Lance Stephenson Free Agency Rumors: NY Knicks, Chicago Bulls, Miami Heat, Brooklyn Nets Option For Pacers Star After Playoffs Loss?

Lance Stephenson is one of the most dynamic players in the NBA for the Indiana Pacers, but he often can be frustrating with how talented he is and as free agency approaches, teams like the NY Knicks, Chicago Bulls, Miami Heat, Brooklyn Nets and Los Angeles Lakers could be options for him, as he is likely gone from Indy after the selfish comments from Roy Hibbert earlier in the season.

Stephenson has supreme talent and the Pacers know that he can take over games, but at times he can make some major mistakes, including when he called out LeBron James before Game 4 and that turned out terribly for the Pacers. Stephenson is heading into free agency this offseason and it's very likely that the Pacers will not re-sign him and that mostly has to do with money over their actual desire, as they have deals in place already with David West, Roy Hibbert and Paul George and there simply may not be room for Stephenson anymore.

The team traded for Evan Turner at the trading deadline to help the team for the playoffs, but they also wanted to give themselves a backup plan for when/if Stephenson leaves as a free agent after the season. This year Stephenson had his best season as a pro in his career, averaging 13 points and seven rebounds with four assists per game and he did that while playing in 78 games, matching a career high from last season. Stephenson has been developing into a potential All-Star player since Danny Granger went down with a serious knee injury two years ago and that opened the door for him to get into the starting lineup.

Stephenson played in nearly 80 games in each of the last two seasons since playing in 42 in 2011-12 and from that season to the next he jumped from 10 minutes per game to 29 minutes and he averaged two points, to eight points and now he is in the double digits. Stephenson can create his own shot and is a dynamic player, but his mental issues and immaturity may keep him from becoming as great as he can be and that is one frustrating aspect of his time with the Pacers. The Pacers had a very rough stretch at the end of the season and part of that apparently was on Stephenson and now he likely will be on his way out of town after the season.

Earlier in the season Roy Hibbert made some comments about selfish players on the team and this was during a particular rough stretch for the team and while many thought those comments were about Stephenson, now that has been sort of confirmed. According to ESPN.com and Pro Basketball Talk, Hibbert was directing those comments at Stephenson, as he had taken a different approach to things after getting snubbed, in his mind, for the All-Star game and after that he reportedly was thinking more about stats and his impending free agency rather than the team. The report said that Stephenson started playing less team ball and paid less attention to his teammates overall and that sparked the comments from Hibbert.