The Indiana Pacers really need to add some backup big men when the lockout is lifted. Right now, Tyler Hansbrough and Roy Hibbert are the only power forwards and centers on the roster. If the Pacers don’t bring back Josh McRoberts and Jeff Foster in free agency, they will have to sign replacements for them. Other than that, the Pacers seem ready to go for the 2011-12 season.

The Indiana Pacers acquired 25-year old SG/PG George Hill from the San Antonio Spurs for the draft rights to SF Kawhi Leonard (1st round, #15 overall), PF Davis Bertans (2nd round, #42 overall) and 27-year old power forward Erazem Lorbek (2nd round pick in 2005, #46 overall). Hill played in 76 games (5 starts) for the Spurs last year and he averaged 28.3 minutes, 11.6 points, 2.6 rebounds and 2.5 assists per game. He has now played in 231 games (55 starts) in his first three years in the NBA and he is averaging 24.6 minutes, 9.9 points, 2.4 rebounds and 2.4 assists per game. I’m thinking that the Pacers made this deal with the idea of starting Hill at shooting guard. If that is the case, I really like this deal for both teams.

The Pacers finally saw enough of head coach Jim O’Brien as they fired him this morning. The Pacers were only 17-27 (38.6%) so far this season and that’s just not good enough to get the job done. The Pacers were 121-169 (41.7%) in O’Brien’s four years in charge. The Pacers tired of O’Brien’s handling of the younger players, especially Tyler Hansbrough and Roy Hibbert. The Pacers have elevated 37-year old Frank Vogel to O’Brien’s old spot on an interim basis for the rest of this year. Vogel has never been a head coach in the NBA but he has been an assistant coach for 8 years. He could get the full time gig if he can get the Pacers to fight for a playoff spot the rest of the way while using some of the younger players.

The Pacers have acquired 22-year old point guard Darren Collison and 33-year old small forward James Posey from the Hornets and they have sent 30-year old power forward Troy Murphy to the Nets as there part of a 4-team, 5-player trade. The Rockets have acquired SG Courtney Lee from the Nets and the Hornets have acquired SG/SF Trevor Ariza from the Rockets to complete this deal. The Pacers are excited as hell to finally get their hands on a great young point guard like Darren Collison. Collison played in 76 games (37 starts) for the Hornets as a rookie last season and he averaged 27.8 minutes, 12.4 points, 2.5 rebounds, 5.7 assists and 1.0 steal per game. He is a good shooter from anywhere on the floor as he hit 47.7% from the floor, 40% from three point range and 85.1% from the free throw line as a rookie. The sky is the limit for Collison as I wouldn’t be shocked if he averaged 20+ points and 10+ assists in 2010-11 for the Pacers. James Posey was included in the deal to even out the money. He will help the Pacers off the bench for the next couple of years. Posey played in 77 games (2 starts) for the Hornets last season and he averaged 22.5 minutes, 5.2 points, 4.3 rebounds and 1.5 assists per game. He has now played in 815 games (479 starts) in his NBA career and he has averaged 27.5 minutes, 8.8 points, 4.8 rebounds, 1.7 assists and 1.1 steals per game. The Pacers will likely miss Murphy as he is a solid power forward. Murphy played in 72 games (69 starts) last season for the Pacers and he averaged 32.6 minutes, 14.6 points, 10.2 rebounds, 2.1 assists and 1.0 steal per game. He played in 262 games (234 starts) in his four years with the Pacers and he has averaged 31.0 minutes, 13.3 points, 9.2 rebounds and 2.1 assists per game. The Pacers will be hoping that Tyler Hansbrough steps up to replace Murphy at power forward. I like this trade for the Pacers as Darren Collison will make all the rest of the Pacers better players in 2010-11 and beyond.

The Pacers selected 23-year old forward Ryan Reid with the 56th overall pick in the NBA Draft and then they traded him to the Oklahoma City Thunder for 24-year old center Magnum Rolle who was picked 51st overall. Rolle played in 34 games at Louisiana Tech last season and he averaged 13.9 points, 8.4 rebounds, 0.8 assists and 2.1 blocked shots per game. Rolle played in 93 games in college and he averaged 10.3 points, 6.7 rebounds, 0.7 assists and 1.7 blocked shots per game. I really like this trade for the Pacers as Rolle has a decent upside.

UPDATE: (10/26/2010) - The Pacers have released Magnum Rolle. They wanted to keep him but they didn’t have enough rosters spots to keep everyone.