<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">he big move hasn't happened. There's no certainty it will. Larry Bird, however, has made a series of smaller moves this summer that ultimately could prove to have a big impact on the team. The most recent was Monday's signing of Travis Diener, a free agent point guard from Marquette who spent his first two NBA seasons in Orlando, to a reported three-year contract. Jermaine O'Neal's name circulated in trade reports for much of the offseason but has disappeared from the rumor mill in recent weeks. Is that in indicator the team's leading scorer, rebounder and shot-blocker will return? "I've said it all along: I hope so," Bird said. "I look forward to having him back in the mix. When he gets double-teams, we're going to have players out there that can hit the shot now." Diener joins shooting guard Kareem Rush, swingman Stephen Graham and guard Andre Owens as players with NBA experience added to the Indiana roster. Diener and Rush are proven long-range shooters, Graham is an athletic, physical defender, while Owens is a combo guard who excelled in summer-league play. "I said earlier in the summer we were going to get players, maybe they're not the biggest names, but they're going to fit the style Coach (Jim) O'Brien wants to play and I think that's what we've done," Bird said. "Without trades going on, we're very limited in what we can do but what we did we feel very good (about). We got guys that can help us win ballgames. "I don't worry about Travis' work ethic. He works hard, puts his time in. I know Kareem's wanting to go to the next level. He played in Europe last year and he can shoot the basketball. Stephen Graham's a battler and Andre Owens, he's a part of it, too. We'll see what happens going forward but I know we've got quality guys that are going to play hard and do the right job and do the right things in the community.</div> Source: Pacers.com
PG Diener SG Rush SF Graham PF Murphy C O'Neal Perhaps you could slip in with this lineup, barring a JO injury or the coach getting duped into starting Dunleavy.
<div class="quote_poster">Montaman Wrote</div><div class="quote_post">PG Diener SG Rush SF Graham PF Murphy C O'Neal Perhaps you could slip in with this lineup, barring a JO injury or the coach getting duped into starting Dunleavy.</div> You're forgetting about the best player on the team, Danny Granger. His defense is the unnoticed force driving this Pacers team and keeping them from being a perennial last place team, because when you take him out of the equation and look at this team on paper, that's exactly what they are, the NBA's worst team.
