Staying In Indiana
PG13 might just decide to stay put. He’s the franchise player and the Pacers would pretty much become one of the worst teams in the NBA overnight should he go elsewhere as a free agent.
If all he cares about is money, George has no reason to leave, as the Pacers can offer him a mega-deal no other team can under league rules. However, he has yet to reach the NBA Finals and, at age 26, is in his prime. Winning is likely his top priority and Indiana is not in contention right now.
It’s not like the Pacers are terrible. Indiana has been in the playoffs for five out of the last six seasons. They also currently possess the 7th seed in the Eastern Conference and with only a few games to go, they’ll likely be heading back to the postseason.
However, this current team is nothing like the one that made it to consecutive Conference Finals in 2012-13 and 2013-14. This team was dismissed as the seventh seed last season and missed the playoffs entirely the year before.
With the Celtics, Cavaliers, Wizards and Raptors perched atop an otherwise weak conference, the Pacers have virtually no way to compete in the East. George will be hard pressed to guide his team past any of those four powerhouses in the first round. This team likely won’t make it past the first round once again.
Since they won’t have a shot at an elite prospect with a pick and don’t have the surroundings to attract talent through free agency, there is no light at the end of the tunnel for Indiana. George would be foolish to hang around and wait for Larry Bird and company to somehow build a contender out of the currently middling Pacers.