INDIANAPOLIS — The NBA’s trade deadline apparently will pass with no action by the Indiana Pacers.
Jim O’Brien, the Pacers’ Head Coach, told Indianapolis Star reporter Mike Wells he expects the Thursday, February 18 trade deadline to pass without the team making a deal.
“As much as every team in the league wants to do some things to improve your basketball team, it just seems that it’s very difficult to make deals and everybody wants to improve their basketball team, but when we go to New Orleans (on Friday) this will be the group we will have,” O’Brien told Wells.
According to Wells, “Troy Murphy was the most likely candidate to move because he can help a playoff team with his ability to close.”
And Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports, citing league sources Thursday morning, wrote “the Pacers are resigned that they won’t be trading Troy Murphy prior to Thursday’s deadline.”
Wojnarowski adds, “Murphy had been the object of interest in several places, including Milwaukee, Sacramento and even Cleveland. The Bucks were the most intrigued with him until they made a deal for Chicago’s John Salmons on Wednesday.”
According to Wells, the Pacers wanted multiple expiring contracts from the Bucks for Murphy. “The Bucks wanted to the Pacers take guard Charlie Bell, whose contract doesn’t expire until after the 2011-12 season, back in return,” Wells wrote, adding to “add Sacramento to the ‘highly unlikely’ list when it comes to Murphy, according to Sam Amick of the Sacramento Bee.
Wells also wrote, “Murphy didn’t have any boxes or a suitcase near his locker on Wednesday. He’s working under the assumption that he won’t be dealt.”
