Indiana Pacers Presser

-Indianapolis, IN

Quote:

---

GM PP3 walks into the press conference alongside new head coach Rick Carlisle, Shaquille O'Neal and Jason Richardson

GM: Hello and welcome to all the media members and fans watching this presser. I'm joined alongside our fantastic new head coach Rick Carlisle as well as new franchise centerpiece Shaquille O'Neal and team veteran Jason Richardson. We made a difficult but necessary decision to send fan favorites Dirk Nowitzki and Shawn Marion away to Los Angeles in favor of acquiring Shaquille. We wish them the best in LA. We were also fortunate to acquire 2 young role players in Matt Carroll and Matt Bonner in the late first and second round of the draft and we're confident they will bud into their support roles rather well. We were also fortunate to acquire 3 key free agents this offseason in the form of Morris Peterson, Anthony Carter, and William Avery. With that last statement I turn the mic over to Coach Carlisle.

Rick Carlisle: As you all know we just finished up with training camp and we are excited where our team is headed. For starters our team captains will be the two gentlemen to my left... Shaquille and Jason are very excited to lead this team to its first playoff appearance this season. My staff and I believe with the time and effort we put in and the players exuding that same type of dedication we can make some significant strides this season and put a winning product out on the floor night in and night out.

GM PP3: That will conclude our statements but we will open the floor for the media personnel present to ask any inquiries that they may have

---

Do you feel you have a strong enough core with Shaq to compete in the East?

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Hornets78

Do you feel you have a strong enough core with Shaq to compete in the East?

---

I sincerely do. We feel that anytime you have a superstar like Shaquille on your squad then you are immediately in a good spot. I think something not many people realize is that our team is still very young, 9 of our guys are 24 or younger, Shaq is our oldest player at age 31. What I am getting at is that this isnt a one year project, the majority of this team is on contract for next year as well so we are very excited for the next couple seasons here in Indy.

What factors contributed to your decision to acquire Shaq? A lot of people questioned if this was a short-sited move considering how young and talented Dirk is.

What are your expectations for the season and beyond?

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by NolaHornets23

What factors contributed to your decision to acquire Shaq? A lot of people questioned if this was a short-sited move considering how young and talented Dirk is.

What are your expectations for the season and beyond?

---

We felt that in the direction we wanted this team to go for the future he had to be offloaded. We've wanted to be a team that prides itself on defense and toughness, which is why we made the deal. Shaq is one of the best low post scorers in the history of the game as well as one of the best defenders and rebounders. Dirk will improve very much with a guy like Joel Przybilla in LA because he will excel at the things Dirk cannot do very well. As for the deal being "short-sighted" that is false. Shaq is only 31 and has several years left at the top of his game. With a new head coach we felt this was the best time to move on from Dirk.

Expectations are to grow as a team and make the playoffs and contend for a ring, pretty simple.

Good questions!