Author Archives: Kent Sterling

Indianapolis Colts – Positional battles not as scarce as many believe

Andrew Luck has reason to smile two days prior to the opening of training camp.

Colts GM Chris Ballard and coach Frank Reich are running the Colts as a meritocracy. You excel, you earn.

That’s the way the NFL works. If Player B outplays Player A, Player B gets snaps and Player A sits.

Ballard has shown a proclivity toward drafting very talented and driven players who push veterans, and that is what we are going to see during camp and the preseason – young pushing old, and old trying to hang on to what they have worked so long to attain.

It’s easy to look at the Colts roster and feel the starters are mostly set. Twenty-one starters return to a team that shocked the NFL by bouncing back from a 1-5 start to earn a playoff berth and win a road playoff game in Houston before wilting at Arrowhead Stadium.

There are a few spots that are beyond debate given continued health, but fewer than you might think. Obviously, Andrew Luck and T.Y. Hilton are the starters at QB and WR1. The offensive line appears solid with Anthony Castonzo, Quenton Nelson, Ryan Kelly, Mark Glowinski, and Braden Smith. Reigning NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year Darius Leonard is going to start at linebacker.

Other than that, there a bunch of position battles that bear watching:

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Running back – Marlon Mack is the clear starter, but the Colts have an interesting couple of backs who will battle for the third spot behind Mack and Nyheim Hines. Spencer Ware signed with the Colts as a free agent and Jordan Wilkins returns for a second year. Colts will keep one of them.

Tight ends Eric Ebron and Jack Doyle are going to play a ton at tight end, but Mo Allie-Cox is going to get a bunch of run too. It might be interesting to watch how Ebron will adjust to fewer targets because of Doyle’s return from injury as his goal is to set the record for touchdown receptions.

Devin Funchess is the clear front-runner for the second wide receiver spot. Ballard didn’t sign him to a deal paying him $10-million to watch other guys catch balls, but Funchess has lived up to his draft position during only one of his four NFL seasons. Deon Cain could push Funchess, depending upon the health of his surgically repaired knee. Rookie Parris Campbell will be deployed in a variety of roles, but primarily work out of the slot.

Let’s work from the back of the defense to the front. At safety, Malik Hooker will start at free, and Clayton Geathers will be the starter at box. It wouldn’t be a surprise if Geathers had trouble staying healthy and Khari Willis replaced him and never left.

It would seem logical to expect Pierre Desir and Kenny Moore to start at corner as each will earn $9-million this season, but I think Quincy Wilson and Rock Ya-Sin are going to play – a lot – and at some point one of those guys will be a starter this season.

Linebacker is a funky spot in that it hard to project guys like rookies Ben Banogu and Bobby Okereke. Are they outside linebackers or speed rush guys – or both? Bobby Okereke says he can play all seven spots up front, which seems ambitious. Will Okereke unseat Anthony Walker at middle? A bunch of guys are going to have the opportunity to earn snaps opposite Leonard. Defensive coordinator Matt Eberflus used a bunch of linebackers last year, and I would expect to see linebackers shuttling in and out often.

The defensive line is going to be the one spot on this roster where veterans are invited to compete en masse. Justin Houston, 30, signed as a free agent from Kansas City. Margus Hunt, 32, is back, as are Jabaal Sheard, 30 and Denico Autry, 29. Pushing those old men will be Tyquan Lewis, Kemoko Turay, Grover Stewart, Jihad Ward, and others.

In truth, it really doesn’t matter which of that group starts. They will all be mixed and matched depending upon the situation by Eberflus.

As for the specialists – guess what, Adam Vinatieri, Rigo Sanchez, and Luke Rhodes are back and their jobs are safe.

Just as we had no idea that Smith would establish himself as an outstanding starting right tackle (as camp opened last year Ballard told the media he believed Smith was a guard), there is no way to know what the hell the starting lineup is going to be come September 8th in Los Angeles. There are too many variables.

