have fallen to 15-26 on the season, and are looking less and less like an NBA Playoff team. They have some of the pieces, but the piece they are missing is far bigger than what they can repair at this point in time.
Paul George was lost for the season when he broke his leg during a Team USA scrimmage on August 1st. After the injury, even David West went through a time period when he knew the team had seen their championship window shut. That has been obvious this season, and it hasn’t helped that multiple other players have missed extended time with injuries.
The question now becomes, is it time for the Pacers to tank for the remainder of the year?
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At this point in time, the answer is obvious. Teams never like to lose, but the Pacers need to focus on developing all of the young talent that they have, while also playing for a better draft pick.
George is already recovering quickly from the broken leg, and looks to be getting back to his old form slowly but surely. He will be back to resume his leadership role, but the Pacers need to improve around him from what they have had in previous seasons. Trading away players like David West and Roy Hibbert at the deadline might be a great idea.
If they can move both Hibbert and West for young players, draft picks, and expiring deals, they are going to have plenty of cap room to make some moves in the offseason.
Tanking isn’t a good thing, but at this point it is in the Pacers’ best interests. The team simply doesn’t have a chance to make a run in the playoffs with the roster that they currently have, but with a couple moves they could jump right back into contention next season. Moving West and Hibbert would be tough, but neither player is what Indiana will need next season.
Indiana likely won’t put the full tank attempt into effect, but it certainly wouldn’t be a bad idea for them to see how high up in the draft order they can get by playing their young players and looking to make a trade or two.