A year ago, giving Lance Stephenson a big contract extension seemed like a no brainer. However, now that he is officially a free agent, the Indiana Pacers are thinking otherwise. Stephenson struggled heavily throughout the season both on the court and in the locker room. The Pacers have started negotiations with the shooting guard, but things have halted and now all signs point to Stephenson heading elsewhere.
According to ESPN.com's Chris Broussard, the Pacers have offered Stephenson a five-year, $44 million contract. Stephenson believes he is worth more. Determining the guard's worth is hard. Yes, the guard did average career-highs with 13.8 points and 7.2 rebounds per game, but issues with teammates and a little incident blowing into LeBron James' ear during the 2014 playoffs overshadowed that.
"When I think about where he is situated right now, where he's standing, there are no apologies. Lance Stephenson has worked hard to make himself a valuable asset that would benefit any club," Alberto Ebanks, Stephenson's agent, said via The Star. "I think at the end of the day, if I'm a GM, if I'm a coach, if I'm a team president, a decision maker, a policy maker, it's OK for me to have to rein in a guy. I don't want a guy who I have to beg to get after (it),"
Ebanks stressed that Stephenson expects to re-sign with the Indiana Pacers despite the halt in contract negotiations. Head coach Frank Vogel echoed those statements saying that he would prefer for the guard to return, but at the same time team president Larry Bird is only going to offer so much. Bird said prior to free agency that he knew a number for Stephenson and did not plan on going any higher. So what happens if Stephenson does not re-sign with the Pacers?
Despite the questionable maturity of the guard, Stephenson will get some attention on the open market. Any team missing out on Carmelo Anthony will love to get a meeting with the Pacers guard. Ebanks notes that the Los Angeles Lakers and Chicago Bulls have already reached out about interest in Stephenson, but he does not expect anything to happen until Anthony signs with a team.
"It would be nice (if) there's no change and he stays right where he is," Ebanks said. "We're going into this being hopefully optimistic that we can come to terms with Larry Bird and the Pacers because we don't really need variety right now. He's working well within that system. They've drafted him, they've developed him and it would be nice to see them deploy him, which I think would happen if he stays there."
