The Indiana Pacers were officially eliminated from the playoffs last night when they lost game six to the Miami Heat 117-92. Now they have a few questions going forward as to what they’ll do with the team roster. One of the biggest questions is if they’ll re-sign Lance Stephenson who will become an unrestricted free agent. Stephenson has proven himself to be a vital part of the team but his antics have put a question mark on whether he will remain.
Paul George was asked if he want’s the Pacers to re-sign the turbulent guard. George appeared pensive and initially didn’t show much confidence in his teammate but then he began to vouch for his fellow 2010 draft pick.
“I mean, I don’t know,” George said. “That’s for [Pacers president] Larry [Bird], [GM] Kevin [Pritchard], for them to decide.”
“It would be great, we came into this league together,” Indiana’s two-time All-Star small forward said. “It would be great for us to continue our journey together. He’s played a huge year this whole season and in this postseason. He’s definitely put pressure on us to make decisions going forward with Lance.”
George’s three words of “I don’t know” is what caught everyone’s attention despite his follow up comments. They also come after George threw Stephenson under the bus after game four stating that Stephenson has to watch what he says pertaining to his comments towards Lebron James.
It’s clear that something is going on with the Pacers considering their drop in productivity, the reported fight between Stephenson and Evan Turner, and their overall body language. We’ll see if they stick together, if not, the full story might eventually come out.
