The Pacers are in a position where they may end up kicking themselves for comments made about point guard Jamaal Tinsley at the end of last season.
Pacers officials -- co-owner Herb Simon, president Larry Bird, general manager David Morway and coach Jim O'Brien -- let it be known early and often during the offseason that they had every intention of trading Tinsley. It's not often teams publicly say they're actively looking to trade a player, but Bird had to do it since he was backed in a corner by fans that had been turned off by the team's performance on and off the court the past few seasons.
It turns out that Tinsley's still on the roster and it appears the Pacers may continue having problems trying to trade him.
Teams haven't constantly called Bird to try to pull off a deal because they know Tinsley comes with a lot of baggage.
--Injuries: He's played more than 42 games in a season just once in the past four years.
--Contract: He's scheduled to make $21 million in the final three years of his contract.
--Attitude: Although he was the victim on one occasion, Tinsley has been involved in several off-the-court incidents the past couple of years.
Pacers officials have told Tinsley, who is finally healthy and in shape, to stay away from the team while they continue to try to trade him.
Teams will likely continue to wait to see if Bird will back off his stance of not buying out the remaining three years of Tinsley's contract.
