Lance Stephenson
Last season, Lance Stephenson showed signs of being a future star in the NBA, until his bizarre antics hindered the Indiana Pacers from advancing past the Miami Heat in the conference finals. With the exceptions of David West and sometimes Paul George, Lance was the team’s only consistent player in the playoffs. When the team was eliminated from the playoffs, Paul neither confirmed nor denied whether he wanted the emotional Stephenson to return to the team next season.
While Lance has definitely affected his pay out this summer and potential contenders coming to his doorstep, Larry Bird has made it clear he’s not giving up on the young 23-year-old rising star. Stephenson’s glass ceiling is still unclear until we see how he reacts after signing his next contract this Summer. We’re expecting him to play it safe and choose staying with the Pacers, but emerging teams like Atlanta and Utah have been linked to the Brooklyn native.
The Hawks did take the Pacers to 7 games during the first round led by the heroics of Paul Millsap, Louis Williams and Jeff Teague – without their best player Al Horford on the floor. The Jazz also have an extremely young roster of talent which includes Trey Burke, Gordon Hayward, Derrick Favors and Enes Kanter; where Lance could be the missing piece they need to become a legit playoff team in the West for the future.
At the present, it’s uncertain whether Lance wants to reduce his role to continue playing around Paul George on the wing or take his talents to becoming the star player somewhere else.
Likely Destinations: Indiana Pacers, Atlanta Hawks, Utah Jazz