It's not too late!

["Berry, Mark S" <berrym@xxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Run away Chris Wallace, run away. Get the Pacers on the phone. Read this
synopsis from RealGM, per the Indianapolis Star. You can do this. Just say
no to Vin Baker. Anyone but Vin Baker. Please!


Mark Monteith of the Indianapolis Star reports that the Pacers
<http://pacers.realgm.com>  know what they want to do, they just don't know
if they'll be able to do it. They want to trade Austin Croshere
<http://www.realgm.com/src_playerfile.php?playerid=462> , but they don't
know what they can get for him... but here's what they're looking for: 

1) They want a player whose salary is close to the $7 million that Croshere
will be paid this year. 

2) They want a player with only one year left on his contract. 

3) They want a player who can contribute to the team. 

They would love to get rid of the $40 million left on Croshere's contract in
order to free up money to sign their free agents next year. Monteith admits
that it is a tall order to fill, and the Pacers <http://pacers.realgm.com>
may have to settle for #1 and #2 or settle for no deal at all. "The climate
is not good," Pacers <http://pacers.realgm.com>  president Donnie Walsh
said. "People are afraid to take on long-term contracts when they do a
deal." 

The Pacers <http://pacers.realgm.com>  will have six big free agents next
season, and all of them are ahead of Croshere in playing time. Freeing up
Croshere's contract will help them to afford to resign Jermaine O'Neal,
Reggie Miller <http://www.realgm.com/src_playerfile.php?playerid=456> , Brad
Miller <http://www.realgm.com/src_playerfile.php?playerid=4> , Jeff Foster
<http://www.realgm.com/src_playerfile.php?playerid=460> , Ron Artest
<http://www.realgm.com/src_playerfile.php?playerid=2>  and Jonathan Bender
<http://www.realgm.com/src_playerfile.php?playerid=465> . 

Croshere would like to stay in Indiana, but does not want another season
buried on the bench. Any deal involving Croshere probably won't occur until
after Aug. 1, when he loses his base-year compensation status. If Croshere
is moved before then, the trade value of his salary is only $5.25 million.
It is the full $7 million after that, which means the Pacers
<http://pacers.realgm.com>  can either get a better player in return or take
a larger salary off another team's payroll. 

Walsh said many teams like Croshere's game, but not his contract. "A lot of
teams are trying to get a lower payroll next year," Walsh said. Walsh said
some teams are hesitant to trade for a long-term contract because they are
eager to clear salary space for next season's free agent class, which looks
to be much stronger than this one.