Normally I’d root for the hometown team, but towards the end of this season I had root against the Indiana Pacers winning enough games to make the playoffs.  They clearly didn’t deserve to go for oh so many reasons, and is it just me, or does anyone else out there think that you should have to go at least .500 on the season to be eligible for the playoffs?  Stick to a 16 team format, but if there aren’t 16 teams at .500 or better, start handing out first round byes.  (Oh, but that would lose money for the league, right?)

Anyway, I am hoping that the Pacers clean house from management through the entire roster*.  Draft wise they’re hosed at the moment with a single second round pick, but trading Jermaine could probably land a few picks.  And trading the rest of the team ought to be able to gain a few more picks as well.  But looking at their draft pick history, that’s probably a bad idea since the poor choices far outweigh the few good ones.  Maybe they should pick up a handful of young guys (drafted or not) and land a few stable veterans to mentor the youth.  Maybe, just maybe, that would help things out, and get them back to really winning in about three or four seasons down the road.

Bottom line, they need to make some drastic changes and get some people on board who are committed to spending more time on the court than in court and to stay away from the bars and strip clubs.  Will that happen?  Your guess is as good as mine, but one would hope that they finally get the hint after the past few seasons of complete embarrassment with their personnel decisions.

* In the history of the NBA or ABA, has there ever been a team that had no players on their roster from the previous season (1st year expansion teams excluded)?

File this under “duh!”…

[Via the AP] — Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Jackson violated his probation in Michigan when Indiana prosecutors charged him with firing a gun outside a strip club, a judge ruled Friday.

Police said Jackson fired a gun in the air at least five times during an Oct. 6 fight outside Club Rio. Jackson originally told police that he fired the gun in self-defense, but Marion County (Ind.) Prosecutor Carl Brizzi said Jackson retrieved his gun from his car and fired it before he was struck and injured by another car.

…and boy am I glad he’s not a member of the Indiana Pacers anymore.

I’ve been pondering what to say regarding the recent eight player trade between the Indiana Pacers and Golden State Warriors. Then Indianapolis native Jason Whitlock was in town to cover the Colts game and was a guest on WISH-TV Channel 8 (Indianapolis) last night and stated it pretty well. Paraphrasing …

“I’m all for anything that gets rid of Stephen Jackson. I only wish they could have sent him to Europe so that we could get him out of this country. Next on my list is Larry Bird. He doesn’t know what the hell he’s doing.”

Now that was funny! And I can’t disagree. A management and coaching overhaul would probably do the team some good.

On paper the Pacers didn’t get the better end of the deal, but being able to unload Jackson does sweeten the deal a bit. It was sad to see Al Harrington play the role of the sacrificial lamb, but that’s how it goes in the sports business. My main complaint is that I wish they would have unloaded the rest of the baggage (Jamal Tinsley & Jermaine O’Neal…and I’m sure that I missed someone) while they were at it. But hey, the season isn’t over yet and there must be someone out on the West Coast that will trade the Pacers for these guys.