Stephenson Responds to All-Star Snub With 4th Triple-Double; Reserves Named | Zagsblog
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Thursday / March 28.
  • Stephenson Responds to All-Star Snub With 4th Triple-Double; Reserves Named

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    Lance Stephenson By ADAM ZAGORIA & JOSH NEWMAN

    NEW YORK — Lance Stephenson responded to being snubbed for the  All-Star Game with his fourth-triple double of the season, twice as many as anyone else in the NBA.

    Stephenson went for 14 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists in a 102-94 home loss to the Phoenix Suns.

    Kevin Durant, Steph Curry and Nicolas Batum all have two triple-doubles, according to ESPN.

    The Brooklyn native entered the night averaging 14.2 points, 7.1 rebounds and 5.3 assists for the Pacers (35-10), who own the NBA’s best record.

    “Lance’s focus has been to help the Pacers win a championship,” his agent, Alberto Ebanks, told SNY.tv.

    “An All-Star appearance would have been great and would have been a nice accomplishment but his primary goal is and will continue to be helping his team win it all this year.”

    Stephenson is in the final year of a contract that is paying him just $1.005 million this season, and he will be an unrestricted free agent come July 1.

    The Pacers own his fully-vested Bird rights, meaning, theoretically, they could offer Stephenson a maximum deal of five years at a projected $79.9 million, depending on what the Basketball Related Income (BRI) and salary cap look like this summer. Any other team could offer Stephenson four years at a projected $59.3 million.

    No one is saying Stephenson is worth that much money, but that’s what is out there for him if the Pacers or anyone else thinks he’s worth it. Stephenson has stated publicly his desire to remain with the Pacers, but there are various factors to consider.

    Pacers management has said it would prefer not to pay the luxury tax, which should be somewhere in the neighborhood of $73 million next season. If the Pacers opt to bring back Luis Scola next season at just under $4.9 million, they will have about $66 million committed before even getting to Stephenson.

    If that scenario plays out, it would be difficult for the Pacers to offer Stephenson the maximum if that’s what they wanted to do. At that point, the situation turns into how high of a priority he is to the franchise. That factor isn’t likely to be decided for months.

    “This is a great team, the future holds itself, I would love to stay here,” Stephenson previously told SNY.tv. “I knew I was always talented, I just needed the opportunity and confidence just playing in a game and getting used to teammates and used to the flow of the game. I always knew I could play in an NBA-type game.”

    2014 EASTERN CONFERENCE ALL-STARS

        

    No.      Player (Team)                                 Pos.    Ht.          Wt.         Birthdate          Home Country                    All-Star Selections

    7          *Carmelo Anthony (New York)   F          6-8          235         05/29/84           Syracuse/USA                                      7

    1          Chris Bosh (Miami)                         F/C     6-11        235         03/24/84           Georgia Tech/USA                              9

    10       #DeMar DeRozan (Toronto)         G         6-7          216         08/07/89           USC/USA                                              1

    24       *Paul George (Indiana)                  G/F     6-8          221         05/02/90           Fresno State/USA                                2

    55       Roy Hibbert (Indiana)                    C         7-2          290         12/11/86           Georgetown/USA                                 2

    2          *Kyrie Irving (Cleveland)              G         6-3          191         03/23/92           Duke/USA                                             2

    6          *LeBron James (Miami)                F          6-8          250         12/30/84           St. Vincent/St. Mary HS/USA           10

    7          Joe Johnson (Brooklyn)                 G         6-7          240         06/29/81           Arkansas/USA                                     7

    4          #Paul Millsap (Atlanta)                  F          6-8          253         02/10/85           Louisiana Tech/USA                          1

    13       Joakim Noah (Chicago)                 C         6-11        232         02/25/85           Florida/USA                                          2

    3          *Dwyane Wade (Miami)               G         6-4          210         01/17/82           Marquette/USA                                   10

    2          #John Wall (Washington)              G         6-4          195         09/06/90           Kentucky/USA                                     1

     

    Head Coach: Frank Vogel (Kentucky)

    Assistant Coaches: Dan Burke (Portland State); Nate McMillan (North Carolina State); Popeye Jones (Murray State)

    Athletic Trainer: Wally Blase (Atlanta)

     

    2014 WESTERN CONFERENCE ALL-STARS

     

    Prior to NBA/

    No.      Player (Team)                                 Pos.    Ht.          Wt.         Birthdate          Home Country                    All-Star Selections

    12       LaMarcus Aldridge (Portland)      F          6-11        240         07/19/85           Texas/USA                                           3

    24       *Kobe Bryant (L.A. Lakers)          G         6-6          205         08/23/78           Lower Merion HS/USA                      16

    30       *#Stephen Curry (Golden State)  G         6-3          185         03/14/88           Davidson/USA                                     1

    35       *Kevin Durant (OKC)                     F          6-9          230         09/29/88           Texas/USA                                           5

    32       *Blake Griffin (L.A. Clippers)       F          6-10        251         03/16/89           Oklahoma/USA                                   4

    13       James Harden (Houston)               G         6-5          220         08/26/89           Arizona State/USA                              2

    12       Dwight Howard (Houston)            C         6-11        265         12/08/85           SW Atlanta Christian Aca./USA       8

    0          #Damian Lillard (Portland)           G         6-3          195         07/05/90           Weber State/USA                                1

    42       *Kevin Love (Minnesota)              F          6-10        243         09/07/88           UCLA/USA                                           3

    41       Dirk Nowitzki (Dallas)                    F          7-0          245         06/19/78           DJK Wurzburg/Germany                   12

    9          Tony Parker (San Antonio)           G         6-2          185         05/17/82           Paris BR/France                                   6

    3          Chris Paul (L.A. Clippers)               G         6-0          175         05/06/85           Wake Forest/USA                                7

     

    Head Coach: Scott Brooks (UC-Irvine)

    Assistant Coaches: Rex Kalamian (Cal Poly Pomona); Mark Bryant (Seton Hall); Brian Keefe (UNLV); Robert Pack (USC);Mike Terpstra (Northwest Nazarene)

    Athletic Trainer: Jon Ishop (New Orleans)

     

    *denotes starter

    #denotes first-time selection

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    Adam Zagoria is a Basketball Insider who covers basketball at all levels. A contributor to The New York Times and SportsNet New York (SNY), he is also the author of two books and is an award-winning journalist and filmmaker. His articles have appeared in ESPN The Magazine, SLAM, Sheridan Hoops, Basketball Times and in newspapers nationwide. He also won an Emmy award for his work on the SNY mini-documentary on Syracuse guard Tyus Battle. A veteran Ultimate Frisbee player, he has competed in numerous National and World Championships and, perhaps more importantly, his teams won the Westchester Summer League (WSL) championships in 2011 and 2013. He lives in Manhattan with his wife and children.

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