Although it’s the “offseason,” the Indiana Pacers have a very busy schedule in June. (Offseason is in quotes because there isn’t much of an offseason in professional sports anymore. It’s year-round.)
Coaches are watching film, prospects are in working out, draft evaluations are made, and then the team will turn its attention to free agency.
A look at what head coach Frank Vogel and the Pacers are up to this month.
Pre-Draft Work
The Pacers have both of their picks in this year’s draft, held June 25th in Brooklyn (exactly three weeks from today). No. 11, their first lottery pick since selecting Paul George at No. 10 in 2010, and 43.
Frank Vogel coaches prospects during their workout in front of team decision makers.
“We’re going to have a big month of June where we’re going to see a lot of draft prospects,” coach Frank Vogel told me before he rode in the IPL 500 Festival Parade Memorial Day weekend. “Obviously we’ll make a good selection. We feel like we’re going to get a great player at 11.”
So far, the team has brought in 24 players for evaluation their way at Bankers Life Fieldhouse. They are allowed to have a maximum of six players in each session.
The Pacers’ 2014 first-round pick belonged to Phoenix in the trade for Luis Scola, and then they opted to trade their second-round pick to New York for cash shortly before they were on the clock. In 2013, they picked Solomon Hill at 23.
Team executives and key scouts have made their way to Treviso, Italy for the annual Adidas Eurocamp, which runs June 6-8. It’s not officially an NBA Combine for overseas players but it provides teams with an opportunity to see some of the best talent all in one place. The Pacers sent four evaluators over there: General Manager Kevin Pritchard, Vice President of Basketball Operations Peter Dinwidde, Director of Scouting Ryan Carr, and Director of International Scouting Pete Philo.
Philo, who’s been full-time with the Pacers for almost two years now, played a pivotal role in putting the event on each year.
Meanwhile, Vogel is used to coaching through May and using the first few weeks of June to get refreshed. He’d show up at the pre-draft workouts but not necessarily run all of them. As he put it, he previously had a “pretty minimal role” in the draft. However, with their season concluding in mid-April, Vogel has had more time to analyze his team and take a larger role in draft preparations.
“It’s going to be an important pick this year so I’ll probably spend a lot more time studying the draft than I have in year’s past,” he said.
Coach Vogel believes there are a lot of areas they need to address in the offseason. That’s why he’ll also spend much of his time reflecting on what worked and what didn’t last season, and looking ahead to the new year.
“Certainly more time to do reflective study on all the things we do,” he added. “All of our schemes, all our uses of players and our system.”
Free Agency
Later this month, they’ll have a better hold on the team for next year. In addition to their two picks, they are waiting to hear how David West and Roy Hibbert will use their player option. That means those two have it in their contract where they can stay with the Pacers and earn approximately $12.6 and $15.5 million, respectively, or become a free agent. Their choice. It’s very likely that both decide to stay in Indy (it’s hard to pass on that kind of money guaranteed), but nothing is certain. They have until the end of June.
I’m sure team officials will push to get an answer from their agents prior to the draft. They are very much in a good position to take the best player available but still, it could help shape their decision or simply allow them to make a more informed one.
Then, it’s on to filling out the rest of their roster. Will they try and be able to re-sign veteran Luis Scola? Rodney Stuckey and the team have a mutual appreciation for one another and hope to make it work. From there, they’ll continue to work down their list of priorities, obviously trying to bring in players who fit the faster style both President Larry Bird and Vogel want in place.
These next 30 days are critical in shaping the roster for next year’s squad.