Interest in Darren Collison heating up

NBA At 2: More Interest In Collison
By: Bill Ingram
Hoops World
Last Updated: 6/15/10 2:09 PM ET

It seems every team in the NBA sees the writing on the wall in New Orleans. Darren Collison is the real deal, and showed in his rookie season that he can flat out play. He averaged 12.4 points and 5.7 assists overall, but his numbers as a starter when Chris Paul went down with an injury are even better - 18.8 points and 9.1 assists on 48% shooting and 43% from three. Those numbers are good enough to earn him the attention of teams in need of a point guard . . .teams like the Indiana Pacers.

Yesterday we reported that the Cleveland Cavaliers have interest in Collison as a possible upgrade to Mo Williams; today Mike Wells of the Indianapolis Star reports that the Pacers, too, have reached out to the Hornets to see what it would take to land Collison.

The issue for the Pacers is that in order to reach the next level - the playoffs, in Indiana's case - they need a radical upgrade at point guard. There has been talk that they might find their future floor leader in the draft with Avery Bradley, but the reality is that Bradley is a question mark at the NBA level. TJ Ford is going to exercise his player option on next season, and while Ford has been a solid point guard, he's not a star player by any stretch of the imagination, nor is his back-up, Earl Watson. The Pacers have gone as far as either of their current guards can take them, and it hasn't been far enough.

The issue for Indiana is that New Orleans isn't willing to give up their prized possession unless it's a means to an end. They want to unload Emeka Okafor's bloated contract, or at least get out from under James Posey. The Pacers have been unwilling to take on big, long-term contracts, as their big picture plan since Larry Bird and David Morway teamed up to turn the franchise around has been to have cap space next summer. They've been unwilling to entertain offers that jeopardized that plan . . .and getting Collison would force them to seriously re-evaluate the plan.

That said, some players are worth such a re-evaluation, and Collison may prove to be exactly that kind of player.