Despite not having played a single regular season minute in the NBA, Indiana Pacers President Larry Bird seems to have some lofty expectations for the 6-5 guard out of Brooklyn, NY. The former McDonald’s All American has battle some off-court issues, including a second-degree assault charge for an alleged scuffle with his girlfriend in the summer. Heading into the NBA All-Star break, the Pacers have won seven of their last 10 games after new head coach Frank Vogel took the helm from Jim O’Brien, who was fired on January 30th. With the coaching change, many have expected for the Pacers to shuffle the rotation and give other guys a chance to play, including Stephenson. In a Q&A with the Pacers’ official website, where Bird discussed his team’s latest run and future, he brought up NYC’s All-Time high school leading scorer when asked about identifying the core of his team moving forward:
“Well, I’m pretty bullish on Lance Stephenson. If he’s going to be what I think he’s going to be – I already know Paul (George) is going to be there – maybe it’s just two. I think the kid’s got a chance to be very special. And I think Paul’s going to be special. And we’ve got the money to go fill out this team and be very competitive in this league.”
For all of those who counted Born Ready out, it seems like Bird might be ready to give him the chance.