But two things are true about this roster. It’s deep enough at the bottom that good players are going to get cut, and if healthy it’s good enough at the top to win 10 games – as that was their total last season.

Dan Le Batard not on radio today because ESPN is a sports network

Le Batard isn’t on ESPN Radio today because he voiced his political opinions on his show.

As a man, Dan Le Batard did the right thing by voicing his opinion about President Donald Trump’s tweets. As an ESPN employee, he asked for trouble by doing it on his radio show.

Le Batard will not host his radio show today. Whether that was his choice or ESPN’s is unclear, but his absence is the result of his comments.

Meeting product-related expectations is critical to any business’s success, and Le Batard hosts a sportstalk show. Listeners expect sports related conversations on the show, and when the talk deviates from that expectation, some listeners will express their displeasure by punching a different button. That’s bad for business.

There is a well-vetted theory in radio that 80% of listeners value a radio station because of what is discussed, and 20% come for the who. Hosts can get it a little twisted because they are only praised by those who listen because of them, but relevance is a big deal in media. You don’t but hammers and nails at a bar, and hardware stores don’t sell vodka tonics.

In these divisive times, alienating a significant percentage of listeners through airing political grievances might be good for the soul, but it’s bad for maintaining listenership.

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Le Batard may believe that his opinions regarding Trump are so important they are worth whatever consequence ESPN metes out as a result. That’s his right as a citizen, but as an employee whose voice is heard on a few hundred radio affiliates, Le Batard is accountable for defying the edicts of his bosses and those who manage the affiliates.

We’ve seen this before. Jemele Hill was suspended by ESPN for her politically charged comments about Cowboys owner Jerry Jones’s threat to bench any player who does “anything that is disrespectful to the flag.” She now writes for The Atlantic.

People working in radio own their mouths, but they are paid by their employers for the words that come out of the speakers in listeners’ cars. Le Batard is thoughtful, funny, well-informed, and occasionally wise when discussing sports. It is in that specific realm that ESPN values his contributions. If he veers off course toward politics, those same traits will corrupt ESPN’s brand. And just as the NFL will always protect the shield, ESPN will protect its brand.

Le Batard is a smart guy, and it’s likely he has a great feel for how hard he can push his bosses and in what direction, but allowing principles to guide professional decisions can have a significant cost.

Dan should call Jemele to make sure the fight is worth the potential outcome.

Key to getting and keeping a job in sports media is being your most truthful and real selves

Being the first you, rather than the next Stephen A or Skip Bayless, is the best road to real success – especially at the local media level.

Sports media is a tough business. Talk to anyone who’s trying to make a career out of talking or writing about sports, and they will tell you.

Few media companies are in growth mode – most are continually shaving payroll and staff. Having a job is a win. Keeping it is another win. Having a job that pays enough money to sustain yourself or a family is a virtual miracle.

Despite the long odds against earning a living wage, thousands of college graduates enter the race to snag a gig analyzing games, players, coaches, and management. The toughest part for them is a lack of background to critique any of them – at least not in a unique or useful way.

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A professional life needs to be lived prior to sitting in judgment of others. A lack of experience and wisdom is not the biggest hurdle to clear in getting to the promised land. It’s those who serve as role models who cause the biggest problem.

Many who lack that wisdom try to ape the wisdom of others who are successful, and that doesn’t work either.

People like Skip Bayless, Stephen A. Smith, and Colin Cowherd blather, rip, and opine without taking a breath all day long, and they do it with only audience response in mind. They want clicks, listens, and ratings. Nothing else matters to them, so each says whatever he believes will get the greatest tonnage of eyes and ears.

These three, and others like them, instruct the next generation that authenticity is an unnecessary contrivance and that the ends justify the means. Truth is an indulgence in which they will not abide, and what a shame that is.

Authenticity is everything – not just in media, but in life. Living life as the best version of yourself should be the goal, not a hinderance to success.

Instead of trying to become their best selves on-air or online, young broadcasters are trying to be the next Cowherd, Stephen A, or Bayless, and that is not going to bring long-term success. The best path is to be as purely original as possible.

