Are the Indiana Pacers Still Hearing Voices?

A slight moment of awkward silence followed, the kind you’d find numerous times in an episode of The Office.

One voice? Really?   

Did he really just start by saying, "since I'm not the basketball man,” followed by making a statement that appeared as though he had made one of the two major basketball decisions the team faces this offseason?

If O’Neal returns in good health, you’d think the Pacers would attempt to get rid of him immediately. The window of Jermaine O’Neal's good health doesn’t stay open long, so why wouldn’t the Pacers capitalize on it, and be free of a player who doesn’t fit their new system and has a contract that’s crippling the franchise?

What’s ironic is that at the press conference, when asked about how important it was to have one voice after so many years of having two voices, Simon replied, "I think that's maybe one of the side benefits of clarifying the situation (Walsh leaving), having Larry's voice being the only voice.

“Some people got confused. I liked having both of them, but I think we're going to do very well with Larry.”

When Walsh left for New York, it seemed as though Bird would finally get the chance to sink or swim on his own. At this point it is unclear who is responsible for all the poor management decisions made by the Pacers’ front office.

How much say Bird had versus Walsh may never be known to the public. But with Bird now solely at the helm, it looks as though we might get an idea based on what he accomplished after Walsh left.   

With one little remark, all of that comes into question. Does Bird have complete control of what happens on the court? Has Herb Simon just placed himself into the “basketball man” role behind the scenes? What exactly is the difference between a hands-on, hands-off owner and a hands-on, hands-on owner?
 

That might be too many questions for only one voice to answer.

Fortunately, it seems in their attempt to reorganize and become more focused, the Pacers are back to having more voices than Frank Caliendo.

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