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| How will Luis Scola's addition to Indiana's rotation affect the team's chances at beating the Heat come the 2013-14 season? Bleacher Report/PHOTO CREDITS |
The Indiana Pacers and Phoenix Suns have agreed to a deal
that would send Argentinean big man Luis Scola to Naptown in exchange for
Gerald Green, Miles Plumlee, and a 2014 protected first-round pick. According
to Yahoo! Sports’ Adrian Wojnarowski, Indiana had been pursuing the acquisition
of Scola’s services for several weeks, and talks heated up over the past two
days. Under new general manager Ryan McDonough, the Suns are in full
re-building mode out west. With the team already acquiring their point guard of
the future in Eric Bledsoe, the organization has looked to accelerate the
process by shopping its older assets on the market.
At 33 years old, Scola did not fit
into the Suns’ future plans. Already trading away long-time forward Jared
Dudley, the team had no problem with exchanging Scola for a couple of young
players and a first-round pick in next year’s draft. Although the team has
given away the rights to one of the league’s most versatile big men, both
Gerald Green and Miles Plumlee will fit in well with Phoenix.
Green will be given extended
minutes on a young Sun’s team and will lead the charge from the wing on an
uber-athletic fast break trio in Green, Bledsoe, and Michael Beasley (Shannon
Brown too). While he has not lived up to the hype following his breakout season
in 2012, his game still has room to improve. As for Plumlee, he will be thrown
into a Phoenix frontcourt that already boasts Marcin Gortat (expect trade
rumors to begin), Alex Len, both Morris brothers, and Channing Frye. While his
playing time will be minimal, he should receive an opportunity to showcase his
talent and surprise athleticism following a tremendous showing in the Orlando
Summer League. After watching Plumlee play over the past two years for the
Pacers and over the summer, I hope he is given a real opportunity to show the
world his true talents (Good Luck Miles!).
Aside from the talents of Gerald
Green and Miles Plumlee, the Suns will receive the Pacers’ first-round pick in
the 2014 NBA Draft (Probably the most important part from Phoenix’s standpoint).
Widely regarded as one of the best draft classes in recent memory, the 2014
Draft will be loaded with young basketball talent. The Suns now own three
selections in the first-round, and it would not be surprising if they went
after more spots in the draft. Overall, this is a great trade for Phoenix, as
the exchanged an aging player for two young talents and a first-round pick.
However, at this point, this deal
is an outright steal for the Indiana Pacers’ organization. Larry Bird has done
it again. I repeat, Larry Bird has done it again. The man is magical. Although
he has made some risky decisions in the past, Bird is beginning to look like a
front office extraordinaire. Indiana fans should be praising Bird and the
entire front office for the arrival of Luis Scola (and the departure of Gerald
Green). Although it will have to be seen how Scola contributes to the Indiana
bench, it looks like a steal for the blue and gold.
As the story broke last night of a
likely trade involving Luis Scola to the Pacers, many media outlets reported
that Indiana forward Danny Granger would be the main piece heading out west to
Phoenix. Pacer fans were at first dumbfounded, why trade Granger, a former
all-star and, at times, elite scorer, for a guy like Scola? That maneuver would
simply make no sense from Indiana’s position. However, fans soon realized the
great fortunes of the trade when Wojnarowski reported that the Suns were
interest in acquiring Gerald Green. Hallelujah. Ring the bells! Gerald Green is
heading out of town. As I read the news last night that it would be Green
leaving Indiana, rather than Granger, I about vomited from my level of excitement.
That information was without a doubt the best news I had heard all summer.
There are two main reasons why this
trade helps Indiana. First, the Pacers dumped Gerald Green’s horrific contract
and finally cut ties with the failure that was the Gerald Green experiment. No
knock on Green, as at times he was as exciting as anyone to watch, but he was
just downright dreadful for 98 percent of the season. This was a very
gut-wrenching process, considering the Pacers were paying him $3.5 million to
make asinine plays and ride the bench. What made it worst was the hype
surrounding Green entering the regular season, as he had shot 80 percent from
three-point range during pre-season workouts and training camp.
Now that Gerald Green is finally
removed from Indiana, let’s examine the main reason why this trade is such a
win for the Pacers, which is the acquisition of Luis Scola. While the Suns were
en route to the fourth worst record in the league last season, Scola had a
quiet but successful season, averaging 12 points and 7 rebounds. At 33 years
old, Scola has made a name for himself in the league by being an extremely
versatile big man. The Argentinean can
score around the rim in a variety of post moves, while also fading out to the
mid-range to knock down jumpers. Although he has faced consistency issues on
the offensive end, there is no discounting his overall basketball talents. He
will need to improve his defensive abilities in order to fully mesh into Frank
Vogel’s system, but that should not be too difficult. With Scola set as the
backup power forward, there’s no telling where this ball club is heading.
