Larry Bird is either a mad scientist/genius or a lunatic when it comes to running a basketball team. For Larry Legend, there’s
really no middle ground.
He seems to relish the-man-behind-the-curtain image, doing things back there that fans neither know about nor understand.
So when it comes to tonight’s draft, forget about predictions and projections. Nobody knows what Bird will do.
Past performance is the best predictor of future action. And Bird’s actions have been, well, unpredictable. Some of
his moves look pretty bad. But to be fair, it’s too early to tell about other crucial decisions he has made in an effort
to re-build this franchise into a championship contender.
Even Bird's seemingly smart moves, such as drafting Paul George last year, were predicted by precious few NBA prognosticators.
Many Pacers fans would revel in Bird’s success. But it’s hard to ignore some of his misses.
Some of his more mysterious moves include posing with Ron Artest on the cover of Sports Illustrated, raving about
Jonathan Bender long after it was apparent he couldn’t seriously contribute in this league, and recent draft selections
Tyler Hansbrough and Lance Stephenson.
Sure, Hansbrough plays like a hard-nosed Hoosier gym rat, but there isn’t another NBA GM who would have selected him
with the 13th pick.
Not only did Bird select Stephenson, who almost everybody agrees has tremendous upside but is a serious head case, but he
continues to rave about him despite a spotty on- and off-the-court record. On Wednesday, Bird told reporters Stephenson was
the best player on the Pacers roster. It’s one thing to pump a guy up, but really?
I know Bird has more experience evaluating players and sees a lot more practices than I do, but to call Stephenson the best
player in Blue and Gold, well that’s a stretch. I’m not even going to go into his off-court antics, but there
was nothing in his game-day play during his rookie season that indicated Stephenson can be a serious contributor.
Stephenson played in 12 games last year, averaging 3.1 points and 1.5 rebounds. Folks, this isn’t a two-month-long
rec league. This is an 82-game NBA schedule. What is the team’s best player doing sitting on the bench for 70 regular
season games and all five playoff games?
Well, Bird did say Wednesday that last year’s second-round selection has “a lot of growing up to do.” Bird
seems to relish a project. Let's hope this one works out since Stephenson has a guaranteed contract that will pay him
about $800,000 for next season.
Speaking of projects, it’s anybody’s guess what is taking Bird so long to hire a new head coach. The Pacers season
has been over for nearly two months. Even if Bird was waiting to talk to one of the assistant coaches for one of the two teams
playing in the NBA Finals, their season has been over for nearly two weeks.
Maybe Bird is waiting for Kurt Rambis to become available. Seeking the soon-to-be-fired Minnesota coach and fomer Laker wild
man would be the height of unpredictability. But with Bird, never say never.
The word now is, Bird has brought in at least one guy to talk about being an assistant coach. Huh? Wouldn’t it be nice
to hire a head coach first? It seems logical Bird would want his new head coach in place to give input on draft selections.
But the ship has sailed on that one.
But the Bird’s eye view seems to run counter to conventional wisdom.
I can’t wait until its free agent hunting season later this year.
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I have been reading and enjoying your posts for several years. You have a very good feel for what goes on in a wide array of sporting venues.
However, in this case, you're beginning to sound like, heaven forbid, Kravitz! I never suspected I would even have thought let alone actually said that.
While you make some good points about Larry Legend, I'm not sure anyone has actual insight into what Larry's thinking. I'm convinced that he throws out comments to get reactions and seldom means what he says to the media. I find it hard to believe that Herb would tolerate that much actual foolish thinking.
There is way too much arm chair coaching going on here from the public. We need to wait and see what actually transpires from coaching and achievement next year before we rush to conclusions.
My thought continues to be that the league needs to trim salary costs by 20 - 25% across the board. And if the players don't go along with that, the league may be toast.