The big trade that brought in 23-year old Darren Collison was huge for the Pacers. Collison will be the starting point guard without a doubt starting this year. He played in 76 games (37 starts) as a rookie for the Hornets last season and he averaged 27.8 minutes, 12.4 points, 2.5 rebounds, 5.7 assists and 1.0 steal per game. Collison also shot well from everywhere on the court hitting 47.7% from the floor, 40% from three point range and 85.1% from the free throw line. I look for Collison to make everyone on the court better when he is on it.

27-year old T.J. Ford has been in the Pacers’ Dog House almost since arriving in Indiana. He played in 47 games (32 starts) for the Pacers last season and he averaged 25.3 minutes, 10.3 points, 3.2 rebounds and 3.8 assists per game. Ford has now played in 374 games (303 starts) in his NBA career and he has averaged 29.2 minutes, 12.1 points, 3.3 rebounds, 6.2 assists and 1.2 steals per game. Ford has only hit 29.8% from three point range in his career so far so he won’t be setting up for many bombs in his limited time on the court. The Pacers would love to trade him and they likely wouldn’t care much what they got back for him.

23-year old A.J. Price was injured in a pick-up game during the off-season but he seems almost ready to go. Price played in 56 games (2 starts) as a rookie last season and he averaged 15.4 minutes, 7.3 points, 1.6 rebounds and 1.9 assists per game. Price could be Collison’s primary back up if he is healthy and T.J. Ford stays in the Dog House.

19-year old rookie Lance Stephenson has a lot of issues off the court but he is a talented player. He played in 34 games (32 starts) for Cincinnati last season and he averaged 12.3 points, 5.4 rebounds and 2.5 assists per game. Stephenson could work his way into the playing rotation or he could sit most of the year on the bench….it’s up to him.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE PACERS POINT GUARDS IN 2010-11: B