Lance Stephenson says the C.J. Miles signing let him know he was leaving Indy. (USATSI)
Lance Stephenson thought he'd still be playing for the Indiana Pacers. He wanted to come back, and he told Bleacher Report's Jared Zwerling that he cried when he told the team he was signing with the Charlotte Hornets. Now, in an interview with the Indianapolis Star's Candace Buckner, Stephenson says that the Pacers gave him a deadline after throwing him a party at the start of free agency and he knew he was gone when they quickly moved on to sign C.J. Miles:
"I wanted to stay there but they gave me a deadline where I had to choose," Stephenson said. "So there wasn't no time for me to make a decision. They gave me a deadline (before) how long it (was) going to take for them to go somewhere else.
"I had to make a quick decision and me and my agent decided we would see what other teams (were) talking about."
On July 2, the Pacers turned their attention to Plan B and agreed to terms with free agent CJ Miles. In Stephenson's view, the Miles' deal sealed his departure from the Pacers.
"They didn't have nothing else. They had no more money or anything. That was basically it right there," Stephenson said. "Soon as I said no to that offer, they went and signed CJ. I figured they thought I had no chance of coming back, they just went on and signed CJ. … I felt like it was a wrap after that."
The Pacers offered Stephenson a reported five-year, $44 million contract. He ended up going to Charlotte for three years and $27.4 million. If things go well with him and the Hornets, that'll likely end up being the best move financially because of the increasing salary cap. He also came very close to signing with the Dallas Mavericks, according to his agent.
The question, I suppose, is whether or not Indiana played this correctly. Pacers president Larry Bird had dinner with Miles on the night of July 1, and an agreement was reached shortly thereafter. As soon as that happened, the writing was on the wall. We noted that the time that Indiana would likely have to go over the luxury tax level to keep Stephenson, and that was never a likely scenario.
If the Pacers could do this again, perhaps they would change their approach. The Hornets ended up signing Stephenson to what looks like a very reasonable deal, and Indiana now finds itself facing a serious talent deficit on the wing. In fairness, Bird didn't know that he'd lose Paul George for the 2014-2015 season, but this illustrates how quickly a franchise's outlook can change in free agency. Entering the season, Charlotte can be optimistic about building on what it accomplished last season, while the Pacers can't even be sure they'll be back in the playoffs.
Stephenson and his former teammates are still on good terms, though:
Dinner with @Dedemarie31 @Whittington21 @George_Hill3 @ianmahinmi n @StephensonLance. Glad for him n his fam in Char pic.twitter.com/Eu8JlEitgc
— Roy Hibbert (@Hoya2aPacer) October 23, 2014George Hill said the new Hornet paid for the bill, by the way.
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67RIEFNS No. 32: Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh leading a team without LeBron
The NBA is full of talent, personality and suspense. During the offseason, It’s easy to forget how wonderful the league can be. So, I’ve assembled 67 Reasons I’m Excited For Next Season (67RIEFNS). They’ll be presented in no particular order.
On July 7, 2010, Dwyane Wade found his post-Shaq sidekick.
That day, Wade committed to resigning with the Heat and Chris Bosh pledge to join Miami either through a direct signing or sign-and-trade. It was one of the biggest free coups of recent memory, one that could set up the Heat to contend for a championship.
The next day, LeBron James changed everything.
LeBron’s Decision ended “Wade and Bosh” after only one day. From there, it was always “LeBron, Wade an Bosh” or “LeBron and Wade” or occasionally “LeBron.”
It’s a testament to LeBron’s greatness that he could dwarf the importance of Wade (a Finals MVP and 10-time All-Star) and Bosh (a nine-time All-Star).
Four years later, we’ll finally see what a Wade-Bosh-led team can do.
Unfortunately, we might have missed out entirely on seeing the twosome – without LeBron – in their primes. Instead of the Wade-Bosh era beginning with Wade at age 28 and Bosh 26, Wade is 32 and Bosh 30. It might be too late.
And that’s a shame.
Wade and Bosh were so good, capable of carrying the load when they were the No. 1 option. With LeBron, their numbers dipped.
These lines represent the change in their PER.
- Wade: Red (before playing with LeBron) and Gold (with LeBron)
- Bosh: Purple (with Raptors) and Gold (with Heat)
How much of that decline is the LeBron influence, and how much is aging?
I hope it’s LeBron, because a team led by prime Wade and Bosh could be very good – effective inside and out on both ends of the floor. Unfortunately, I fear aging plays a big role, especially for Wade.
If Wade and Bosh can near their previous peaks, great. We’ll have another fun team to watch and a potential Eastern Conference contender.
If not, we’ll get two aging stars stubbornly fighting Father Time and adapting to a new style of play. That’s compelling, though far less appealing.
Wade and Bosh will provide some form of entertainment this season. I’m pulling for the they’re-still-really-good kind.
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