In the late 1980s and early 1990s, every improvisor in Chicago wanted to be the next Bill Murray. None were. Even if they had been reasonable facsimiles, the original was still being the actual Bill Murray.

In the 1990s, there were dozens of radio hosts doing reasonable impressions of Rush Limbaugh. Some got hired by stations who carried Rush as a lead-in. Few lasted more than 18 months as listeners discovered they were frauds – empty shells behaving as someone they were not. They could not compete with the real thing, especially when their shows were adjacent to Rush’s.

Being exactly who they are, and speaking or writing the best version of their truth does not guarantee success in media, but trying to be the next whomever virtually guarantees failure.

Here are a few quick ideas of how to get a job, keep it, and make a run at being a success in media:

Be yourself – always.
Say yes to any position offered.
Listen to your boss, and do what he or she says as well as you can without debate.
Sending a resume’ or completing an online application is useless – call the boss and introduce yourself.
Understand you are very likely at some point to be fired, and embrace it as a change from which you can benefit.
Always be available for additional shifts and assignments.

Working in sports media is tough. It can be done, but only as a very diligent and responsible version of the true you.

Indiana fans are excused from attending or caring about Big 10 Football Media Days

Tom Allen will talk about his program’s progress, and hopefully his optimism is justified. If not, they have been there, done that many times.

Indiana University Football has been an oxymoron since the beginning. Minus a few glorious years under Bo McMillan and Bill Mallory, and that glorious run to the Rose Bowl in 1967 that virtually no one alive can remember, IU and football have never gone together.

Big 10 Football Media Days begin at Noon today, and for fans of Ohio State, Michigan, Michigan State, Wisconsin, Iowa, Nebraska, and hell, even Purdue, it is a big deal to hear from their coaches about the upcoming season. For IU fans, we know the drill – the coach talks about incremental improvement, and how last year’s disappointment was a product of injuries and a couple of losses that could have been wins if not for a bad bounce.

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This isn’t coach Tom Allen’s fault, or even athletic director Fred Glass’s. Extricating a program from this extreme level of entrenched mediocrity is exceptionally tough, and no program in the history of college football has authored mediocrity at the level of Indiana University. Tom and Fred do their best to close the gap between IU and their rivals in the Big 10 East, but trying to reach Ohio State’s level of play after over a century of barely competitive football involves a lot of heavy lifting over a long period of time.

As Colts coach Frank Reich always says, “Get one-percent better everyday.” That sounds great, but everyone else is working to improve too.

The point is, Indiana is Indiana, and Big 10 Media Days is not a magical moment for those of us who care about the program. We’ve taken annual trips down Hope Road, and have grown tired of those journeys ending in fiery crashes.

There is good news for IU fans that has nothing to do with who the starting QB might be – the parking lot between Memorial Stadium and Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall has been renovated, the I-69 extension is complete as far as Martinsville, and beer and wine will be on sale during games. Oh yeah, the bathrooms at the stadium have also been rebuilt. That means we can take 67 south from Indy to Martinsville to Bloomington and never see an orange cone or deal with lane closures. It also means no need to sneak maintenance beers in our sleeves as we leave the tailgate to enter the stadium.

The point isn’t to crap on IU Football, but to manage expectations as we prepare for another Autumn with six trips to beautiful Bloomington, Indiana. Football will be part of the fun, but there will also be opportunities to reconnect with fellow alums, enjoy a beer or two, indulge in a little nostalgia, and wander over to Nick’s for buckets and laughs. Win or lose, Indiana fans have found reasons to smile on those Saturdays.

Football season is nearly upon us, but Hoosiers fans are excused from full participation in the Fall Frenzy until games start August 31st at Lucas Oil Stadium against Ball State.

In 49 states, college football season starts with conference media days. But this is Indiana!

IU Basketball – Winning is EASIER with Indiana kids and without cheating

It isn’t just about banners for Indiana Basketball.

