Chris Plack is the host of Riding The Pine on ESPN 102.7 FM. His columns appear on Fridays.
I knew it was coming. When the Indiana Pacers offered Lance Stephenson a five-year, $44 million contract, there was little doubt in my mind that he would see this as a slight and turn to other suitors out there. It’s all well and good to put a little iMovie together in the hopes that it will tug at the heartstrings. But if the Pacers really wanted to show Stephenson the love, they would have shown him the money. To further add insult to the slight, the Pacers started adding other pieces, tying up their already strapped budget. They signed C.J. Miles at point, the position Stephenson so often had to play due to George Hill’s inability to control the offense. Then they brought the big Croatian Damjan Rudez, re-signed Lavoy Allen, and the money was eventually blowing away in the wind like Stephenson in LeBron’s ear. All of that, along with the Simons’ refusal to spend that mall money sent Stephenson a pretty clear message: take it or leave it. So he left. He’s gone. Taking similar money from Charlotte, but enjoying greater flexibility in terms of contract. Stephenson believes in himself even if the Pacers don’t. Thanks to LeBron and his two-year deal, we’ve all learned by now that the upcoming television deal promises to increase the value of the league overall, which in turn increases the salary cap. Now if you don’t know, the value of a max contract is based on a percentage of the salary cap. In short, when a team’s budget is more, a max contract is more. This is why LeBron signed for only two years. He knows he’s a max contract guy and he’s done taking pay cuts. On that same level, arguably the only player to ever get into LeBron’s head in a playoff game believes he too is a max contract guy, and so the flexibility of three years was more attractive to him. By signing a short deal, Stephenson will be a free agent at 26, and if he is the max player he thinks he is, he can re-sign with Charlotte for upwards of $90 million (could be more depending on the TV deal). To do that, he’ll have to make a few All-Star games and up his average to around 20 points per game. You might think that’s impossible, but Stephenson believes in himself and I admire that greatly. Lance has always played fearlessly and he’s approaching his future in that same manner. The second reason Charlotte may have landed Stephenson is that he felt unwanted in Indiana. For a kid from Brooklyn to want to spend his 20s as a millionaire in Indianapolis while possibly missing All-Star games and sacrificing individual glory for the good of a team, he probably needs to feel like the franchise is committed. But I don’t think money was the he left. I truly think this was about not feeling wanted in Indiana. Roy Hibbert famously called Stephenson a selfish dude. Right, that makes perfect sense: calling the guy selfish that leads the team in assists and outrebounds the 7-foot-2 Hibbert on a nightly basis makes all the sense in the world. Maybe Hibbert should be a little more “selfish” and actually try to be a part of solution to the Pacers problems. Stephenson was a guy that gave it his all on the court, but for some reason his teammates and others in the organization didn’t let him play in their reindeer games. There were reports that during the second half of the season a lot of “closed door,” “players only” meetings happened that didn’t include Stephenson. He wasn’t one of “the guys.” This is probably why you saw him standing next to team executives during time outs and bench time instead of sitting with his teammates. Ask yourself this: would you want to fit in with the team you saw get beat down by Atlanta, Washington and Miami? Would you want to fit in with a bunch of dudes that showed about as much heart as the Tin Man? I sure wouldn’t. I’ve said before that there was a time during the playoffs I had to quit cheering for the names on the backs of the jerseys because I just felt like I wanted it more than they did. Well, except for two guys – David West and Stephenson. Stephenson is now gone, and so is all the heart and fearlessness he brought with him. A team that was toward the bottom of the league in scoring just lost the guy that led the league in triple doubles. Let’s hope management has a good Plan B, because Plan A is leaving a lot to be desired.
