Off-Season Interviews: Indiana Pacers
Jul 19, 2022 23:03:23 GMT -5
Golden State Warriors (Caleb), Denver Nuggets (Kevin), and 2 more like this
Post by The Athletic on Jul 19, 2022 23:03:23 GMT -5
Hello my asian brother appreciate you taking some time to set down and talk some Pacers with me!
My guy, we know you love the rebuild. What was the tipping point for you to try and make some noise this year?
Hello my Asian brother, thanks for having me. Always a pleasure talking hoop and Indiana basketball. The rebuild is forever and relinquishing my tank commander title is a sad thought but the opportunity to at least throw my hat in the fire was enticing. The tipping point was when we fell back in the lottery and having the chance to trade for James. I had to start cashing in on my picks and young guys for actual production and the price of high caliber players seemed discounted this off-season.
James Harden bro. Pretty big acquisition. What’s your expectation for him this year and can you talk a little bit about how that trade came into fruition?
James is huge for us, man. I have such high expectations for him regardless of the noise surrounding him. He is a legit top 10 player here but with all of the playoff cloud and “old” age scare really diminished his value around the league. He had his worse year since 2015 and still was a top 10 player. James will be hungry in Philly next year and seems committed to really prove all the doubters wrong – we can’t wait for it. As for the trade, Trey and I went back for weeks. After fielding offers from around the league, it seemed like this trade between us was bound to happen – it just made too much sense. We wanted to just come out with more value and our eyes we see James having a huge bounce back year. For Trey, it makes sense – really just shoot for the moon with JI and take upside with the first-round picks he got.
Some might say Duren was a little bit of a reach bro. Was Keegan ever in consideration? What made you guys confident that Duren was your guy?
We were put in a pretty tough spot on draft day, we had a long list of guys we liked from about 5-10 and would be happy with any of them. I feel like we consistently go with the high upside shoot for the moon type players and that’s exactly what Jalen is. Jalen will be an important asset for us for a long time, there is no looking back. We’re all excited for the monster front court we have in Zion, Alpy, and Jalen.
Your love for Alpy is well documented. How do you view him long term and what role do you expect him to play for you guys this year?
We’re stoked for Alpy this year. The phones are ringing constantly for him and the calls are respectfully short. This will be a big year for him, to really show out after a mediocre rookie campaign. If he gets a starting role in Houston, I believe he’s a perfect fit with Jabari. He can really be that playmaking big to pair with KPJ and Jalen Green. Right now, he has every opportunity to take a major step forward heading into year two. Alpy will step into a starting role for us too and we will rely heavily on him next to Zion. The defensive side of things is the only thing holding him back – he just needs to be a capable defender to really excel here. Paring him next to Jabari was the best-case scenario this off-season and we are all super excited for Alpy in the future.
Zion has had a very crazy last year or so. Are you still backing the lad? What are your guys expectations for him this year and can we expect a 5 year re sign at the conclusion of this year?
Zion is the franchise; we are 100% backing him up. It’ll be an easy decision to extend Zion when the time comes. We’re just excited to have him back in the fold and develop with the entire team. We expect him to be fully up to speed and not miss a beat. He has all of the potential in the world to truly be a top 10 player in the league and I don’t see why he can’t be exactly that. We’re ready to dance with Zion leading us and forming a fully healthy trio with James and Chris.
What are the goals and expectations for this year? If you guys make the playoffs is this season a success? Or do your goals lie higher?
Last year was fun man, lot of growth out of the boys after some straight bad luck with injuries. We don’t have any real goals or expectations this year. It would be foolish to really put ourselves in a position to believe we will make a run when in truth, we’ve never been there before. If there was any one goal, it would to just develop and take step forwards. If all 12 guys improve and are put into better situations, we will call that a win. So much excitement here with Zion, Alpy, CP3, James, Jalen, Jaden, Jose, Tre, Cam, Jose, and Tisse. I would consider the playoffs a success fasho. I mean from tank commander to playoffs, that’s a movie – call it jonnybounceback. But in reality, we all know anything can happen in this league. Just excited to throw my name in the hat and have some fun.
If you could eliminate one other franchise in the playoffs this year, who would it be and why?
