The Indiana Pacers saw Aaron Holiday as a perfect fit even before Thursday night’s NBA Draft.
They liked his scoring potential and his commitment to defense. They were impressed by his basketball wits and his family’s athletic successes. And
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So when they finally got a chance to make an offseason move, the decision-makers didn’t hesitate to take a potential point guard of the future.
”He’s a tough guy, he prides himself on playing on the defensive end of the floor and he comes from a successful basketball family,” coach Nate McMillan said after adding Holiday with the No. 23 overall pick. ”He was the guy we had at the top of our board.”
The only problem was McMillan and president of basketball operations Kevin Pritchard never got to see the 6-foot-1, 185-pound UCLA star up close in Indy.
McMillan said he was didn’t know why Holiday didn’t make it to Indianapolis for a pre-draft workout, and neither Holiday nor Pritchard provided an explanation either.
But Pacers scouts met with Holiday at the draft combine and did enough homework to know passing on Holiday so late in the draft probably would have been a mistake for a team needing more scoring help now and a potential void if Indiana’s top two point guards become free agents next summer.
The 21-year-old Holiday brings a solid resume to a team he’s already has some familiarity with.
Indiana’s two draft picks last year, T.J. Leaf and Ike Anigbogu, also played at UCLA. So did starting point guard Darren Collison, a college teammate of Jrue Holiday, one of Aaron Holiday’s two older brothers who currently play in the NBA. Collison, who turns 32 in August
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”We look at Darren (Collison) and Holiday and see a lot of similarities,” Pritchard said. ”We see speed. We see elite shooting and we were shocked he (Holiday) was there.”
Holiday averaged 20.3 points, 5.8 assists and 1.3 steals while shooting 42.2 percent on 3-pointers last season, becoming the first Bruins player to lead the Pac-12 in scoring since former Pacers star Reggie Miller in 1985-86. Holiday was named first-team all-conference and was chosen to the Pac-12’s all-defensive team.
What really sold the Pacers on him, though, was how they believed he would mesh in a locker room brimming with confidence and hope after last year’s surprise season.
Most analysts thought the Pacers would be a lottery team after trading All-Star Paul George to Oklahoma City for shooting guard Victor Oladipo and backup forward Domantas Sabonis in July.
Instead, Oladipo made his first All-Star appearance, led Indiana to 48 wins and was named one of three finalists for the NBA’s Most Improved Player award. The Pacers even pushed eventual Eastern Conference champion Cleveland to a seventh game in the playoffs.
Sabonis also emerged as a valuable piece off the bench in his second NBA season, and they expect 22-year-old center Myles Turner to improve heading into next season.
”Somebody who’s going to come in and play hard, a playmaker who shoots the ball and a hard worker,” Holiday said, describing what the Pacers are getting.
Indiana also took 6-9
Jaguars Ronnie Harrison Jersey , 212-pound forward Alize Johnson, who averaged a double-double in both seasons he played at Missouri State, at No. 50 overall. The 22-year-old Johnson averaged 15.0 points last season and finished fifth nationally in rebounds (11.6) and eighth nationally in double-doubles (20) after starting his prep career as a 5-9 point guard.
Holiday could be another critical piece for a team facing a potentially intriguing offseason.
Pritchard confirmed backup point guard Cory Joseph already has decided to return to Indy next season. The Pacers also could exercise team options on guards Lance Stephenson and Joe Young. Starting forward Thaddeus Young, meanwhile, continues to wrestle with a decision to stay with the Pacers for $13.7 million or test free agency. Pritchard wants him back.
Indiana also could have as much as $30 million to play with in free agency and enough flexibility to invest in the trade market. Pritchard said they considered offers during the draft and acknowledged the team was ”hunting” one unidentified player before deciding the cost would be too prohibitive.
Besides, Pritchard considers doesn’t want to do anything to break up the team chemistry and he believes Holiday’s presence will work just fine in that role.
”I think he’s confident but my gut feeling is that he knows he doesn’t know everything yet,” Pritchard said when asked why he’d fit in. ”We love when a guy says, `I want to be great and I’ll do whatever it takes to be great.”’
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The NFL's oldest player is going to try to break the league's career scoring record.
If Adam Vinatieri gets his way, it might not be the only record to fall.
On Thursday, the 45-year-old kicker signed a one-year deal to stay with the Indianapolis Colts 鈥?a deal he insists may not be his last.
Financial details were not immediately available, though the deal is believed to be in the neighborhood of last season's $3 million salary. Vinatieri also noted during a conference call that he will receive a $250,000 bonus if he makes 88 percent of his field goal attempts next season after missing barely missing out on a bonus for making 90 percent in 2017.
But money isn't the reason Vinatieri returned. He is playing well
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"I know 57, 58 points away is definitely within reach this year if I stay healthy and all that," said Vinatieri, who has scored 2,487 points. "I really wanted to break that record wearing a Colts helmet where I've played the majority of the years in my career now."
Vinatieri made his intentions clear late last year that he wanted to play a 24th pro season and his preference was to stay in Indianapolis, where he has developed deep roots since joining the Colts as a free agent in 2006.
General manager Chris Ballard quickly let Vinatieri know the team wanted him back. The combination made Indy's first major offseason move pretty simple.
"This process was substantially easier than it was maybe a couple years ago," Vinatieri said. "I know when Chris and I had conversations after the season I expressed to him how if everything was moving in the right direction and everything was going to get taken care of, how much I would like to be here and continue my career here. He expressed to me that he also wanted me to keep playing here. So the process was pretty easy."
Vinatieri acknowledged hiring Frank Reich as the new coach also helped persuade him to come back.
Reich takes over a team that went 4-12 in 2017 and played without Andrew Luck the entire season. The quarterback is still rehabbing from surgery he had on his throwing shoulder 13 months ago.
The good news is Reich knows he can count on the best clutch kicker in league history.
Vinatieri earned his reputation by making two Super Bowl-winning kicks with the New England Patriots.
But his legacy runs much deeper. He won three Super Bowls with the Patriots, a fourth championship with the Colts after the 2006 season and nearly added a fifth despite finishing the 2009 season on injured reserve.
Patriot fans also remember Vinatieri for making two field goals in a driving snowstorm 鈥?one to force the overtime, the other to win it 鈥?in the infamous "Tuck Rule" playoff game that helped New England win its first Super Bowl title. He rekindled those images in December when he made a long extra point to help force overtime in a blizzard at Buffalo.
Vinatieri is the last active player from NFL Europe, and he has been around long enough to remind reporters he once tackled Herschel Walker.
But the Colts are more concerned with productivity than records and so far, they've seen no indication Vinatieri is slowing down.
"Adam is one the best players in NFL history and we are excited to keep him in Indianapolis
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He n suggested he might, Vieeds nine field goals to pass Gary Anderson for second all-time and 36 to break Andersen's career record of 565.
If he sticks around a few more years, as he suggested he might, Vinatieri won't just be chasing Anderson and Andersen.
He also would be within striking distance of surpassing George Blanda as the oldest player to ever play in the NFL at 48 years, 109 days. Vinatieri would break the mark if he plays in the 2021 season opener.
"Less concerned about that one," Vinatieri said, chuckling. "I guess I'll take these one year at a time and see where it ends up. I would anticipate if I can stay healthy and be productive, I can anticipate catching up to Morten midseason or thereabout, and I guess at the end of the year I'd be 46. I'm not putting anything out of reach."
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