This is Indiana!

IU Basketball fans say “This is Indiana” a lot – as though evoking the name of the university and state that takes such pride in its basketball heritage can shake off the rubble and cobwebs of a program that has receded into national irrelevance over the past quarter century.

During that 25-year period, there has been one trip to an Elite Eight or beyond (which ended in a 2002 National Championship game loss) and three Big 10 titles. Nine of the last 16 seasons have ended without an NCAA Tournament bid.

That is Indiana!

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The argument about how current coach Archie Miller should rebuild the program rages like a debate over immigration among the petulant children serving in congress.

Some want Indiana to do what it did when the Hoosiers were feared – recruit the hell out of Indiana, be tougher and smarter than everyone else, and win the Big 10 like it’s their birthright. Others say the quaint notion of winning by building a culture with a foundation of players native to the Hoosier State is dated – a denial of the advancements of college basketball. Talent wins championships.

I am firmly on the side of those who want IU to return to its roots of being tough, smart, and filled with the best players from Indiana. It seems Archie Miller subscribes to that romantic vision of Hoosiers playing for the Hoosiers. We haven’t seen a lot of tough and smart yet, but Miller has just welcomed his second recruiting class to Bloomington, and they have been filled with Indiana All-Stars.

The goal of Indiana Basketball cannot be simply to win – any program can win if it is willing to do anything it takes to accumulate talent. IU must win without cheating, with students who earn meaningful degrees, by playing a team-first style of basketball, and with a roster of Indiana’s best. Many argue those restrictions make winning more difficult. I believe they will allow the program to win consistently.

So why do I keep coming back to IU recruiting Indiana prep kids as a key to success? Is it a romantic hope for a return to a “Hoosiers” style of play, and a similar ending to the greatest of all sports movies? Not at all. It’s about quality of play.

Indiana kids work at the game year-round, they are coached and trained at a higher level, and they succeed at basketball disproportionately to players in other states. Over the last 15 years, Eric Gordon, Jeff Teague, E’Twaun Moore, Mike Conley, Greg Oden, Josh McRoberts, three Zellers, three Plumlees, Gary Harris, Trey Lyles, Gordon Hayward, Glenn Robinson III, JaJuan Johnson, Robbie Hummel, Yogi Ferrell, Caleb Swanigan, Courtney Lee, George Hill, and Romeo Langford have graduated from Indiana high schools to the NBA.

That’s a lot of talent for a state the size of Indiana.

Indiana Basketball is not about banners – it’s about knowing that each banner represents winning through doing it the right way.

If that’s too tall an order for a coach, they don’t need to apply for the IU job – because THAT is the IU job.

If Bo Ryan could figure out how to win consistently at Wisconsin, how the hell hard could it be at Indiana?

I believe IU is headed in the right direction. Trayce Jackson-Davis and Armaan Franklin – both from Indiana – represent a very talented and smart recruiting class. Returning players will be healthier and better developed. Miller has had another year to acclimate to Bloomington.

Experts are predicting Indiana to finish in the bottom half of the Big 10. That’s nonsense. IU should and will finish in the top six of the Big 10 if the roster stays healthy.

That will be Indiana!

Focusing entirely on basketball has costs, but is necessary – and the rewards are great

Ryan Sterling wears this uniform to work today because of the lessons he learned while wearing a basketball jersey.

ESPN.com posted an interesting two-part series last week focusing on the harm caused by young athletes focusing entirely on basketball. It was well-researched, interesting, and probably scared the hell out of a lot of parents whose kids dream of playing college basketball and maybe even the NBA.

One thing it failed to mention is that hyper focus on basketball is the only way to become good enough at the game to succeed against other players who are equally committed.

People argue life would be much better for kids if they played every sport – football, basketball, baseball, tennis, soccer, golf, hockey, and more. They would grow up learning a variety of lessons available from competing in each game, and their bodies would not be subjected to the kind of overuse that causes injuries described in the ESPN piece.

