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NBA Free Agency 2017: 5 reasons the Indiana Pacers are better off without Larry Bird

By Akash Anavarathan

May 16, 2016; Indianapolis, IN, USA; Indiana Pacers president of basketball operations Larry Bird speaks to the press during a press conference at Bankers Life Fieldhouse. Mandatory Credit: Trevor Ruszkowski-USA TODAY Sports
May 16, 2016; Indianapolis, IN, USA; Indiana Pacers president of basketball operations Larry Bird speaks to the press during a press conference at Bankers Life Fieldhouse. Mandatory Credit: Trevor Ruszkowski-USA TODAY Sports /
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Apr 12, 2017; Indianapolis, IN, USA; Indiana Pacers center Myles Turner (33) reacts to scoring and getting fouled during a game against the Atlanta Hawks at Bankers Life Fieldhouse. Indiana defeats Atlanta 104-86. Mandatory Credit: Brian Spurlock-USA TODAY Sports
Apr 12, 2017; Indianapolis, IN, USA; Indiana Pacers center Myles Turner (33) reacts to scoring and getting fouled during a game against the Atlanta Hawks at Bankers Life Fieldhouse. Indiana defeats Atlanta 104-86. Mandatory Credit: Brian Spurlock-USA TODAY Sports /

2. Bird’s struggles in the Draft

The NBA Draft is one of the tougher ones out of the major professional sports. There are only two rounds, so the draft-worthy talent is limited. There’s likely two or three franchise-altering players and the rest could have potential to be stars.

Especially, if you’re a team like Indiana who drafts in the middle of the round, it may be difficult to draft star players. Yet, they managed to find guys like Danny Granger, Paul George and Kawhi Leonard in the middle of the round. Why hasn’t Larry Bird been able to find a star since?

Since taking Kawhi Leonard in 2011 — and trading him to the Spurs — the Pacers don’t have much to show for their draft picks other than Myles Turner. It’s hard for a small-market team to continue to build their roster, if they can’t do it through the draft.

Free agents aren’t going to willingly come to Indiana, so Bird has to hit on some of the these draft picks, to develop the team behind Paul George. Yet, he’s missed on most of these picks since the drafting of George. This past season, they flipped a pick for veteran Thaddeus Young, a pick that turned into the impressive Caris LeVert. In a win-now mode, the long-term vision of the franchise was put in harms way and that should alarm Pacers’ fans.

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