Although the departure of Lance Stephenson has been seen as a crucial loss for the Indiana Pacers, the team was prepared to move forward without him. Was the five-year, $44 million deal scoffed at by Stephenson more of a calculated play by Larry Bird and the front office than an irreversible blunder? The takeaway from Stephenson’s departure was the team believing, to a certain degree, that Lance was a bigger factor in Indiana’s dysfunctional quasi-collapse following last season’s All-Star break than Paul
