Why Lance Stephenson and the Indiana Pacers Belong Together Again
Lance Stephenson and the Indiana Pacers might have believed the grass would be greener after parting ways this past summer. But the gasoline lawn fires they found on the other side could have them sharing their old fence sooner than later.
With his Charlotte Hornets off to a dismal start, Stephenson is officially on the trading block, with the Pacers being one of the teams in the mix, according to Yahoo Sports' Adrian Wojnarowski. This just mere months after the mercurial guard signed a three-year, $27 million contract with Michael Jordan’s moribund club.
Indiana, meanwhile, has struggled to forge an identity following a summer of upheaval that began with Stephenson’s departure and ended in the devastating, potentially career-threatening injury to All-Star forward Paul George.
In this wacky-weird soap opera, the final scene is screaming to be written: For both the sake of themselves and their shared basketball ambitions, Stephenson and the Pacers belong together again.
Forget that Indiana initially offered the versatile playmaker a five-year, $44 million tender—which Stephenson rejected. Forget that his final year with the Pacers was marred by rumors of infighting, or that it was Stephenson who purportedly exacerbated Roy Hibbert’s nightmare season.
Strange bedfellows in crisis and politics are made. And between George’s out-of-nowhere injury and Stephenson’s acidic start in Charlotte, there have been plenty of each to go around.
Financially, the deal’s relatively short shelf life is mutually beneficial: Stephenson will be 26—squarely in his prime—when the deal expires, with Indiana enjoying measures more long-term flexibility.
With the Hornets reeling and seemingly desperate to make a move, the Pacers command the strategic high ground. In fact, they may even be able to exact a low-level pick as payment for their troubles.
Depending on the pieces included, Indiana stands to make out far better—on the whole—than it would have inking Stephenson to a full five-year deal, particularly when considering the third-year team option.
For his part, Pacers owner Herb Simon understands clearly the calculus at hand and has reportedly given team president Larry Bird the go-ahead should the deal seem too sweet to pass up, per the Indianapolis Star’s Candace Buckner.
That’s where things get a bit more complicated.
Indeed, while Bird outwardly expressed regret over losing one of his administration’s crown jewels, telling the Star’s Bob Kravitz, “I hope [Stephenson leaving] doesn't interfere with our relationship. But I did what I could possibly do to keep him here…I believe in the kid.”
Pleasant platitudes aside, it’s worth wondering whether a personality of Larry Legend’s caliber—competitive, proud, stubborn as a stump—can easily let bygones be bygones.
Business is business, of course, and if anyone understands the slam-dunk logic of extracting an old cornerstone for nearly half the price and years, it’s Bird.
More immediately, if anyone understands the enigma that is Lance “Born Ready” Stephenson, it’s the guy who snagged him with a 40th-pick flier back in 2010.
It’s easy to see Stephenson’s struggles in Charlotte as Exhibit B in a two-exhibit case of wearing out one’s welcome. But as Grantland’s Zach Lowe recently wrote, the Hornets’ horrendous start is about much more than the failings of their fiery find:
"Stephenson is an easy scapegoat, and that’s partly his own doing. His body language has been horrible, and that degrades morale. He pouts when he doesn’t get the ball on the weak side, flapping his wings and looking skyward as if his teammates have wronged him. He steals rebounds, and he hot dogs with the ball at times.
But this is not all about Stephenson — not by a long shot. He hasn’t made a dent in Charlotte’s shooting issues, but he’s an upgrade over basically any alternative available to Steve Clifford.
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Not that there isn’t at least some cause for concern. Charlotte’s wayward offense aside, Stephenson’s splits have been downright dismal:
| Season | Points | Rebounds | PER | TS% |
| 2012-13 | 8.8 | 3.9 | 11.8 | .530 |
| 2013-14 | 13.8 | 7.2 | 14.7 | .564 |
| 2014-15 | 10.3 | 7.0 | 10.5 | .425 |
It’s not as if Stephenson would be joining a basketball behemoth, either. After finishing 22nd in the league in overall offensive efficiency a season ago (101.5), the Pacers entered Tuesday with a third-worst 97.5 rating, a full four points off last season’s already anemic pace.
Stephenson’s prodigal return wouldn’t guarantee Indy’s return to conference relevance. That kind of leap can only happen upon George’s return—next season at the earliest, by most accounts. Even then, there are sure to be X-factors aplenty, with player options for Hibbert and veteran forward/enforcer David West being foremost among them.
Assuming George returns to full or near-full force, the Pacers still face a very real strategic problem: being a small-market team that seldom registers a free-agent splash.
What Indiana must hope for then is nothing short of a modern-day NBA miracle: That the team that bullied its way to two consecutive conference finals can somehow be rehashed, core four intact and with better reinforcements on the fringes.
At that point, Stephenson’s storyline will have come somewhat full circle, from problem child to potential five-tool terror and back again and forth once more.
Make good on his better nature, and Stephenson could easily be a long-term piece for the Pacers to build around, occasional antics notwithstanding.
Flame out in a self-destructive hellfire, and he once again becomes someone else’s problem—a hardwood wild card of the first, most frustrating order.
From the hearsay that preceded it to the fallout that followed, Stephenson’s escape from Indiana never felt quite right.
Now, with both sides in need of a bit of greener grass, Born Ready may yet again live to fulfill his ultimate NBA destiny: a superstar straw more than capable of stirring the drink, if he doesn’t inhale it first.
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