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But they will also fall far behind those who work relentlessly at basketball as their sole vocation. There is no replacement for relentless diligence, and unless every basketball player simultaneously agreed to follow a sane protocol of diversity in activities, those who continued to embrace daily drill work would dominate the game. The athletes who didn’t find their way to the gym as often would wind up on the bench and eventually out of the game entirely.

There is also the little problem of scheduling. If a young basketball player wants to play a spring sport like baseball, it would be very difficult to compete at basketball on the EYBL or Gauntlet series. Without playing in those events, being recruited by college programs becomes very challenging. If a kid plays in the summer, he has a few days between those exhausting events and the first football practice.

A couple of years ago, basketball ended on July 31, and football practice began of August 1. Kids had roughly 15 hours to rest between sports.

It’s easy to look at youth basketball as a flawed system that wears down bodies and robs kids of an opportunity to enjoy many sports, but excellence has a price. And it also has rewards.

When my son was trying to work himself toward excellence in basketball, he got to school early to get up some shots, lifted during gym class, competed in daily open gyms, and then went to a basketball trainer at least three times per week. It never ended, and he loved it – or at least he never complained.

He became a very good player, developed knee tendonitis, suffered from a serious back strain, and still has ankle issues that will have to be surgically repaired at some point down the road. He never missed a practice, and only missed one game (because of stomach flu) and one tournament (with a severe ankle sprain).

The work ethic he developed because of his devotion to basketball served him well. He played college basketball at Loyola of Chicago, where he graduated with academic honors, and then succeeded at law school. He’s an attorney today because of the many lessons he learned striving to become a great basketball player.

In fact, he was recommended for the position he currently holds because of the way he played basketball in a local lawyer league.

This past weekend, Ryan was a groomsman in the wedding of a Loyola teammate, and later this year he will be the best man at the wedding of a friend he made playing basketball.

Yes, there is a cost for working like hell to pursue potential in basketball, but there are numerous counter balances that make focusing on basketball worth every rep, gasser, and shot in an empty and dark gym.

Some – like those who wrote the ESPN piece – will focus on the cost, especially for those who never cashed a check for playing professional basketball, but someone needs to point to the life-changing gains that can come from sacrifice.

Basketball is a great game that engrains innumerable life lessons and provides great benefits, and if the cost of playing are aches, pains, and surgeries, those who dedicate themselves to it still come out way ahead.

Theory that NBA championship will always go to teams from big cities is dishonest broadcasting strategy

Doug Gottlieb is one of many talking heads “convinced” large market teams will win all future NBA titles.

Sports media yammerers love to say NBA championships will always go to teams in major markets.

Every offseason we hear it – again and again – as though we’re talking physics. The world is round. Gravity is a constant. The universe is huge. And small market teams cannot win an NBA championship.

Nonsense.

Here are the 15 most populated TV markets in America, and the last time NBA franchises in those cities claimed an NBA title:

New York Knicks – 1973; Brooklyn Nets – Never
Los Angeles Lakers – 2010; Los Angeles Clippers – Never
Chicago – 1998
Philadelphia – 1983
Dallas – 2011
Washington DC – 1978
Houston – 1995
Bay Area – 2018
Boston – 2008 – before 2008, last won in 1986
Atlanta – Never in ATL, but the Hawks won in 1958 when they were in St. Louis
Tampa – Has never had a team
Phoenix – Never
Seattle – Doesn’t have a team anymore, but won a title in 1979
Detroit – 2004
Twin Cities – Lakers won in 1954 before moving to LA. Timberwolves have never won.

I’m no math whiz, but by my count only two of the seven biggest cities in America have hosted a championship parade in this millennium. One of those two teams, the Dallas Mavericks, have only won once in its history.

If there is a positive correlation between market size and odds to win a championship, I’m all ears.

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Every offseason, there is a national media drumbeat announcing the NBA’s new boss. The last two offseasons, Los Angeles was anointed the city of the future champ. Last year, it was the Lakers when they signed LeBron James. This year, the Clippers are the darlings after acquiring Kawhi Leonard and Paul George.

