2011 NBA Free Agents: Paul Millsap and Free Agents on Indiana Pacers' Radar

WIth the NBA’s 2011 free-agency period about to begin, the Indiana Pacers will surprise everyone as one of the top spenders.  

This Pacers team already has a good core built heading into the 2011-12 season. They return a solid starting lineup of PG Daren Collison, SG Brandon Rush, SF Paul George, PF Danny Granger and C Roy Hibbert.  

On draft day the Pacers added to their roster, picking up from the San Antonio Spurs George Hill. Now it looks like the Pacers, with a lot of cap room to spend on free agents, will be very active. 

According to Pacers President Larry Bird: 

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Over the course of the next two or three weeks, you're going to hear a lot of rumors, and there's going to be a lot of things out there that's going to have us right in the middle of a lot of it. I wouldn't believe any of it. We've talked to teams about players. We don't like to talk about any other team's players.

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Bird has said that he wants to add a top scoring option, to go with Granger. When the Pacers went down to the Chicago Bulls in the first round of the playoffs last year, Granger was the only option for the Pacers. If they would be able to add someone like Paul Millsap through free agency or Rajon Rondo through a trade, it would take the pressure off of Granger as the only option. 

However, if they do not make a move for a big name it does not mean that they lost during the free-agency period. According Pacers general manager David Morway: 

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We don't feel like we are in a position where we have to add a player. We've got very good players right now at every position on this basketball team. We want to continue to add to this team, but we want to do it with diligence and with prudence.

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Adding someone like Millsap would make the most sense for this Pacers team. They need someone that the team can go to if Granger is off. Adding Rondo would be great; however, with Collison and Hill they Pacers do not have an immediate need for the Celtics point guard. 

This Pacers team is a young group that has a lot of promise. With the cap room available to them, they have a shot at making a big splash during this offseason.

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