The Indiana Pacers might be one of the biggest beneficiaries of the new collective bargaining agreement. Thanks to the new designated player exception, they might be able to offer star forward Paul George a long-term contract worth more than $200 million this summer, as long as he makes an All-NBA team.
This is an enormous home-court advantage when it comes to George's future, which could otherwise be up in the air -- he can opt out of the final year of his contract and become a free agent in the summer of 2018.
The Pacers aren't going to start celebrating until they know he's staying, but they're definitely aware of what the new CBA means. In an interview with the Indianapolis Star's Nate Taylor, Indiana president Larry Bird said that the new rules could help the franchise and he plans for George to be around a long time:
Q: What are the changes that you see as favorable to the Pacers?
Bird: "Well, if you want to keep your free agents, you're going to have an opportunity to, at least, I think, have a better chance of keeping them. If a player don't want to be here, and he wants to go somewhere else, that's just a part of free agency. That's what's in the collective bargaining for. But at least you have an opportunity to pay them a little bit more and give them an extra year and be able to keep them and sign them up earlier. I think that's a plus. I'm not going to sit here and tell you I've read that thing inside and out because that's what Peter (Dinwiddie) is for. We feel that there's some advantages and the disadvantage is that we've got to spend the money. That's something we've got to decide as a franchise, how far we're going to go."
Q: What are your thoughts on Paul George's upcoming free agency and the possibility of offering the extra sixth year if he's named to the All-NBA team?
Bird: "I don't want to get into Paul's free agency. Before the year started, I told Paul and I said, 'Look, if you want to sign a long-term deal, we're willing to do that max (contract) and if you want to wait, I understand.' But this year, we're not going to worry about it, we're not going to talk about it and he's going to make the decision that's best for Paul when it comes down to it."
Q: Do you see any changes in the new collective bargaining agreement having any impact on George's free agency or is your position still the same in terms of offering him the max, whether it's five years or six years?
Bird: "Yeah, we want to keep him here long term. That's the plan."
George has been mum about his future with the Pacers, and, given what has happened to the organization since his horrific leg injury, it's fair to wonder how he feels about the direction it's going.
In September, George told The Vertical's Michael Lee that it was "probably the most excited I've been for a team, coming into the season," adding that Indiana had "a lot of weapons" and was "very underrated." Halfway through the season, his optimism has not been validated -- the Pacers are a few games above .500, but not the Eastern Conference force he hoped they would be.
After battling the Miami Heat in the conference finals in 2013 and 2014, George desperately wants to get back there. Should he sign a contract extension with Indiana this summer or next, it would be a kind of endorsement of the front office's ability to make that happen. Should he force a trade or eventually leave in free agency, it would be a direct reflection of a lack of confidence in that happening, especially considering that he would be sacrificing money. The most important part of Bird's job now is to create an environment where George feels he has a real shot to lead the Pacers back where they used to be.
