I wrote it a few weeks ago and I will write it again: The Pacers are wheeling and dealing their way straight to the NBA draft lottery. And you know what? When they finally make this deal that brings Al Harrington to Indiana, the same Baby Al who never once showed up in the postseason during his first incarnation here, I'll write it again. Lottery, baby. Let the Greg Oden Sweepstakes begin. Can anybody outside of the Pacers organization tell me what they're trying to accomplish here? When I said, "Blow the thing up," I meant, "Get rid of the core players, the bad apples, take the hit and rebuild from the bottom." What they're doing, though, is tinkering around the edges, putting rouge on a pig. They've made moves, yes, but moves to make them appreciably better? Please. Everybody agreed when Anthony Johnson said after the Pacers' season-ending loss to New Jersey that they needed to change the "culture" of the locker room. And yet, I'm looking at these moves so far, and I see Indiana dealing away all of their best locker room citizens, leaving the knuckleheads behind. They let Peja Stojakovic go -- fine. The price was too high, and that trade exception will prove valuable if they use it to get Harrington. The Austin Croshere deal, OK, a wash. The Pacers will miss his professionalism, but Marquis Daniels will be productive. But these latest two moves -- trading Johnson for a used peach basket and letting Fred Jones walk -- make absolutely no sense to me. I admit it: I'm an A.J. fan. Like him personally, like him as a player. Was he a top-flight starting point guard on a title-contending team? Absolutely not. But for two straight years, he was this team's salvation, and clearly the best point guard on the current roster (damning with faint praise, I know). While the lamentable Jamaal Tinsley was cashing his paycheck and Sarunas Jasikevicius was pouting and wishing he was back in Israel, Johnson was the one true pro who played with an oversized heart. Clearly, he wasn't happy Pacers president Larry Bird signed Jasikevicius for all that money, but at least he took that anger, channeled it and played with the kind of passion we didn't often see from his teammates last year. So for a player who averaged 20 points per game in last year's playoffs, including 40 in an elimination game, the Pacers got a 38-year-old baby-sitter (Darrell Armstrong) and two nobodies who might not make the roster. Hmmm. If I didn't know any better -- wait, I don't know any better -- I'd wonder if Bird isn't trying to cover himself on the Jasikevicius signing. Little wonder coach Rick Carlisle hasn't gotten a contract extension: He's not sharp enough to find a way to get big-time minutes for a slow point guard who can't defend anybody and left his 3-point shot in a Tel Aviv safe-deposit box. If the Pacers go into next year with Tinsley, Jasikevicius and Armstrong playing point guard, they will not only make the lottery, but get a bunch of ping-pong balls. Seriously, what has Tinsley ever done to make anybody think he's capable of staying healthy for more than 60 games? The same people who are counting on him to stay on the floor next season are the ones who believed Ron Artest could behave himself and lead the Pacers to a championship. Right. And how did that one work out? I can understand if they couldn't trade Tinsley, but that, too, goes back to the front office, and specifically CEO Donnie Walsh. Tinsley, incredibly, is signed through 2011. I just can't believe Walsh didn't give me an extension, too. Lord knows, I've had three better years than Tinsley. And I've played hurt. As for Jones, there's no surprise there; the former first-round pick fell out of favor long ago. But if the professed idea is to make the Pacers more of an up-tempo team, it would seem to make sense that you'd keep your best athlete. Two years ago, remember, Jones got more minutes than any other Pacer, and helped the team reach the second round of the playoffs. In many ways, Jones, like Johnson, was a victim of The Brawl in November 2004 -- which for this organization is the gift that keeps giving. During the suspensions, Jones, Johnson and others got a chance to strut their stuff. When the marquee players returned, though, they were sent back to the bench, where they never fully accepted their roles. Really, though, could you blame them? Johnson was playing behind Tinsley and Jasikevicius. Jones was playing behind Stephen Jackson. If I was stuck behind those guys, I'd be bristling, too. Unless the Pacers do something beyond a Harrington trade, unless they pull off something so mind-boggling, it reduces ESPN commentator Stephen A. Smith to stunned silence, this team is lottery-bound. If I'm wrong, feel free to clip and save, and then broil with a nice bearnaise and some asparagus tips on the side. Oh, and some of the Larry Bird Legends wine, maybe a nice cabernet sauvignon. Good for my heart, you know. Bob Kravitz is a columnist for The Indianapolis Star. Call him at (317) 444-6643 or e-mail [email protected]. -- 宅男不出门 能知天下事 --

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