I was just reading that the Pacers are still working on a trade for Jamal Tinsley and that he is going to remain a non-participant with Indiana until it happens.  Larry Bird stated again that the Pacers would not buy out his contract and that he will not be a part of this team.

Now, I know that Tinsley did get into some trouble with his whole shooting up the city of Indianapolis episodes, but I sort of feel bad for the guy in this case.  I don't condone him getting into trouble with the law by any means, but when he was on the court last season, he was pretty close to the MVP for the team.  If he wasn't THE MVP, then he was number two on the team.  He averaged 12 points, 4 rebounds, and 8 assists a game in the 39 games that he did get to play in before his injuries shut him down.

On talent alone, Tinsley can be moved, but his contract and legal issues are big conversation stoppers for a lot of teams.  I am trying to think what they can move Tinsley for, but no straight up deals that are appealing come to mind.

I think I've gone through every team on the NBA Trade Machine on ESPN.com and I don't see any attractive deals, unless you count Matt Harpring!  There are some even dollar trades that would be ridiculous to think would happen, such as Tinsley for Leandro Barbosa or Tinsley for Hedo Turkoglu.  The Pacers do have trade exceptions for Jermaine O'Neal (2.7 mil) and also for Ike Diogu (910K), so they could include those in a trade to get a higher priced player, as long as it fits into the financial plans of the Pacers' future.  It would be nice to get a 2nd rounder out of Tinsley and then just be done with this whole fiasco.

I'm wondering why all this fuss to get Tinsley out of town and not Shawne Williams when he has been in an equal amount of trouble.  Just a thought...

Stay tuned to see how this one ends!