The NBA is a tough business and this old scribe knows it will be pretty tough to solicit any sympathy or support for a player who is traded as he takes his multi -million dollar, guaranteed contract with him. Heck, players are shipped C.O.D. all the time, as they are nothing more than interchangeable assets that teams can acquire or relinquish, as they see fit, anytime they want. I get it, and I accept it. But how you handle the process can speak volumes for your franchise and recently the Indiana Pacers, and specifically Larry Bird, once again showed they could use yet another lesson in public relations, and more importantly, common courtesy.
Yeah I know, its old news by now that George Hill was part of a three team deal that jettisoned him to the Utah Jazz, bringing former Pike High School standout Jeff Teague from Atlanta in to the fold here in exchange. You can slice it anyway you want, but the Pacers felt the need to upgrade at the point guard position, and relinquished Hill, who’s more of a shooting guard than a floor general, in the process. While this column isn’t about who got the better end of the trade, it’s worth mentioning that Teague was available due to losing his job with the Hawks who are going with a younger, quicker point guard in Dennis Schroder, who the Pacers tried to obtain last year as well.
All that aside, Hill recently shared with the media that Bird notified him of the trade in the form of a voicemail. While I’m not sure if the Pacers contacted his agent before Bird decided to just leave a message, it seems unconscionable that the organization would limit their communication to a voicemail after everything Hill did both on and off the floor.
For the record, I get the fact that sometimes trades can be time sensitive and you can’t allow yourself to miss out on an opportunity to acquire the player you want before someone else does. However, there’s no question this wasn’t one of those blockbusters that had to be consummated quickly to beat the rush of other interested parties, and the Pacers could have somehow managed to personally notify Hill in a manner commensurate with the respect he had earned while playing here. The guy left it all on the floor every night and was superb in the community, especially when it came to helping those less fortunate. His work with military service personnel is also well documented, and while I’m not calling for a farewell parade, the Pacers could of done a “helluva” lot better in terms of giving this man the proper send off.
Forget the fact he was a pivotal part of the team that pushed Miami to the limit in the Eastern Conference, as he more importantly established a conduct standard for his teammates with his quiet, dignified demeanor, despite the locker room circus that prevailed with likes of Roy Hibbert, Lance Stephenson, and the mercurial Andrew Bynum. Hill was relegated mostly to standing in the corner on offense this past season, but still posted respectable numbers as he watched Paul George and Monta Ellis continually hoist ill advised shots. He never complained about his role and never pointed fingers at his teammates through the media. Yeah, he jawed back and forth with a certain sports talk radio wannabe here locally through his Twitter account, but that was both harmless and amusing to most individuals who even knew about it. In the end, the Pacers traded him along with guaranteed financial security. His contract calls for him to be paid 8 million this season, and he’ll be an unrestricted free agent in 2017. There is no doubt he will sign another good contract then, and maybe again, change his zip code in the process. That’s the business side of the NBA and George Hill has no doubt heard it all before.
After all, it was all on his voicemail. Right?
Danny Bridges who can only shake his head at Larry Bird and wonder why, can be reached at (317) 370-8447 or at Bridgeshd@aol.com.
Danny Bridges is an award-winning journalist and a longtime sports columnist for the Indianapolis Recorder. He covers college, professional sports and especially all things IndyCar racing. He can be reached at 317-370-8447 or at bridgeshd@aol.com.
