Indiana Pacers rumors: Lance Stephenson deal not close

The Indiana Pacers were more than open about their desire to re-sign Lance Stephenson throughout the season and despite some questionable on-court activity during the NBA playoffs, their interest in keeping the swingman remained strong.

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The Pacers offered what they thought to be a fair market value contract to Stephenson last week but the veteran was less than impressed with the dollar figure, leading him to look for greener pastures. Of course, thanks to Stephenson’s antics and high price tag, the market has been somewhat minimal for the talented guard/forward.

Some may believe that may force Lance Stephenson back to the Indiana Pacers, however according to Chris Broussard of ESPN, the two sides have not made any progress on a deal and remain far apart in their contractual talks.

The five-year, $44 million dollar contract offered to Lance Stephenson by the Indiana Pacers is likely a true market value but given the somewhat absurd contracts we’ve seen handed out this offseason (three-year, $19 million for Jodie Meeks) it’s understandable as to why Stephenson believes he’s worth more money than he’s being offered.

In addition to the Pacers, the Miami Heat, Chicago Bulls and Charlotte Hornets have all shown interest in Stephenson however the Heat don’t have the cap space for such a move and the Bulls appear to be enamored with other free agents, leaving the Hornets as the most likely competition for the Pacers.

However, leaving one of the NBA’s premier franchises for the Hornets seems somewhat questionable so it remains to be seen if Stephenson would actually entertain the thought.

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