2008–09 Indiana Pacers season

The 2008–09 Indiana Pacers season was Indiana's 42nd season as a franchise and 33rd season in the NBA.

Key dates

• June 26: The 2008 NBA draft took place in Madison Square Garden, New York.
• July 1: The free agency period started.

Offseason

On July 9 the Pacers officially announced they had made two trades, the most notable being the trade of former All Star forward Jermaine O'Neal in exchange for Toronto Raptors players T. J. Ford, Rasho Nesterovic, Maceo Baston and Roy Hibbert who was the 17th pick on the 2008 NBA draft. The Raptors also received Nathan Jawai who was the 41st pick in the draft. Also in a trade with the Portland Trail Blazers, the Pacers acquired Jarrett Jack, Josh McRoberts and Brandon Rush who was the 13th pick in the draft. The Pacers traded away Ike Diogu and Jerryd Bayless who was the 11th pick in the draft.^[1] With the Pacers missing the playoffs for the last two seasons and reaching just the first round before that, a change was needed in Indianapolis. Having been with the Pacers for the past eight years, O'Neal's tenure was marred by numerous injuries which saw him miss 40 games last season and 31 during the 2005–06 season.^[2]

Draft picks

• The 6-foot-10 Nathan Jawai is the first indigenous player from Australia to be drafted by an NBA team.^[3]

Round	Pick	Player	Position	Nationality	College
1	11	Jerryd Bayless (Traded to Portland)[4]	Point guard	United States	Arizona
2	41	Nathan Jawai (Traded to Toronto)[5]	Power forward	Australia	Cairns Taipans

Roster

Indiana Pacers roster
Players	Coaches
Pos. No. Name Height Weight DOB (YYYY-MM-DD) From F 7000900000000000000♠9 Baston, Maceo 7000208279999999999♠6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 230 lb (104 kg) Michigan SG 7000600000000000000♠6 Daniels, Marquis 7000198120000000000♠6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 200 lb (91 kg) Auburn PG 7001120000000000000♠12 Diener, Travis 7000185420000000000♠6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 175 lb (79 kg) Marquette SF 7001170000000000000♠17 Dunleavy, Mike 7000205740000000000♠6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 230 lb (104 kg) Duke PG 7000500000000000000♠5 Ford, T. J. 7000182880000000000♠6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 165 lb (75 kg) Texas F/C 7001100000000000000♠10 Foster, Jeff 7000210820000000000♠6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) 250 lb (113 kg) Texas State SG 7001230000000000000♠23 Graham, Stephen 7000198120000000000♠6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 215 lb (98 kg) Oklahoma State SF 7001330000000000000♠33 Granger, Danny 7000205740000000000♠6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 228 lb (103 kg) New Mexico C 7001550000000000000♠55 Hibbert, Roy 7000218440000000000♠7 ft 2 in (2.18 m) 278 lb (126 kg) Georgetown PG 7000100000000000000♠1 Jack, Jarrett 7000190500000000000♠6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 197 lb (89 kg) Georgia Tech PF 7001320000000000000♠32 McRoberts, Josh 7000208279999999999♠6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 240 lb (109 kg) Duke PF 7000300000000000000♠3 Murphy, Troy 7000210820000000000♠6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) 245 lb (111 kg) Notre Dame C 7000800000000000000♠8 Nesterović, Rasho 7000213360000000000♠7 ft 0 in (2.13 m) 255 lb (116 kg) Slovenia SG 7001250000000000000♠25 Rush, Brandon 7000198120000000000♠6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 210 lb (95 kg) Kansas PG 7001110000000000000♠11 Tinsley, Jamaal 7000190500000000000♠6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 185 lb (84 kg) Iowa State	Head coach Jim O'Brien (Saint Joseph's) Assistant coach(es) Dick Harter (Pennsylvania) Lester Conner (Oregon State) Dan Burke (Portland State) Frank Vogel (Kentucky) Jay DeFruscio (Ursinus) Legend (C) Team captain (DP) Unsigned draft pick (FA) Free agent (S) Suspended Injured Roster Last transaction: 2008-10-11

Regular season

References