The Nets are also being mentioned as big winners despite Kevin Durant being unavailable for at least the next year. People point to the acquisition of Kyrie Irving as though he will lead them into Eastern Conference relevance – just like last year when he came to the Celtics.

It’s easy to paint the national experts as simpletons, but that gives them too much credit. The truth is worse. Talking heads understand retweets, clicks, and ratings. Picking large market teams to win championships is a strategic choice. Correctly predicting the Utah Jazz to win the NBA title is more likely to get an expert fired than extolling the virtues of an obviously bad team from a mega-market like the Knicks.

Predictive journalism (there’s an oxymoron if I’ve ever heard one) is about titillation, not accuracy. It’s all about clicks, because that’s what talking heads and writers are rewarded for.

Easily wooed Paul George more valuable when traded than playing

Paul George’s favorite place is always over there instead of right here.

When Paul George showed himself to be a potential all-star for the Indiana Pacers, he started showing and receiving all kinds of postgame love with opposing all-stars. He was like the high school kid who coveted popularity and suddenly got some.

It was sad to watch George genuflect to LeBron James as though a touch from his greatness could rub off on him. George seemed to enjoy the postgame love more than beating his rival.

He prized membership in that club of the NBA best over the team that drafted, nurtured, and developed him.

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At some point, we all need to stand on our own two feet and be who we are – not the reflection we see reflected in the eyes and hearts of those we emulate.

Well, George is at it again, listening to Kawhi Leonard’s recruitment as a package deal was executed with the Los Angeles Clippers. Leonard comes over as a free agent for four years, while George asked for a trade from Oklahoma City to join him.

And why would anyone believe he wouldn’t. There is nothing a man who craves love wants more than to be wooed – and that is George’s MO.

The Thunder accommodated George’s request and extracted point guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and small forward Danilo Gallinari, as well as unprotected 2022, 2024 and 2026 first round picks, their unprotected 2021 and protected 2023 first-round picks via Miami, and the rights to swap picks with the Clippers in 2023 and 2025, league sources said.

Given that George could opt out of his contract after 2021 and Leonard’s deal runs through 2023, those first rounders in 2024 and 2026 might be very valuable to the Thunder.

This is a great deal for the Thunder, who won a total of three playoff games during George’s two years being paired with Russell Westbrook in OKC. Now he goes to the Clippers as he approaches his 30th birthday again as a Robin – this time to Leonard’s Batman.

Experts will embrace the Clippers as an offseason winner regardless of George’s inability to win a playoff series since 2014. Those who’ve been paying attention understand that George brings greater value as a trade piece than on the court.

The Pacers improved with George’s departure, and eventually the Thunder will too.

Everyone wins when George is dealt – including George whose insatiable appetite for love and acceptance drives his migration from team to team.

Good luck to George in LA, and good luck to Clippers fans who will soon reap great benefits when George is inevitably dealt again.

Colin Kaepernick cheapens his position by complaining to @Nike about Betsy Ross American Flag on shoes

These shoes were pulled before release because Colin Kaepernick saw imagery of slavery in the use of the Betsy Ross flag.

Slavery was horrible – a massive stain on American history. Racism remains a huge and shadowy blight on our society. People are people, and to suggest one group is superior to another because of race is idiocy.

But does that mean every American image created prior to the abolition of slavery should bear a stain that reduces it to a symbol of racism?

Nike shipped special Independence Day “Air Max 1 Quick Strike Fourth of July” sneakers featuring the 13-star Betsy Ross flag to retailers, but asked they be returned because former NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick complained to the company. He said that Ross flag is an offensive image because of its connection to slavery.

I don’t want anyone offended, but if the Ross flag has somehow become a source of historical distress for anyone, they have become sensitive to imagery at a level where offensive connections exist everywhere.

