Why the Pacers need a Shaq

Wednesday, July 7, 2010

GREENCASTLE -- With NBA free agency in full swing, it's hard not to look around the league and see what the needs are. Some teams need guards, some need a point guard, but what the Pacers truly lacking is character.

If you look up bland in the dictionary, you would find oatmeal and the Indiana Pacers. Not a single player on the team has any flair or any sense of personality. I don't want anyone who's popping off rounds at a nightclub, but someone who might say something, which raises eyebrows from time to time wouldn't be bad.

What we need is a Shaq. You know, the kind of guy who's playful with the media, brings in a little bit of a crowd and sometimes leaves you shaking your head. Granted, the current team leaves us shaking our head, but for entirely different reasons.

I checked out the roster today and was surprised to see I didn't know more than half of this team. Pick just about any other team in the league and I can rattle off names left and right, but not for my hometown Indiana Pacers. How disturbing is that?

I've honestly tried to love the Pacers through the years, and I currently don't have an NBA team, but I can't put my support behind a team that struggles to support itself.

Year in and year out, this group finds ways to win just enough to stay out of relevancy in the NBA draft lottery. I'm not suggesting they throw a game or two, but if all of the starters develop injuries at the same time, so be it. At least it would give people a reason to talk about the Pacers.

While the team isn't a presence in this year's free agency sweepstakes, next year it a whole different ballgame. The Pacers will be able to go after some. The problem is, it's going to be slim pickins.

Except for a few names such as Carmelo Anthony, Tim Duncan and Tony Parker, there's not a lot out there. But isn't that the Pacers' luck, always a dollar short and, in this case, a year late.

The ironic twist is Shaq is a free agent this season, but since the Navy, Gold and White have a little over $6 bucks to spend, it looks like another year of oatmealy goodness for your hometown Indiana Pacers.

Enjoy.