The Indiana Pacers can take the 2014 season in multiple directions. With Paul George likely out for the season after suffering a terrible leg injury in a scrimmage with Team USA basketball, the Pacers can try and get by on depth or sell the farm to rebuild when George is healthy. Already missing Lance Stephenson, there is a big hole in productive scoring for the Pacers that the team can fill with big trades or small free agents.
The long-term outlook for George appears positive. According to the Indianapolis Star, it appears the swing man avoided catastrophic damage and should return to 100 percent when the breaks heal. While that is good news, the 2014 season has little hope to it. Indiana is coming off a rather disappointing season. They needed seven games to beat the Atlanta Hawks and lost a third consecutive playoff series to the Miami Heat. Losing their two top scorers in Stephenson and George does not provide much hope for improvement.
Larry Bird must decide the best way to handle this loss. For now, Rodney Stuckey, CJ Miles and Solomon Hill, along with George Hill will have to fill the needs, but that is not enough to remain competitive. On paper, the Pacers are a team that just misses the playoff bubble. That does nothing for them in terms of getting better in the coming years. This could be an all or nothing scenario as Bleacher Report suggests drastic trades might be the best way to handle this situation and teams would be willing to help out.
The Miami Heat are hoping Indiana starts to simply sell it all in wake of George's injury. According to Nate Duncan of BasketballInsiders.com, the Heat are very interested in David West who would be the veteran forward they have been looking for. His two-year contract is ideal to take on, but does Miami have the right assets to make a deal worthwhile for the Pacers? If Indiana is trading a player like West, that means they want to re-tool quickly. The most Miami could offer is rookie Shabazz Napier and possibly a draft pick. That might not be worth Indiana's time.
Of course trade rumors surrounding Hibbert have picked up yet again. There was some thought that he could be out in Indiana after his playoff disappearing act. However, the loss of George puts extreme pressure on the center to step up. After Duncan reported that the Pacers were quietly shopping Hibbert, it appears the team is more inclined to hang on to him for the long-term.
The last deal could come with George Hill. The point guard now becomes the x-factor for the offense. Hill has never reached that elite status and many people assumed the Pacers were aiming for a Rajon Rondo trade to replace him. Again, with Geoge out, Hill becomes a necessity. There is likely not a team in the league that would make a trade for him at this point unless someone like the Houston Rockets were interested so the Pacers might be wise to hold on to him.
Chances are the Pacers rely on depth to replace George and just try and remain competitive this season. An injury this late in the offseason is hard to overcome as most teams have their rosters set. Trades for Hibbert, West and Hill will likely go unnoticed at least until the mid-season trading period.
