Mike James

Given that the Pacers have officially signed Lance Stephenson, who they think can run the offense, and there are reports that the front office still can’t find any takers for TJ Ford, Indiana’s desperate need for a point guard may not be as great today as it was back when Earl Watson was leaving in free agency and AJ Price was fracturing his patella playing charity basketball.

And since they have 14 players under contract already and might give Magnum Rolle the final roster spot, there may have to be a trade before the Pacers even have room to bolster the PG spot through free agency.

BUT … if they do want to add another PG, they probably should do it soon. Because, as Sham Sports points out in this fantastic post on what free agents are still out there, there isn’t a lot out there.

Here’s the full list of PGs:

Earl Watson
Anthony Johnson
Chucky Atkins
Cedric Jackson
White Chocalate (who has sweet negative sideburns)
Bobby Brown
Chris Quinn
Earl Boykins
Mustaka Shakur
Acie Law
Antonio Daniels
Travis Diener
Eddie House
Jamaal Tinsley
Marcus Williams
Rafer Alston
Brevin Knight
Jason Hart
Lester Hudson
Tweety Carter
Sherron Collins
Patty Mills
Mike James
Marko Jaric
Šarūnas Jasikevičius
John Lucas III
Jerome Randle
John Scheyer

First of all, the Pacers pathetic PG situation is best summed up by the fact that this list includes a full five players who have received paychecks from the team in the past few years (and, of course, one who is still receiving them. Don’t spend it all in one place, Jamaal.). It also includes one guy that I’m pretty sure Sham made up (no way Tweety Carter is an actual, living human being), one guy who has never before dribbled a basketball (Eddie House only catches and shoots … he also signed with Miami), one guy who I’m pretty sure is dead (Brevin Knight) and several guys who will likely never play more than 20 games in the NBA.

So … Presuming the team wouldn’t bring back Earl Watson, I’m not sure any of these guys are worth the time. Acie Law, Earl Boykins and maybe Rafer (I like the guy for God knows what reason) are the only three names that inspire even a half-hearted “meh.” The rest are straight “no thanks.” (Rafer is too, really, since it would pretty much be acquiring another TJ Ford.) Sherron Collins might be worth a look, I guess.

Time to call some GMs about Troy Murphy.

meh

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AJ Price’s emergence as a high-level player for the Pacers has been as surprising as it has been pleasant. The unheralded second-round pick out of UConn has famously faced many struggles just to get to the NBA, so to see him now play so well is uplifting — and mighty helpful.

AJ, a highly sought-after high school senior, missed his entire freshman year with a near-fatal brain hemorrhage that was later diagnosed as arising from the congenital defect of the circulatory system that he was born with known as “arteriovenous malformations” (AVM). After an arduous and scary road to recovery, AJ entered his sophomore year hoping to get back on the court, but he and Husky teammate Marcus Williams derailed any hopes of playing when they were arrested for foolishly stealing laptops on the Storrs, Connecticut, campus, which garnered him a long suspension. Then, following a return to the team that featured an uncharacteristically long stretch of good fortune and not-so-uncharacteristically good play, he suffered another catastrophic playing setback when he blew out his ACL.

He seemed to be another kid with talent whose skills would never equate to a career. But Larry Bird took a second-round gamble on the kid, probably as much because the Pacers needed another point guard in case the oft-injured Travis Diener was unable to suit up when the season started as anything else.

For Pacers fans, however, AJ’s inspired play since TJ Ford was demoted out of the rotation has been one of the few bright spots during a dreadful season. Now, Pacers fans are definitely cheering for AJ. Larry Bird is definitely cheering for AJ.

And, now, we know that Wizards journeyman point guard Mike James is also cheering for him.

James said this has been the toughest situation of his career. He came into training camp in shape and says he’s done everything that’s been asked of him, but now feels jilted because he’s appeared in only one game the entire season. It is, however, worth noting that he broke his finger after his one appearance on November 6th and spent several weeks off the court.

As James continues to sit on the inactive list, the nine season NBA veteran said he feels he’s being made a mockery of, and considering the circumstances, he believes he’s the worst person on the Washington Wizards, a 14-27 team.

James said the lone bright spot for him this season was when he played against the Pacers. Not because he actually got to play in an NBA game, but because he got to be on the court with A.J. Price, his basketball protégé with whom he often speaks. James and Price share a hometown in Amityville, NY, and James hopes that someone was able to capture a picture of the two on the floor together back on that early November night.

Here’s to hoping AJ continues to do one of his mentors proud.

If I had less respect for you readers, I would have titled this post “The Price Is Right.” Instead, I’ll just post an unrelated How I Met Your Mother clip from the show The Price Is Right that only like 8% of you will find funny. Much like mockingly using ironical words like “steez,” that’s more my steez.

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