Larry Bird and the Indiana Pacers are on record in affirming they plan to bring back swingman Lance Stephenson, but the competition could prove to be much more difficult than they would like.
SheridanHoops.com reports the Bulls and Hornets both have genuine interest in the 23-year-old free-agent-to-be, who proved to be one of the most electric and volatile players of this year's NBA playoffs.
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It was the continuation of what proved to be a breakout season for Stephenson, who led the league in triple-doubles with five, and is now expected to command a salary of up to $10 million per season.
"I think his ceiling is what he wants it to be," Bird said of the controversial, yet budding star. "As a basketball player, you can't find much more talent than what he has. I always want him back. You just don't let talent like that walk away if you can help it."
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It was the Hall of Famer Bird who provided Stephenson with his big break, nabbing him with the 40th pick in the 2010 draft after his hometown Knicks passed on him with back-to-back selections.
No one questions Stephenson's abilities, it's his immaturity that continues to raise eyebrows. During the recently concluded series against the Heat in the Eastern Conference finals, Stephenson engaged in a running trash-talking battle with LeBron James, was fined twice for flopping and marked the start of the series by boasting he planned to run Dwyane Wade's chronically bad knees into the ground.
"He probably hurt himself at some level with his immaturity during the playoffs," one GM told SheridanHoops. "However, clearly his talent is evident so I expect a team to make him a fairly significant offer probably in the range of $8-10 million (per season) for three years. On talent alone, he probably gets $10-12 million for three or four years."
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