After acquiring veteran point guard
C.J. Watson, young guard Donald Sloan, and sharpshooter Chris Copeland, the
Pacers offseason was already regarded as being very successful. There were
still some questions floating around about the backup power forward position,
especially after Tyler Hansbrough signed with Toronto. However, after acquiring
Scola on Saturday, there’s no question that he will be filling that void come the
start of the season.
Luis Scola’s game will do wonders for
the second unit. It is a major upgrade over Hansbrough. Psycho-T averaged 6
points and 4 rebounds off the bench last season, Scola’s season averages were
double that. His scoring touch around the rim and ability to score from outside
the lane is just what the second unit needed in Indy. After adding veteran
leadership at the point and three-point shooting, Scola’s post abilities will
bolster an already heavily improved second unit for the Pacers.
The lineup still remains to be seen,
with Lance Stephenson’s and Danny Granger’s roles in question, but here’s a
quick look at some of the possible scenarios:
Scenario Number One
Starting
Five: George Hill, Lance Stephenson, Paul George, David West, Roy Hibbert
Second Unit : C.J. Watson, Danny
Granger, Chris Copeland, Luis Scola, Ian Mahimi
Other bench pieces: Donald
Sloan, Orlando Johnson, Solomon Hill
Scenario Number Two
Starting
Five: George Hill, Paul George, Danny Granger, David West, Roy Hibbert
Second Unit: C.J. Watson, Lance
Stephenson, Chris Copeland, Luis Scola, Ian Mahimi
Other Bench Pieces: Donald
Sloan, Orlando Johnson, Solomon Hill
While
both scenarios completely rely on Danny Granger’s final role in the rotation, either
option would be a viable. At this point, Scola’s addition to this team puts the
Pacers right there in the top three teams in the league (Miami, San Antonio,
Indiana). He makes the second unit that much better. Indiana’s second unit had absolutely
post presence within the second unit. Hansbrough’s post game relied mostly on
grabbing boards and shot-faking until he was fouled or putting his head down
and going at the rim completely out-of-control. Ian Mahimi, while a great
shot-blocking presence, has shown very raw post skills and limited ability to
knock down jump shots. Scola changes all of that.
If the
Pacers field a second unit of Watson, Granger, Copeland/Hill, Scola, and
Mahimi, it would be hard-pressed to find a better second unit in the NBA. In
fact, I’d bet money on that lineup beating the starting lineups of a couple NBA
franchises (I’m looking at you Philadelphia and Sacramento). Compared to a
second unit of Augustin, Green, Sam Young, Hansbrough, and Mahimi, this second
five looks like a team of all-star caliber players. Although the biggest
improvements may be on the wing, Scola’s presence definitely changes something.
His game fits in perfectly for the Pacers’ second unit, as his array of finesse
post moves will counterbalance the physical enforcing style of David West. His
ability to knock down jumpers from the mid-range area will allow for C.J.
Watson to stretch the floor and get dribble-drive penetration.
All-in-all, it’s downright scary
to think about the talent the Pacers have assembled on their roster. In fact, I
might go as far as to say that this has the shaping’s of the most-talented
roster in Pacers’ history. In a league where the large markets accumulate a
majority of the major talent, the Pacers represent what every fan loves, an
underdog. No they are not an underdog because they have less talent than other
teams. And it’s not because they have gone through significant strife or grieve
to reach this step. Rather, it’s because
the Indiana Pacers represent something that sports fans are beginning to see
less, a dominant small market team. Luis Scola’s addition makes the Pacers that
much better and that much more likeable. Here’s something Scola had to share
with reporters after learning about his trade to the Pacers:
"I’m
very, very excited to play for the Pacers. They are one of the top three teams
in the NBA"
Scola’s game will transition
perfectly to a impoverished (in terms of scoring) second unit that will contend
for being the most talents second unit in the league. With Scola leading the
charge from the post, there’s no telling how far
this team can go come playoff time. The Pacers are legitimate NBA Championship contenders. Stop doubting the blue collar team from Indiana. Hopefully, the quote next year can read “They
are the top team in the NBA.” Indiana is counting on you Luis; help bring a
title to where it belongs, in Indiana.
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