Paul George has been commanding most of the headlines, but now we’re getting a window into the plan for the Indiana Pacers team he’s about to leave.
Gregg Doyel of the Indianapolis Star reports on Monday that the Pacers and general manager Kevin Pritchard are considering making Lance Stephenson their point guard for a rebuild phase.
For Pacers rebuild, source says Kevin Pritchard is considering Lance Stephenson as the point guard. Lance has lost 10-plus lbs, looks great.
— Gregg Doyel (@GreggDoyelStar) June 19, 2017
Stephenson returned for his second stint with the Pacers last season, putting up 7.2 points, 4.0 rebounds, and 4.2 assists per game for them. He is due to make $4.18 million in 2017-18 with a $4.36 million team option for 2018-19.
The Pacers are used to George handling the ball fairly often, and incumbent point guard Jeff Teague is an unrestricted free agent this summer as well. Instead of shelling out bank to retain Teague, the team is probably better off moving into the post-George rebuild with a younger, cheaper, in-house option like Stephenson at the point, even if his erratic dribble-and-dish style and volatile personality are a double-edged sword.
