NBA Free Agents 2012: Why Indiana Pacers Must Hold On to Roy Hibbert

The Indiana Pacers must pay a premium to hold on to Roy Hibbert, but the young center is worth the price. 

The Portland Trail Blazers offered the restricted free agent a maximum deal worth $58 million over four years, as noted by Sam Amick of SI.com. He would receive an average of $14.5 million per season.

This is a hefty salary to pay Hibbert, but he is just 25-years-old and coming off an All-Star season.

He has worked to improve his game and conditioning every season. He has transformed himself into a leaner, more athletic player than he was when he came into the league.

He put up 12.8 points and 8.8 rebounds per game last season and showed that he can run the floor and keep up with the speed and athleticism that characterizes today’s NBA game.

Hibbert will never be a dominant low-post player in the mold of Dwight Howard or Shaquille O’Neal, but he can be a championship-caliber big man in the right situation.

Indiana is coming off its best season in years and Hibbert was a big part of their success. The team finished third in the Eastern Conference with a 42-24 record and letting Hibbert go would be a major setback. 

The Pacers will not be nearly as competitive this season if he walks and the team replaces him with a less talented player like Chris Kaman or JaVale McGee—both of whom are rumored to be Pacers’ targets, according to ESPN. 

A simple truth in the NBA is that a team will not win a championship without a top-10 player. Hibbert is not one of these guys, but neither is anyone else on the Pacers. 

The best thing Indiana can do for itself is stay competitive and hold on to its young, talented players, while waiting for the opportunity to grab a star through a trade or free agency.

Giving Hibbert so much money does limit the team’s financial flexibility, but so does Danny Granger’s $13.1 million deal. Granger will also become a valuable trade asset next season because he will be on the last year of his deal.

Signing Hibbert would not mortgage the team’s future and the Pacers would still have options to make moves and get better.

He is one of the core players on their team and can be a key player for Indiana for many years to come. The team needs to match Portland’s offer and hold on to him for the next few seasons.