Members of the Pacers — past, present, forever — took a photo together after the Caroline Symmes Celebrity Softball Game.
Now two months into the offseason, plenty has gone on over at 125 S. Pennsylvania. Below are some news and notes regarding to the Indiana Pacers:
+ The Pacers have brought in 30 players for pre-draft workouts, the majority being guards and expected second-round picks. That’s just how the schedule worked out. Ryan Carr, the Pacers Director of Scouting sets up who comes in and works with players’ agent to handle when. Workout No. 6 will be held Sunday and it highlights athletic bigs who the Pacers may draft at No. 11, Texas’ Myles Turner and Wisconsin’s Frank Kaminsky.
+ I’m told the Pacers are planning to have a draft party (June 25th) away from Bankers Life Fieldhouse. Details to come.
+ The team will be holding a free agent mini-camp next week. This is for players from overseas, in the Developmental League, and guys who have not yet stuck in the league.
+ The Pacers had a handful of representatives, including Carr and General Manager Kevin Pritchard, in Treviso, Italy for the annual adidas Europcamp last weekend.
+ Damjan Rudež and longtime assistant Dan Burke participated in the NBA’s Basketball without Borders program in Spain last week.
+ When watching the NBA Finals, you may have notice the number of assistant coaches on either bench. The Pacers, however, only have three. Coach Vogel explains: “It started that way with Larry [Bird] and [owner] Herb [Simon] basically saying, ‘Larry did it with only (three) assistants back in the day. Can we do that?’ When I took over, we had just three assistants and I really liked the chemistry that can be established with a smaller staff.”
+ For those wondering if Brian Shaw, who was fired by the Nuggets midseason, might be back with the Pacers, Vogel told me “We’re going to have the same staff.”
+ Pacers coach Frank Vogel, an occasional guest on ESPN’s Mike & Mike radio program, was asked by a producer of the show if he’d come to their headquarters in Bristol for a day to discuss the NBA Finals. He sat in on several shows on Wednesday and did very well.
+ The Pacers’ locker room is getting an upgrade. For the first time since the building was completed in 1999, significant upgrades are being made to the locker, weight, and equipment rooms. There have been all kinds of upgrades made at Bankers Life Fieldhouse, including but not limited to new carpeting, new televisions in the concourse, overhead fans in the entry pavilion, and a total redesign of the marketing office, etc.
+ Did you know there is a third Simon brother? You know team owner Herb Simon and of his late brother, Mel. Fred Simon is not involved with the team but one of his grandsons is. Harrison Greenberg, a recent graduate of Indiana University, started full-time with the team on June 1. He’s been around the team for years now, soaking in all he could as an intern for the various departments. Greenberg, who sits in on the pre-draft workouts and has previously attended Summer League games in Orlando, is passionate about scouting. For now, he was given the official title of “Manager.”
Miles (left), Copeland (right) observing a draft workout this week.
+ I’ve spotted forward Chris Copeland at the Fieldhouse at each of my visits over the offseason. He has a home on the north side of Indy and hoped to be here for the long run. The 31-year-old is officially under contract with the Pacers through the end of the month and then he becomes a free agent.
+ C.J. Miles is back from vacation and working hard at Bankers Life Fieldhouse. Vogel told me last week that George Hill is repeating his intense summer workout from last year and having Miles join him, which bodes well for the team.
+ Paul George is working out frequently, but he’s not yet 100 percent recovered from a calf strain he suffered in their regular season finale at Memphis. Click here to read more on PG.
+ PG, by the way, will be hosting a basketball camp at Avon High School from 9 a.m. to noon on July 11th and 12th. George Hill will also have a camp, though the details have not yet been finalized. Expect it to be in July at The Fieldhouse in Fishers.
+ Roy Hibbert has choosen to spend time in Los Angeles. One of his friends, Robert Mathis of the Colts, recently talked with him and told me, “He’s out in Cali just relaxing, clearing his heading and being Roy. … He’s the same old Roy. He’s still big, goofy Roy.”
+ Shayne Whittington, meanwhile, has spent the majority of the last two months in Indianapolis. My Q&A with him after his first season in the pros, and just over a year removed from breaking his leg.
+ Keke Lyles is a name Pacers fans wouldn’t recognize, but he is one connection in the NBA Finals. Formerly an intern under Pacers trainer Josh Corbeil and strength and conditioning coach Shawn Windle during the 2010-11 season, Lyles is excelling at his role as the Golden State Warriors’ Director of Athletic Performance. In May, while in Chicago for their annual meetings at the combine, he was named Strength and Conditioning Coach of the Year, an award Windle won in 2012, by the National Basketball Strength & Conditioning Association (NBSCA).
+ Speaking of the Pacers’ well-respected training staff, they recently made a short trip to Orion Physical Therapy Specialists in Dayton to add to their wealth of knowledge under the guidance Dr. Philip A. Analogue.