Tonight was a tough night to swallow for Pacers' fans abroad. When news got out that the team would be dealing PG Darren Collison and wing Dahntay Jones to the Dallas Mavericks for 6'11 center Ian Mahinmi there was an absolute uproar across the city of Indianapolis as fans thought that the Pacers got the short end of the stick in this deal. To the naked eye, yes that might seem to be true, but let's go deeper into the trade and see what it really means for the Pacers.
Darren Collison was in the final year of his 4yr 6.4 million dollar contract and would become a restricted free agent following this upcoming season, meaning that the Pacers would likely have had to overpay to bring him back next year anyway. Collison is set to make 2.3 million in this final year and would be saving the Pacers 1.2 million dollars in a Mavericks uniform. Collison ,a starting caliber PG, was not going to stick around for a bench role after next season when he becomes a free agent anyway so it's best the Pacers' get something for him rather than just let him walk next year.
The other player the Pacers are shipping out is Swingman, Dahntay Jones. Dahntay had slowly been fading in the Pacers' rotation the last couple season. Jones was under contract with the Pacers on a 4 yr. 11 million dollar contract, with the 4th year being a player option. On June 26th of this year Jones exercised his player option on that 4th year, meaning he would remain a Pacer for the 2012-2013 season and would reel in 2.9 million for that season. So the Pacers also shed that contract, however the Pacers did have to spend some money on who they received in the deal.
Now who did Indiana get in exchange for those two players? (this is where the angry fans come in) 6'11 230 lb. big man, Ian Mahinmi. Mahinmi, who averaged 5.8 points and 4.7 rebounds in 61 games for the Dallas Mavericks last season, recently signed a 4 year 16 million dollar contract with Dallas and will be bringing that with him to the Pacers. The 25 year old big man will be a solid back up for Indiana's all-star center Roy Hibbert, bringing his great athleticism and energy into the game. The Pacers filled a definite void with this move.
Pacers' fans had grown very fond of both Darren Collison and Dahntay Jones over the past couple seasons.
The two had become fan favorites on the court and in the community. With that being said it'd be an understatement to say that there are a lot of upset Pacers fans right now, but all I can say is be patient because the Pacers are not done making moves this off season.
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