Letter from Larry Bird
Indianapolis, July 9, 2008Today we officially completed trades that have been rumored since the NBA Draft, June 26. In one trade, T.J. Ford, Rasho Nesterovic, Maceo Baston and Roy Hibbert (the 17th pick overall in the draft) come from Toronto in exchange for Jermaine O’Neal and our second-round pick from the 2008 draft. The second trade gives us Jarrett Jack, Josh McRoberts and Brandon Rush (the 13th overall pick in the draft) from Portland in exchange for Ike Diogu and Jerryd Bayless (the 11th pick in the draft).
I firmly believe these trades have put the Indiana Pacers in a better position than where we were at going into the draft. I’m excited about all of these players and what they potentially can bring to the franchise in terms of talent and character. These are the first of many steps it will take to get us back to the level I expect and our fans expect.
I can’t promise there will be other changes before the season, but I will promise we are going to keep working to try to make changes that will make our team better. Again, these trades are the beginning of a process but my personal level of anticipation is such that training camp is three months away, yet I wish it started tomorrow.
Sincerely,
Larry Bird
