The Indiana Pacers will have almost the whole roster back in 2010-11 unless they make some trades. This was just flat out bad planning as the best free agent summer in the history of the NBA is available and the Pacers will likely be on the sideline. They only have two free agents of their own this summer in Earl Watson and Luther Head. The Pacers might need Watson back due to A.J. Price’s injury but that’s only if he doesn’t get a good offer this summer. Luther Head isn’t someone that the Pacers will go out of the way to bring back but they could do worse.

23-year old point guard A.J. Price will miss the next 4-6 months after he needed surgery to repair a fractured kneecap which he injured in a charity game. He does not have a fully guaranteed contract for the 2010-11 season but I don’t expect them to consider letting him go. He played in 56 games (2 starts) as a rookie last season for the Pacers and he averaged 15.4 minutes, 7.3 points, 1.6 rebounds and 1.9 assists per game. The Pacers are hoping that he will be ready to start the 2010-11 season.

The Indiana Pacers’ playoff hopes may be long gone, but they are still playing hard as the 2009-’10 NBA season nears its end.  The Pacers scored a season-high 133 points in their win Sunday over the Houston Rockets.  That was their seventh win in the past 10 games, moving them out of the basement of the Eastern Conference and into 10th place with a 29-48 record.  A lot of the Pacers’ young talent has been stepping up lately, and they have beat some tough competition recently, including the Utah Jazz, Oklahoma City Thunder, and Charlotte Bobcats.  They took the Miami Heat into overtime on Friday, and only lost by 5 points to the Cleveland Cavaliers in March, who are the top team in the NBA.  This season may not have been very pretty for the Pacers, but the future is bright with guys like Danny Granger, Roy Hibbert, and Troy Murphy.  Even Josh McRoberts has shown some signs of good play lately, as he dropped 18 points, 12 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 block, and 2 steals in the Pacers blowout win over the Rockets last game.  So if you are a Pacers fan, you have some positive things to take away from this losing season and expect some improvement next season.

The Pacers have released backup point guard Travis Diener. Diener played in 4 games (0 starts) for the Pacers this season and he averaged 6.3 minutes, 0.8 points, 0.5 rebounds and 1.0 assist per game. Diener played in 125 games (21 starts) in his three years with the Pacers and he averaged 16.8 minutes, 5.3 points, 1.6 rebounds and 3.0 assists per game. Diener was buried on the depth chart at point guard this season for the Pacers so they did him a favor by releasing him. Look for him to hook on with a playoff type team looking for a backup guard.

Danny Granger has been dealing with a heel injury all season, and it ended up being a torn right plantar fascia.  Granger was out December 6th to January 5th because of it, and since his return he has not been the same offensive threat Pacers’ fans have grown accustom to seeing.  It’s normal for a player to struggle a bit in his first few games back from injury, but Granger has played in 15 games since his return and is still struggling.  In those 15 games since his return from injury, Granger is shooting 39% while averaging 20.3 points, 3.0 assists, 5.1 rebounds, and 1.6 steals.  He is really struggling with his outside shot, hitting only 31% of his threes, which makes you wonder if his heel is still bothering him.  He just isn’t getting the same lift as he usually does and that can really affect a true jump shooter’s shot.  The Pacers have struggled a lot this year and are 17-32.  Danny Granger and his ailing heel are the main reason why.