Who replaces David West at PF for the Pacers?
Yesterday, former Pacer, David West made his departure official as he signed a vet minimum deal to join the San Antonio Spurs. West opted out of the final year of his contract with the Pacers (that would have paid him $12 million) right before the NBA draft.
West left a bad taste in my mouth, when he told WTHR’s Bob Kravitz, that he didn’t think he could win in Indiana. “At this point in my career, I just want to win.” “I’m just not sure the Pacers are in title contention right now. I’m going into my 13th season. I’ll be 35 soon.”
The Kravitz article also mentioned that West thought it was a low class move for Larry Bird to, “Throw Roy (Hibbert) under the bus”, in Bird’s postseason interview.
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Apparently David West forgot that he was in title contention in back-to-back years and couldn’t beat LeBron James and the Miami Heat? If you star player breaks his leg…it’s going to be hard for most teams to stay in title contention.
And how is stating the obvious about a max contract player under-performing, throwing him under the bus? To me, West’s comments were a cop-out for why he was leaving the Pacers. Just come out and say your game is on the decline, and you’re chasing a ring. That’s a lot better than throwing your former organization…under the bus.
Now that David West is off to remember the Alamo (and I’m done with my rant), let’s take a look at how the Pacers could fill their power forward vacancy.
We’ve heard talks of seeing Paul George play the 4 spot more, but I see that being more match-up driven, and less his new starting position. Though a resigned Lavoy Allen could see more minutes for power forward, I don’t see him starting either.
The reports that Roy Hibbert will be dealt to the Lakers (can’t be official until July 9th), should leave the Pacers with roughly $9-$12 million in cap space (there are a lot of unknowns with actual contracts and the NBA salary cap number).
Let’s take a look at who the Pacers can turn to at power forward, with that possible cap space.