How can I not say Bman and the Celtics? What a dream spot it would be if we clashed in the playoffs man. It would straight up be zero dark thirty in the Ho household, straight war fighter mode. I’m talking locking myself in a room and praying for Kat/Ben/SGA’s downfall. We in Indiana now.
Thanks bro!
My guy, we know you love the rebuild. What was the tipping point for you to try and make some noise this year?
Hello my Asian brother, thanks for having me. Always a pleasure talking hoop and Indiana basketball. The rebuild is forever and relinquishing my tank commander title is a sad thought but the opportunity to at least throw my hat in the fire was enticing. The tipping point was when we fell back in the lottery and having the chance to trade for James. I had to start cashing in on my picks and young guys for actual production and the price of high caliber players seemed discounted this off-season.
James Harden bro. Pretty big acquisition. What’s your expectation for him this year and can you talk a little bit about how that trade came into fruition?
James is huge for us, man. I have such high expectations for him regardless of the noise surrounding him. He is a legit top 10 player here but with all of the playoff cloud and “old” age scare really diminished his value around the league. He had his worse year since 2015 and still was a top 10 player. James will be hungry in Philly next year and seems committed to really prove all the doubters wrong – we can’t wait for it. As for the trade, Trey and I went back for weeks. After fielding offers from around the league, it seemed like this trade between us was bound to happen – it just made too much sense. We wanted to just come out with more value and our eyes we see James having a huge bounce back year. For Trey, it makes sense – really just shoot for the moon with JI and take upside with the first-round picks he got.
Some might say Duren was a little bit of a reach bro. Was Keegan ever in consideration? What made you guys confident that Duren was your guy?
We were put in a pretty tough spot on draft day, we had a long list of guys we liked from about 5-10 and would be happy with any of them. I feel like we consistently go with the high upside shoot for the moon type players and that’s exactly what Jalen is. Jalen will be an important asset for us for a long time, there is no looking back. We’re all excited for the monster front court we have in Zion, Alpy, and Jalen.
Your love for Alpy is well documented. How do you view him long term and what role do you expect him to play for you guys this year?
We’re stoked for Alpy this year. The phones are ringing constantly for him and the calls are respectfully short. This will be a big year for him, to really show out after a mediocre rookie campaign. If he gets a starting role in Houston, I believe he’s a perfect fit with Jabari. He can really be that playmaking big to pair with KPJ and Jalen Green. Right now, he has every opportunity to take a major step forward heading into year two. Alpy will step into a starting role for us too and we will rely heavily on him next to Zion. The defensive side of things is the only thing holding him back – he just needs to be a capable defender to really excel here. Paring him next to Jabari was the best-case scenario this off-season and we are all super excited for Alpy in the future.
Zion has had a very crazy last year or so. Are you still backing the lad? What are your guys expectations for him this year and can we expect a 5 year re sign at the conclusion of this year?
Zion is the franchise; we are 100% backing him up. It’ll be an easy decision to extend Zion when the time comes. We’re just excited to have him back in the fold and develop with the entire team. We expect him to be fully up to speed and not miss a beat. He has all of the potential in the world to truly be a top 10 player in the league and I don’t see why he can’t be exactly that. We’re ready to dance with Zion leading us and forming a fully healthy trio with James and Chris.
What are the goals and expectations for this year? If you guys make the playoffs is this season a success? Or do your goals lie higher?
Last year was fun man, lot of growth out of the boys after some straight bad luck with injuries. We don’t have any real goals or expectations this year. It would be foolish to really put ourselves in a position to believe we will make a run when in truth, we’ve never been there before. If there was any one goal, it would to just develop and take step forwards. If all 12 guys improve and are put into better situations, we will call that a win. So much excitement here with Zion, Alpy, CP3, James, Jalen, Jaden, Jose, Tre, Cam, Jose, and Tisse. I would consider the playoffs a success fasho. I mean from tank commander to playoffs, that’s a movie – call it jonnybounceback. But in reality, we all know anything can happen in this league. Just excited to throw my name in the hat and have some fun.
If you could eliminate one other franchise in the playoffs this year, who would it be and why?
How can I not say Bman and the Celtics? What a dream spot it would be if we clashed in the playoffs man. It would straight up be zero dark thirty in the Ho household, straight war fighter mode. I’m talking locking myself in a room and praying for Kat/Ben/SGA’s downfall. We in Indiana now.
Thanks bro!