Carlisle Will Be Back, But Who'll Be Gone?

<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">There will be changes this Indiana Pacers summer, seismic changes that will alter the face of this increasingly stale franchise. Team president Larry Bird doesn't need to see his team sleepwalk through anymore games; he, too, has reached the widely held conclusion that it's time to detonate that locker room.

"Won't be much golf this offseason,'' Bird said, standing in a hallway near his team's locker room before the Pacers' 101-82 victory over the New York Knicks. "It's going to be a working summer. To say right now that we're going to trade a bunch of guys, we can't do that because we don't know who's going to be out there. But obviously, we've got to get this thing right.''
Who's gone? Who's back? Bird, naturally, is not going to show that hand or advertise a fire sale. Read between the lines, though, and an offseason plan begins to take shape.

They certainly will move Jamaal Tinsley. They likely will move Stephen Jackson. If they can get good value in return, they will try to move Jermaine O'Neal. (That doesn't even include Peja Stojakovic, who will entertain free agent offers.)

One area that will not be changed, though, is on the Pacers' sideline, where Bird said coach Rick Carlisle will be back -- even if his players seem intent on getting him fired. Yes, Bird hears the groans of dissatisfaction coming from all corners of the Pacers' locker room. And no, he's not lending a sympathetic ear.

"They didn't complain when we were winning 61 games,'' Bird said. "I didn't hear anything when we were winning 44 games. Rick's had two very good years here, and he's done a good job this year considering what's happened -- the injuries, the Ron Artest thing and everything else. When you start losing, everybody wants to point the finger.

". . . Right now, it's up to the players. We can talk about it until we're blue in the face. I'm happy with our coaching staff. I just think our players need to look in the mirror and say, 'It's on us now.' "

When the season began, Bird thought he had a team that could reach the Eastern Conference finals, maybe even the NBA Finals. He knew he had some high-maintenance players who would have their bad moments, but in the end, he figured there was enough talent and depth to go deep into the playoffs.

Now, there's a chance the Pacers, who for more than a decade have viewed the postseason as a birthright, may not earn a spot in the dreadful Eastern Conference.

"If anybody's going to take the blame, it's got to be me,'' Bird said. "Because I had so much confidence in this team. I just think the team chemistry hasn't been close to what I expected it to be . . . At times, we've looked like we haven't played together all year.

"They can tell you they like each other, and they probably do, but they're not playing like they like each other. I can see it, missing guys who are wide open, guys forcing shots, the ball movement isn't there, guys breaking plays and going one-on-one. There's no real trust in one another to play the game. I think they try, they want to win, but they don't trust each other.''
Some of the Pacers' coming decisions are no-brainers.

Tinsley, who (ouch) was taken ahead of Tony Parker in the draft, has to take his act elsewhere.

Jackson has had his flashes, including Monday night's 28-point performance, but his volatility continues to be an issue -- especially on a team that lacks a dominant personality.

And then there's O'Neal. Think Monday night's performance was instructive? One day earlier, he had called out his team for going through the motions against Detroit. Then against the Knicks, he scored 10 points on 1-of-7 shooting and grabbed five rebounds.

That, too often, has been the problem -- words, not deeds. Nobody blames O'Neal for getting hurt so often the past two years, but behind the scenes, the Pacers have taken issue with O'Neal's conditioning, and wonder if that hasn't contributed to his long stays on the inactive list.

"Some guys can lead and some guys can't,'' Bird said. "I have a lot of trust in Jermaine and I know he wants to be a good leader. But to just throw him in there and say, 'OK, you're our leader,' that's tough, especially when you're injured a lot. You lead by example and not with words, and when you're not out there every day in practice and games, it's hard to lead.''</div>

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