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Bowling Green State University Athletics
McLeod Finds New Home With Indiana Pacers
January 18, 2007 | Men's Basketball
Jan. 18, 2007
Editors Note The following was taken from Pacers.com and details the blockbuster trade between the Golden State Warriors and Indiana Pacers. Included in the deal was former BGSU All-American Keith McLeod who is the second all-time scoring leader for hte Falcons and was the 2002 MAC Player of the Year.
By Conrad Brunner | Jan. 17, 2007
As their team followed most every advance with a retreat, would follow moments of inspiration with others of frustration, Donnie Walsh and Larry Bird both came to an inescapable conclusion: the Pacers' pieces just didn't fit, at least not as well as hoped.
The underlying motivation for the eight-player trade with Golden State Wednesday that netted Mike Dunleavy, Troy Murphy, Ike Diogu and Keith McLeod was to acquire players that better align with both the philosophy and the personality of the Pacers. The deal cost Al Harrington, Stephen Jackson, Sarunas Jasikevicius and Josh Powell, admittedly a high price in terms of individual talent, but was an investment in the team concept.
"We had a tough schedule at the beginning but right now we should be hitting our peak," said Larry Bird, President of Basketball Operations. "I can't say I'm happy with where we're standing.
I think we should've won more games. With this team that we have, we talked to all of them today, they know we're still committed to winning and we're going to do what's necessary to take these guys to the next level. With the addition of these three, four young men, we're going to be a better basketball club. We're more balanced than we were yesterday."
With a major offseason roster renovation and a schedule that brought 13 of the first 19 on the road, the Pacers knew the first few weeks of the season would be a challenge. Though they didn't yield, neither did they thrive. They've had impressive victories over some of the top teams in the East as well as mind-boggling losses to some of the bottom-feeders. It wasn't so much that their 20-18 record was bad, rather their inconsistency didn't offer much hope of substantial improvement.
Thus, the trade that brings a versatile all-around perimeter talent in Dunleavy; a physical big man with excellent face-up shooting and rebounding skills in Murphy; a low-post talent with intriguing potential in Diogu; and a veteran backup point guard in McLeod.
"I didn't mind our record at this point because we had a new team and the schedule was very difficult but I didn't see and Larry didn't see the team elevating to the point where you could look out and say to yourself, 'I think this team, if they keep improving, could really do something in the Eastern Conference.' There were just some parts of our team that I wasn't sure were fitting together the right way," said Donnie Walsh, CEO of Pacers Sports & Entertainment. "I think (the trade) puts players on our team that fit little better with our team and obviously the object is to have a better team. When push came to shove, this is what we decided to do."
The 6-9 Dunleavy, who can play all three perimeter positions, averaged 11.4 points, 4.8 rebounds and 3.0 assists with the Warriors. The Duke product was the No. 3 pick in the 2002 NBA Draft but struggled to deal with high expectations in Golden State despite solid all-around productivity.
Murphy, a solid 6-11, averaged a double-double in three of the previous four seasons but under Coach Don Nelson had a slightly reduced role this year, averaging 8.9 points and 6.0 rebounds.
Diogu, a burly 6-8 post specialist, showed flashes of brilliance as a rookie but was sidetracked by injuries and also fell out of favor with Nelson, averaging 7.2 points and 3.7 rebounds in his second season.
McLeod joins his fourth team in four NBA seasons and has career averages of 5.7 points and 2.8 assists.
"If you look at Murphy, he's a great outside shooter so he can draw people away from the basket and if they help on Jermaine he can do something about it with his outside shooting," said Walsh. "I also think he's a physical guy at 6-11 so he's a good player to play with Jermaine. Ike Diogu's a very good low-post player. He's going to be a player I think will surprise people who haven't seen a lot of him. ? And Dunleavy is a multi-dimensional guy that can probably play three positions and is also a good outside shooter and at 6-9 and can rebound the ball. I think we're getting good basketball players that fit in with this team."
It was particularly difficult for the Pacers to part with Harrington, the centerpiece of their offseason moves but he struggled trying to adapt to the small forward position. Though his averages (15.9 points, 6.3 rebounds) were solid, Harrington was, like the team, plagued by inconsistency.
"That's the heartbreak in it," said Walsh. "I drafted Al some time ago. I loved him as a guy. He would've fit in here but he was playing three more than he was playing four. I'm not sure he's a good fit at four with Jermaine. When you really looked at it, I don't know if the two players complemented one another as much as we thought they could. If I didn't have to, I wouldn't have wanted to trade Al, nor would Larry. But when you get into a trade and you can get some players they usually ask you for a player you don't want to give up."
Harrington was courted by the Warriors during the offseason before he was dealt to the Pacers and said he was "surprised and happy" with the trade because of his previous flirtation with Golden State. He also acknowledged frustration with his inability to become fully comfortable with the Pacers.
"It was just learning (Coach Rick Carlisle)'s system," Harrington said. "I wanted to play more up-tempo, I thought we had that type of team. I feel like I did pretty good in the time I was here, and I just wish them the best."
Jackson had well-publicized off-court issues and also struggled with on-court temperament but was a solid producer in his time with the Pacers and was averaging 14.1 points this season.
"Basically, I just thought it was time for Jack to get out of here," said Walsh. "He was in a difficult environment. No matter what he was going to do he wasn't going to outlive that environment. I think it's good for him to go to another city and to start fresh and I think it's good for our team, as well."
Jasikevicius didn't fulfill expectations that came with his status as a European legend, which may have worked against him. Powell spent most of the season on the inactive list.
"Murphy should be a double-double guy in the East. Dunleavy knows how to play the game and Ike's a guy we were after in the draft (two) years ago. We got three quality players we feel like we needed," said Bird. "We didn't like to give up Al Harrington. We didn't like to give up Sarunas. But you have to give up something to get something and this is a better fit for us."
With two starters dealt, the immediate impact on the starting lineup remains to be seen. But there clearly will be increased opportunities for Marquis Daniels and Danny Granger, with Dunleavy also likely to fit nicely into the rotation at shooting guard and small forward.
"We haven't really seen Marquis and I think he's a special player," Bird said. "Hopefully between them two guys they'll get more time and we can really see what they can do."
The new players are expected to make their debuts Saturday against the Knicks in Conseco Fieldhouse.
