Pacers Continue House-Cleaning With Trade

by Steve Weinman on Oct 11, 2008 9:30 AM EDT in NBA Comment 7 comments

A Daily Babble Production

No, not that trade. As of press time, Jamaal Tinsley is still a member of the Indiana Pacers, at least for official purposes (wonder if he'll be in the team picture if he makes it that far).

Shawne Williams is not.

As the Indianapolis Star's Mike Wells reported Friday, the Pacers have traded the third-year forward to Dallas in exchange for Eddie Jones, two future second-round picks and something in the range of $1.8 million in cash.

Hard to blame Larry Joe Legend for this one.

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Williams embodies the idea of wearing out one's welcome. The Pacers drafted the 22-year-old 17th out of Memphis in the 2006 draft, and over the last two years, they gave him every opportunity to turn his track record of poor behavior around. Williams proved unable to do so.

Williams ran into trouble with the law three times in barely more than a year in a set of incidents that featured the youngster getting caught with pot in his car, pleading guilty to driving without having received a license, another issue involving Williams driving a passenger around with pot while committing automobile violations, and a bizarre situation in which he may have provided a murder suspect refuge in his home. The Pacers hit Williams with a brief suspension after the first of the three incidents last September, but the trouble kept coming, and many believed the July traffic stop may have sealed the deal on his tenure in Indiana.

The talented 6-foot-9 power forward had made progress on the basketball court this past season, but the Larry Bird-led Indy brass decided that the misconduct issues outweighed the growth for the youngster. Williams averaged 6.7 points and 2.7 boards in 14.9 minutes per game (16.3 and 6.6 per 36 minutes) this past season, and he put up a 52.2 percent true shooting mark. But the Pacers have worked hard over the last year to clean up their team image and to rid the squad of external distractions as the organization looks to head back in the right direction from a basketball standpoint.

Bird has committed to shaping the roster to fit Jim O'Brien's run-and-gun system (see: Ford, T.J.) while at the same time removing guys who could be more of a hindrance than a help in the locker room. With Danny Granger, Brandon Rush, Troy Murphy, Jeff Foster and Roy Hibbert now in the fold, the team has a myriad of players both young and old to fill the three spots on the front line. A revived Austin Croshere may also have a shot to make the team, but regardless of his fate, the Pacers should have more than enough options to make up for what little production Williams was providing up front.

In the meantime, Eddie Jones should provide a steadying presence in the locker room, and his contract will expire at season's end. As Danny Ainge now seems to demonstrate on an annual basis, second-round picks can be invaluable if a front office is willing to do its homework. Despite the departed forward's potential, for Bird to be able to achieve his desired addition by subtraction while attaining some cash and multiple second-rounders without taking on a problematic contract, it's hard to imagine the Pacers aren't happy to be rid of Shawne Williams once and for all.

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I wonder how much of this past off season and this tade have to do with Larry seeing Danny’s “plan” working out. I mean, something about trading Tinsley for Jonnes and 2 future 2nd rounders sounds very Aingeish to to. especially when you consider the dismantling of a old(er) team that had peaked and was obviously not going to the NBA finals and the acquiring of young talent, expiring deals (murphy, dunleavy, and ford expire in 2 years bringing a bunch of contracts as trade value at the same time, and rasho’s deal is done after this year I believe), and draft picks. Clean house, Larry! You won’t be disappointed!

by miraclejohan on Oct 11, 2008 11:31 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs

miraclejohan,

Thanks for the comment, and that’s an interesting point about the housecleaning. A quick note though – this wasn’t Tinsley that was traded but forward Shawne Williams. I’d presume you were thinking one thing and typed the other accidentally, but I just wanted to clarify to make sure we were on the same page.

-sw

by Steve Weinman on Oct 11, 2008 11:39 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Williams should fit right in with the pothead and the tanking domestic abuser.

Cuban is brilliantly building Jail Blazers South.

Larry is looking more and more like Danny every day. First he gets rid of O’Neal, an idiot who plays only when he’s in the mood and brings in a solid PG and a solid C to-be in return. If he can find a home for Tinsley without bringing in another malcontent in return, Larry will look just like Danny.

by Finkelskyhook on Oct 11, 2008 11:59 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs

hopefully a big move will help him sever his negative ties, because i like his talent.

by Fan from VT on Oct 11, 2008 12:07 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Did you see the Pacers signed Calvin Hill as a image consultant?

This was a character dump, not for the locker room but for the fans’ perceptions. It wouldn’t have happened if the Pacers fans hadn’t abandoned them.

Good trade for Dallas.

by Who on Oct 11, 2008 12:12 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

In a couple of years we might be talking about this deal as one of the most lopsided in the history of the league. Although I was always extremely unimpressed by Williams performances in the NBA, he displayed some intriguing talent and may thrive in the right situation. I’d rather bet on him succeeding than, for instance, Gerald Green.

However, I agree the Pacers did the right thing. As pointed, it was mostly dictated by PR questions. Basically the same reason why one of Croshere and McRoberts will be their 15th man – high character guys with local ties who work hard on the court and like to give back to the community. In the end, no franchise can survive without the support of fans and sponsors. Cleaning their image became a matter of life or death to the Pacers.

From a basketball point of view, it would be hard to provide Williams some very needed minutes. Granger, Dunleavy and Quis will eat most of them and then they have Rush for the remaining. What would be the point of keeping him? He did nothing to merit an extension and it was hard to see this season as his breakthrough one – so, he’d probably walk for nothing next Summer, a la Harrinson. Better to deal him now while he still has some value.

Larry Bird is cutting the loses and trying to conquer back the fan base in the process. Some though decisions, but the only downside I see is that they come too late. Walsh’ s decision making during the last years of his tenure in Indianapolis was a complete disgrace.

As a side note, I think the Pacers will waive Eddie Jones (one of my favourite ball players for a long time, but he’s finished), using that money they got from Cuban (and saving Williams salary) and use the picks as a sweeten in the Tinsley trade. Maybe I’m wrong, but those are my predictions.

by cordobes on Oct 11, 2008 4:02 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

I think Larry is finally in total charge of basketball operations. He’s basically bringing the “Teaching of Red” to the Pacers as Danny has done to the Celtics. Fortunately for Danny he didn’t have to deal with bad actors. I think Larry is doing the right thing by bringing Class players to the Pacers, even if they aren’t the best. It then goes from there. I don’t wish the Pacer’s luck, but I do hope Larry is successful.

by TrueGreen on Oct 12, 2008 7:15 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs