Seth…I probably wasn’t as clear as I should have been, but I would characterize the Vecsey leak (real or suspected) as the straw that broke the camel’s back. Per Kravitz, there had clearly been tension well before this. Joe Ash has been with the Pacers since the 2003-2004 season. Blair certainly could be a flashpoint, but other disputes could include David Harrison, Shawne Williams, perhaps even James White. Mistakes have been made. I’ll come back to the dynamic when I wrap up.

wintermute…the faction issue is certainly reasonable, if not likely. I’ve been on both sides of organizational change. It’s not unreasonable for the new leadership to want to run things their way, but they must be careful to avoid throwing out the baby with the bathwater. On the other side, the people from the previous administration need to make a good faith effort to adapt. Rarely is either side 100% right. You seem to be dead on in assuming that Daniels would not have been happy under a Morway administration.

HC…First, my intention was not to sway public opinion one way or the other. The context of the picture was the credibility of the two parties, particularly within the fanbase. The SI cover is not only iconic of the errors in judgment made by the Pacers Front Office over the last few years, but also in their willingness to stake their reputations on them. That cover, for many, represents a large part of what Bird (the GM) has meant to the Pacers, while three ABA Banners and the #34 hanging in the rafters are what would speak for Mel. That being said, I admit that the use of that particular picture was probably a bit sensationalistic (but, ya gotta admit, it was an elegant contrast.) In any case, I apologize if it misled. Especially because…

Based on what little public information we have, my inclination would be to believe that Mel was actually the source for Vecsey, and that he had been a consistent and vocal problem within the organization. I have been in situations (professionally) where I’ve given counsel that was rejected or disregarded, that later turned out to be right. I have also driven or supported decisions that later turned out to be wrong. However, there’s a time for debate and a time for getting on board. Call it the “Norman-Dale-This-is-your-team” moment. The easiest thing in the world to do is to break something. The best and most successful people I’ve worked with have loved to be right, but have always been much much more interested in being successful. The most destructive people I’ve worked with have been the very, very smart people who only wanted to be right…even if it meant failing.

Let’s pretend for a moment that Daniels had wanted DeJuan Blair, as Seth suggested. It’s one thing to go on pacersdigest.com and consistently question the pick. That’s an opinion, and the forum is for discussion. It’s another thing to do the same thing when you are within the organization. The time for deciding the draft pick came and went in June. It’s now the organization’s job to succeed with the players they have. If Daniels, as Player Personnel Director, was still bitching about a pick made four months ago, then he was being disruptive, unproductive, and quite possibly, childish.

None of us know all of the facts, so I can’t say for sure who did or said what to who. However, there aren’t a lot of scenarios that I can reach where Mel comes out looking like a good guy. I’m sure that Bird, Morway, etal, are not without fault here, but it sure seems to me that Daniels may have been using their bad behavior (real or perceived) to justify bad behavior of his own.

Thank you very much for taking the time to read 8p9s.

More of my speculation follows. We pretty much accept that there was tension between Walsh on the one hand and Bird/Morway on the other during the last few Walsh years. It seems reasonable to suggest that the organization divided into a Walsh faction and a Bird faction during that time. When Walsh left he didn’t bring his people with him, so some Walsh loyalists may have been left behind. I would suggest what we’re seeing now is a purge of the die-hards.

There may have been a specific event that triggered Mel’s rebellion, but it seems likely to me that the tensions have been simmering for a while. Perhaps that leak to Vecsey is a hint of the final straw – maybe there was truth to Bird stepping down, and Mel just couldn’t stand having Morway as his boss. But anyway, my speculation is flying way out now.

@Seth, man, you’re obsessed with Blair 8-)

You know what would be some good news that would overshadow any of this? A decent record right out of the box regular season.