Any roots Roy Hibbert had planted in Indiana are now gone. Hibbert returned to Indianapolis last week to move out of his home on the north side. Before heading back to the West Coast, Hibbert invited at least one former teammate over to hang out … and likely reminisce about their times together.
Hibbert event hired a barber to get lined up with George, according to Mike Bresnahan of the LA Times.
Hibbert at his annual softball challenge with three of his teammates back in 2013.
“I don’t harbor any resentment [towards the Pacers]. I don’t want to see those guys do badly,” Hibbert told Bresnahan.
Having been in this city since being the Indiana Pacers’ choice with the 17th pick in the 2008 draft, Hibbert made an impact. A big one. He came in at a time the organization and its fans needed positiveness, needed uplifting, and needed something to look forward to. They had missed the playoffs two straight seasons — and the streak would continue for another two years — after the team participated in postseason competition for nine consecutive years.
Hibbert brought curious yet goofiness to the team. And they needed many of his lighthearted moments, especially early on. I mean, how funny is this video of Hibbert giving Paul George rookie duties barely a month after the now two-time All-Star was drafted. There were his appearances on Parks & Recreation, or on SportsCenter — along with his dogs.
Roy Hibbert (@Hoya2aPacer) and one of his dogs, Sadie, while being interviewed by @kenjeong on @SportsCenter. pic.twitter.com/wkGNapotkC
— Scott Agness (@ScottAgness) November 1, 2013
Hibbert thrived on the basketball court when Frank Vogel took over as head coach. Vogel lifted him up instead of tearing him apart, as coach Jim O’Brien previously had. Hibbert, with Vogel, are the reason for the rule of verticality.
But over Hibbert’s final two seasons, the playfulness — maybe youthfulness — of the Big Dawg went away. Interviews weren’t just bad, they were a waste of time.
Roy Hibbert will begin his eighth NBA season … with the Lakers.
“I don’t want to talk about that.”
“No, bro.”
“I don’t want to get into that.”
After his confidence, performance and thus his per-game averages dropped way off, coach Frank Vogel and team president Larry Bird said at their end-of-the-season press conference that nothing would be guaranteed for Hibbert, who held a player option, the next season. Essentially, the writing was on the wall that his time was over.
This is how Hibbert found out he was traded to the Lakers for a 2019 second-round pick.
He was at SoulCycle in Beverly Hills, spinning away on an exercise bike when his agent, David Falk, kept calling him. It was the Fourth of July. Hibbert wanted to finish his workout and was hungry afterward. Falk would have to wait a bit.
The two finally talked by phone from a patio table at The Farm, an always-busy restaurant favored by Hibbert.
The conversation would change Hibbert’s life. After seven seasons with Indiana, the only NBA team he had known, he was now a member of the Lakers for the paltry sum of a 2019 second-round draft pick.
“I was sitting at that table over there,” Hibbert said Monday, after ordering a maple-baked salmon salad and some fingerling potatoes on the side. “I was pretty stoked.”
It wasn’t completely out of the blue. Hibbert’s agent had made a list of teams that needed centers and presented it to Bird, who countered that Indiana would try to accommodate a trade but not take back any bad contracts.
See Also: Former Laker Jordan Hill shares what Hibbert is in store for playing alongside Kobe
Throughout the summer, Hibbert has been spotted and interviewed by TMZ coming or going for a restaurant — as well as in the airport after deciding to spend the offseason in Los Angeles, coincidentally.
“I’d get out of the car and before I even opened the door, cameras would start flashing. And all of a sudden as soon as I got out, they’d stop and just go back,” Hibbert said.
After the Lakers acquired him from small-market Indiana in July, his profile grew in some of the same culinary haunts.
Larry King saw Hibbert dining and brought him to meet a handful of guests at a nearby table, where pictures were taken with the 7-foot-2 center.
Sylvester Stallone approached Hibbert’s table at a different eatery and wished him well, a particular thrill for Hibbert because of an interest in martial arts.
“People really love the Lakers out here. I walk down the street now and get stopped four or five times, taking pictures,” he said.
Now, he says he’s excited and ready for a fresh start. Playing in Los Angeles is a whole different animal. They have arguably the strongest fan base and with that means playing under a microscope as the scrutinization intensifies.
The Pacers moved on before dealing Hibbert, drafting Myles Turner after one year at the University of Texas. They later signed Jordan Hill and re-signed Lavoy Allen.
Ultimately, this will probably turn out to be best for both parties. The Pacers can rebuild their core around Paul George to be a contender in a few years, and Hibbert, in a contract year, has a chance to make an impact on a team lacking talent.
(Hibbert didn’t leave without making one last swipe — a bad look on his part)
The first clash between the Pacers and Lakers is in Los Angeles on Nov. 29. Then, on Monday, Feb. 8, Hibbert will play his first game inside Bakers Life Fieldhouse with another team.