I like Roy Hibbert, and not just as a basketball player.
He is congenial, candid and accessible to everyone around him, especially the fans. If I had a dollar for every time I saw him stop to acknowledge a fan, I would be a rich guy, but not as rich as he will soon be when he re-signs with the Indiana Pacers.
Before you lower the boom on Hibbert and say that he is not worth the $75 million, that his agent David Falk is preparing to extract from the Pacers over the next five years, lets take a look at what brings both parties to this rather expensive fork in the road.
Sure, seven footers do not grow on trees so the whole supply and demand thing is the proverbial elephant in the room. That aside, Hibbert has also given his agent more ammunition (as if Falk really needed any) by virtue of his steady improvement over the life of his initial contract that expired while paying him less than $3 million annually.
It is also no secret that other teams have an interest in Hibbert (Dallas and Portland for starters) and if you follow the NBA even casually, you know that it only takes one crazy offer to put the price tag in a stratosphere that can only be described as outrageous and dangerous as it pertains to the salary cap.
As a restricted free agent, the Pacers will maintain the option of matching any offer that comes to the table, and in all likelihood they will end up paying him more than they budgeted and certainly more than they feel he is worth.
Ideally they would get their young center for less and look to re-sign George Hill and possibly another free agent that can provide them with some much needed offensive punch off the bench. In a perfect world all of that would happen and everyone would be happy.
In reality, the Pacers will probably only get two of the three and will invest a ton of cash and their collective future in Hibbert, providing what they feel will be the cornerstone for an overall young team, one that should improve as the maturation process continues to unfold. Clearly, all that is left here is determining how much the Pacers will eventually spend and how they divvy up the remaining cap space for the other pieces they need.
NOTES: All signs point to Larry Bird returning to the Pacer organization for the upcoming season, with numerous reports surfacing regarding Bird’s plans to replace Pacers general manager David Morway with current director of player personnel Kevin Pritchard.
Bird is slated to meet soon with Pacers owner Herb Simon to officially confirm his return as president and continue the process of preparing for the upcoming NBA draft on June 28. The Pacers currently hold the 26th pick and will no doubt look to trade up in the draft to grab the best possible post player available.
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While Eric Gordon remains firmly on the Pacers radar as a potential free agent signing, there is concern regarding his health. Regardless, Gordon will draw serious interest from numerous teams.
Danny Bridges can be reached at (317) 578-1780 or at Bridgeshd@aol.com.
