Well, a day after taking in the fact that the Indiana Pacers will be doing the same thing that I will be doing this spring/summer-- watching the NBA playoffs from the couch-- I kinda reflected back on a few events in the past 2 1/2 months.   Actually, these events have given me some reason to look forward to next season and beyond:

-- Herb Simon (one of the owners of the Indiana Pacers) basically stating in an interview after taking in the season in Feburary came right out and made a bold statement, "everything will be reviewed except the ownership of the team in the offseason."   From my experiences with knowing the presence of the Simon Family in Indianapolis, this is very promising.  He basically stated that the Indiana Pacers are going nowhere and that they are committed in making the right moves to bring the Pacers back to respectibility-- a far cry from the near snafu caused by statements/emails from the new owners of the Seattle Sonics about the prospect of moving the team....

-- Donnie Walsh leaving the Pacers after 24 years.  This kinda makes me a little nervous at first thought, the guy who made some wonderful moves as President of Basketball operations leaves the P's now?   After re-thinking the scenario, it is probably for the best.   24 years at any management level in any organization equals success, but I believe that staying too long at one place can make a person a little complacent.  Also it makes one person accountable for the team at this point, which is Larry Bird.  I've kinda given Larry a free pass for the past couple of years (no matter if the Pacers' woes just happened to coincide with his arrival to the orgainzation!) since we really don't truly know who was behind some of the moves that didn't go right, now he is officially on the clock!

-- Shutting down Jamaal Tinsley for the rest of the season for injury concerns.  Hopefully he returns to full health, but only to get the he!! out of Indianapolis.  He has been an enigma here in Indy-- he has potential all-star talent that he flashes every season just enough to tease fans, only to become injured for vast amounts of time.  I can't fault an athlete for getting injured when putting it all on the line for their prosepective sport, but I can fault an athlete that seems to perpetuate bad feelings, and help cast a negative image on their team, which is exactly why he needs a new NBA home.  I believe he was probably originally influenced by a much worse evil that used to be on the Pacers, since he never had any off-court issues before a couple of years ago.

--Seeing Jermaine O'Neal returning to the Pacers and nearly securing a playoff berth.  Yeah, I know, it's the Eastern Conference, but this is two positive signs into one-- 1) the Pacers really aren't that far off from contending in the playoffs, and 2) we might just see a fully healthy Jermaine O'Neal next season.   I'm kinda on the fence about trading Jermaine, (which is a popular subject with Pacer fans)-- I'd love to for salary cap reasons, but I also believe that with him the team is soooo much better defensively-- not counting the last game of the season tonight, the Pacers are 5-2 with O'Neal returning.   The difference is that Jermaine has now focused on an area he can dominate in many NBA matchups-- rebounding, shot blocking, and position defense-- not so much trying to be the #1 offensive option every trip down the floor.

--The current core of the roster is looking alright.  Danny Granger is showing signs that he can be the guy the Pacers envisioned when they drafted him-- a team leader.  Mike Dunleavy has been by far the biggest surprise on the Pacers' roster this season-- heck, he even looks like he could be worth his salary at this point!  Troy Murphy (you know, if you condense his name it becomes "Trophy"-- how cool is that???) may never be worth his salary that Golden State originally gave him, but I can at least live with it if he is getting double/doubles in points and rebounds as he has been doing the past few games.  Shawne Williams has shown flashes of brilliance (when he's behaving off-court, that is.)  and the acquisitions of Travis Diener, Kareem Rush, and Flip Murray have all paid dividends this season. 

--By doing so little last offseason, we can do so much this offseason.  The only true constraint is if the roster keeps the same guaranteed contracts, we are very close to the luxury-tax threshold, which is nowhere to be if the team is a sub-.500.   However, everything else looks great.  For starters, the Pacers have a first-round pick that is in the lottery range and a high second round pick-- both picks are very welcome and probably will land players that could be used right away.   Jeff Foster and Marquis Daniels suddenly become very valuable trade commodities-- expiring contracts next season.  Foster is a guy I'd love to see stick around, Daniels, well, that's a different story!  David Harrison will ride off happily into the sunset as his contract expires this offseason, and he is not expected to be resigned.

--and Larry Bird finally sees the light!   Larry made a statement around the time of the Simon statement stating that he understands that the fans do not like the team that is on the floor.  DUH!  Just what I want to see, owners and management on the same page, and the page is we need to change the team.....