Indiana Pacers Face Huge Decisions in the Offseason

Danny Granger has been the life of the Indiana Pacers for this past season, putting up superstar numbers. There is no doubt in my mind he is and should be the franchise player the Pacers should build around.

I recently have been thinking to myself they have some pretty good players, but they just can't get over the hump and become one of the elite teams as they were in the 1990s and early 2000s.

Now, I am a real Pacers fan. I grew up being a Pacers fan and no matter what I will stay a Pacers fan. Before I get started with my suggestions for helping the franchise push through the seal of mediocrity, I'm asking you to bear with me as a die-hard fan.

First and most importantly, get Jamaal Tinsley out of town. Trade him for anybody, it doesn't matter. If no one wants him, then just pay him his money and get rid of him. He is a total distraction and a waste of a roster position.

If they don't trade him, they will still have $20 million to work with this offseason.

From an illogical and unreasonable standpoint, I would love for them to try and snag Carlos Boozer or Mehmet Okur, if either player decides to leave Utah. Logically speaking, that's probably not going to happen, so their best bet is to resign Rasho Nesterovic, because there are no quality or even average centers in the draft or free agency.

Here is where things get tricky. They could resign Jarrett Jack and in the draft pick up Gerald Henderson, who I think would be a good complement to Granger on the floor.

The other scenario they could do would be to resign Marquise Daniels and take the hometown kid Jeff Teague in the draft. I'm not too hot on this decision, but I went to Pike High School with him, and I know that would be perfect for him to be back home playing in the NBA.

The third scenario that could happen is the Pacers resign Jarrett Jack and Marquise Daniels and draft a power forward in the draft like James Johnson or DeJuan Blair. I really don't think they should go in that direction though.

No matter what they do, they need to improve their team defense and get some better play out of Roy Hibbert. He needs to be a presence down low, which will improve Indiana's overall defense. He doesn't need to score 15 points a game, he just needs to pull down at least 10 rebounds and give them a block or two.

If they develop their young talent and hopefully get some type of down-low presence, the Pacers  should be a quality team in the Eastern Conference next season.