Ben Hansbrough

Pacers Notes: Stephenson, Granger, West

Mark Montieth of Pacers.com has a new mailbag column that addresses several topics relating to the Pacers, who are off to a disappointing start to the 2012/13 season. Here are the highlights:

  • Monteith believes the hot start to the season for Lance Stephenson is sustainable because of the fundamentally sound form to his shooting stroke.
  • Despite the hole that Danny Granger's injury creates in the team's lineup, Monteith writes that Donnie Walsh is not presently planning to pursue a trade or free agent as a stopgap.
  • The Pacers want to keep forward David West, who is an unrestricted free agent at the end of the season. However, Monteith doesn't believe they will discuss an extension before summer.
  • Monteith doesn't think rookies Orlando Johnson and Ben Hansbrough will see playing time anytime soon, because it would throw an already-uncertain rotation even further off.

Odds & Ends: Smith, Dorsey, Suns, Pacers

There seems to be an increasing reluctance to lock fourth-year players up to extensions prior to their restricted free agency, Sean Deveney writes in his latest piece for The Sporting News. With this year's extension deadline looming, only Blake Griffin and Serge Ibaka have re-upped with their respective teams so far. As we wait to see which other extension candidates may sign new deals in the next few days, let's tackle a few odds and ends from around the Association: