According to Chris Broussard of ESPN, both Lance Stephenson and the Indiana Pacers reached an impasse over a new deal that was offered during the team's pitch to the shooting guard. Indiana reportedly offered a five-year, $44 million deal to Stephenson.
However, sources say that Stephenson believes he's worth much more. The offer made by the Pacers would pay Lance just a little under $9 million a season. For Stephenson, he can make in the ballpark of around $10-12 million from a team like the Charlotte Hornets.
"Lance and his representatives aren't sure they're going to be able to reach an agreement with the Pacers," a source said. "It's clear they want him back and he wanted to go back, but they may not be able to come to terms."
Besides the Hornets, several other clubs would be interested such as the Los Angeles Lakers and Chicago Bulls. However, an offer may not be made by those franchises until they get an idea of what is up with Carmelo Anthony and LeBron James.
Besides the Pacers, the Hornets have the best shot at landing Stephenson. Indiana clearly wants Lance back, who had a career, All-Star caliber year with the team this past season. Stephenson has the potential and skills to become a legit star on the Pacers.
Indiana will likely have to offer around $10 million to make Lance happy, but the team will have to make some moves in order to make that possible. Sources say they could make salary cut moves like releasing Luis Scola and such, so they can pay Lance along with avoiding the luxury tax.
https://twitter.com/FootBasketcom/status/484368486437625856
Besides the LeBron, Big Three and Carmelo fiasco, Lance is definitely going to start making headlines now in this NBA free agency period. We'll see if Larry Bird and the Pacers can avoid that.
