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http://www.nba.com/warriors/news/Warriors_Acquire_Harrington_Jackson.html
The Golden State Warriors have acquired forward Al Harrington, guard/forward Stephen Jackson, guard Sarunas Jasikevicius and forward Josh Powell from the Indiana Pacers in exchange for forwards Mike Dunleavy, Troy Murphy, Ike Diogu and guard Keith McLeod, it was announced today by Executive Vice President of Basketball Operations Chris Mullin.
"We are excited about this trade," said Mullin. "As I've said on several occasions, we are always looking to make our basketball team better and, with this move, I think we have accomplished that goal. We have acquired players who will fit in very well with our particular style of basketball. As with any trade, we also had to surrender players that we like both on and off the court. I think this transaction will be good for both teams and all of the players involved."
http://www.nba.com/pacers/news/trade_lead_070117.html
As their team followed most every advance with a retreat, would follow moments of inspiration with others of frustration, Donnie Walsh and Larry Bird both came to an inescapable conclusion: the Pacers' pieces just didn't fit, at least not as well as hoped.
The underlying motivation for the eight-player trade with Golden State Wednesday that netted Mike Dunleavy, Troy Murphy, Ike Diogu and Keith McLeod was to acquire players that better align with both the philosophy and the personality of the Pacers. The deal cost Al Harrington, Stephen Jackson, Sarunas Jasikevicius and Josh Powell, admittedly a high price in terms of individual talent, but was an investment in the team concept.
"We had a tough schedule at the beginning but right now we should be hitting our peak," said Larry Bird, President of Basketball Operations. "I can't say I'm happy with where we're standing.
I think we should've won more games. … With this team that we have, we talked to all of them today, they know we're still committed to winning and we're going to do what's necessary to take these guys to the next level. With the addition of these three, four young men, we're going to be a better basketball club. We're more balanced than we were yesterday."
With a major offseason roster renovation and a schedule that brought 13 of the first 19 on the road, the Pacers knew the first few weeks of the season would be a challenge. Though they didn't yield, neither did they thrive. They've had impressive victories over some of the top teams in the East as well as mind-boggling losses to some of the bottom-feeders. It wasn't so much that their 20-18 record was bad, rather their inconsistency didn't offer much hope of substantial improvement.