This has become an exercise like the game “Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon.” Why Kaepernick doesn’t see the Ross flag as an icon of freedom for the nation whose collective conscience rejected slavery, I don’t know. That flag, regardless of the number of stars is the emblem of this nation – imperfect, but trying to evolve quickly toward reason and acceptance.

If the Ross flag is a symbol of racism, what about Independence Day? There was no independence for slaves on July 4, 1776. How about celebrating George Washington as the Father of our Country? He was a slave owner himself. How can we continue to put a portrait of Washington on the quarter and one-dollar bill? What about the nickel and two-dollar bill with slave owner Thomas Jefferson? How about Andrew Jackson on the $20? (Actually, there are a lot of people upset with Jackson on the $20, and rightly so.)

There is a point at which anger toward imagery thought to be offensive by an individual is the responsibility of the offended. It appears if Kaepernick squints hard enough – as he did at the 13-star flag on the heel of these Nikes – he can draw a line between any American symbol and the parts of its past that are regrettable, reprehensible, and truly offensive.

Kaepernick is giving those who disagree with him a chance to accurately label him as vulnerable to bizarre leaps of illogic. By lamenting the innocuous, he is wasting his opportunity to call out truly horrible remnants of our wretched past.

People must acknowledge our need to move forward toward a truly inclusive societal philosophy, and Kaepernick has been a big instigator of important conversations. If his actions in sitting for the National Anthem were questionable, no one could argue his dedication to the cause of racial equality.

Kaepernick’s disdain for these shoes has cheapened his position as a leader. That is a shame because we need loud voices to pull us toward enlightenment.

Pacers deals for Malcolm Brogdon & Jeremy Lamb boost present and brighten future

Malcolm Brogdon is a hell of a get for the Pacers who continue to value culture.

The Indiana Pacers clearly subscribe to the notion that in basketball the whole needs to outweigh the sum of the parts.

In a star driven NBA, teams overpay for celebrity. In Indiana, where celebrity is a meaningless measuring stick for people and players, the Pacers target players concerned with winning rather than Instagram followers.

So yesterday, when team were ready to hand max money to stars like Kyrie Irving, Kevin Durant, DeAngelo Russell, Kawhi Leonard, and others, the Pacers went after a guy whose nicknames include “The President”, “Humble Moses”, and “Uncle Malcolm”, and who has 1,030 Instagram followers.

Malcolm Brogdon was targeted early in the process by the Pacers, who covet his combination of leadership and youth every bit as much as his analytics.

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Brogdon can play smart basketball. Exhibit A is his membership in the very exclusive 50-40-90 club – NBA players who have hit 50% of their field goal attempts, 40% of three-point attempts, and 90% of their free throws (Reggie Miller, Larry Bird, Steve Nash, Durant, Dirk Nowitzki, Steph Curry, and Mark Price are the other seven members).

The Pacers also signed Jeremy Lamb, who is a lesser known player because he has spent his entire seven-year NBA career in Oklahoma City and Charlotte.

In 2018-2019, Lamb became a starter for the first time, and delivered 15.3 points and 5.5 rebounds per game. Like Brogdon, he is 6’5 and an outstanding foul shooter (89% last season). Unlike Brogdon, three-point accuracy is not his stock in trade, hitting 35% last year (not bad, but not great).

Maybe as important for the Pacers is Ricky Rubio choosing to sign with the Phoenix Suns. Rubio will earn $17-million during each of the next three years for running the offense and shooting threes like he needs a map to find the rim. Rubio had been rumored to be a focus for the Pacers. Sometimes a team’s best deals are those they don’t make.

Brogdon signed a four-year, $85M extension to come to Indiana, and Lamb will be paid $31.5M over the next three years. With Victor Oladipo under contract for the next two years, Myles Turner for the next four, TJ Warren for the next three, and Domas Sabonis under control for at least the next two years, the young core of the Pacers seems to be set for the foreseeable future.

Is that core going to be good enough to contend for the top spot in the Eastern Conference? Everything has to break just right, and one of the young guys needs to develop into an elite player, but it’s a hell of a lot more likely today that it was yesterday.