The Pacers and Hibbert looking to part ways has been no secret, and from the sound of Stein’s report, the Lakers would be offering only salary relief to the Pacers by taking Hibbert into their estimated $23 million in salary cap space.
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The National Basteball Association offseason has been nothing short of exciting thus far, with all the free agent signings and trades. In an end-of-the-year news conference team president Larry Bird all but pushed Hibbert out the door, hinting that they weren’t interested in picking up his player option for 2015-16.
After missing out on almost every free agent they targeted, it appears the Los Angeles Lakers might still land an All-Star big man: Roy Hibbert. Best case scenario is that Hibbert provides rim protection alongside Julius Randle in the frontcourt, and helps a defense that finished last season ranked 29th out of 30 teams in efficiency. It was obvious that Indiana didn’t want to hang onto him anymore, and the Lakers were hoping to snag a player like DeAndre Jordan or LaMarcus Aldridge.
Meanwhile, the Pacers have also expressed their desire to unload Hibbert and his massive expiring contract worth $15.5MM. That being said, he isn’t going to be asked to shoulder a huge load. But with their current situation dire, Hibbert would represent an upgrade over any of the Lakers’ in-house options.
Hibbert averaged 10.6 points, 7.1 rebounds, and 1.6 blocks during his seventh season with the Pacers.
Hibbert will be in the last season of his contract and eligible for free agency in a year. He was selected to the National Basteball Association All-Star team and finished the year averaging 12.8 points, 8.8 rebounds and 2.0 blocked shots per game while shooting 49.7 percent from the field.
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For Hibbert, the change of scenery might be the one thing that could reboot his career, which has been on a decline since the midpoint of 2013-2014.
