The Indiana Pacers have had an extremely rough off-season. They were unable to re-sign one of their best players and are at the point where they will need to count on David West and Roy Hibbert a lot this season.

The Pacers hardly made any effort to retain Lance Stephenson. They gave him a five-year, $45 million offer and did not negotiate past that. Stephenson wanted a little more than $9 million a year, but the Pacers opted not to give him what he wanted, so they ended up losing him to the Charlotte Hornets.

Stephenson’s all-around play will definitely be missed. He was one of the most consistent players last season for Indiana and was a candidate for the Most Improved Player award. In his place, the Pacers signed Rodney Stuckey, who cannot bring what Stephenson brought to the team these past two seasons.

Stuckey does not shoot the ball with the same efficiency as Stephenson. He does not endure the same play making skills as Lance. Stuckey does not defend like him nor does he rebound like him. Stuckey will possibly pile on 13-15 points a game but will not be able to fill in Stephenson’s shoes.

The Pacers also lost Evan Turner, but C.J. Miles is a terrific replacement. Miles is a high volume three-point shooter. He is also athletic and tends to play with an aggression on the defensive end.

To add more shooting to its bench, Indiana signed European player, Damjan Rudez. Rudez shot 51.9 percent from threes during the 2013-14 Eurocup. He has been a highly efficient shooter playing ball overseas, but the NBA is a totally different level, so we will have to wait-and-see if Rudez could play at the same level he has overseas.

Lavoy Allen agreed to re-sign with the Pacers this summer. Allen adds more frontcourt depth and is a solid face up jump shooter and hard-nosed defender. He may see more play time this season depending on Ian Mahinmi’s health.

The Pacers have also handed out a few training camp deals. They signed Adonis Thomas, Chris Singleton, and C.J. Fair. Out of these three, Singleton, the former Washington Wizard, has the best chance of making the cut because the Pacers are going to need the wing depth after losing Stephenson to costless agency and Paul George to a gruesome leg injury.

The Indiana Pacers became an elite team due to the development of Lance Stephenson. Now that he is gone, and Paul George is injured, the Pacers are left with limited talent. This off-season has seen their talent level drop from a championship caliber team to a non-playoff team.

Grade: D+

Depth Chart:
PG: George Hill/C.J. Watson/Donald Sloan
SG: Rodney Stuckey/C.J. Miles/Adonis Thomas
SF: Paul George/Chris Copeland/Solomon Hill/Damjan Rudez/C.J. Fair/Chris Singleton
PF: David West/ Luis Scola/Lavoy Allen
C: Roy Hibbert/Ian Mahinmi
Coach: Frank Vogel

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About the author
Vahan Shakhpazyan
Vahan Shakhpazyan loves the NBA with a passion and has been an avid follower for 18 years. He is a UCR graduate with a BA degree in Creative Writing. The man behind the Facebook page NBA updates.