Not everyone can be Brian Scalabrine.
Not every team has a full 15-player roster that showcases talent from top to bottom. There is a reason those guys that sit at the end of the bench every single night only get out of their chairs during time outs.
With the Indiana Pacers, it's no different. Even during their days in the ABA, there were players there simply to fill out a roster. They were lucky (or unlucky) to even get a few seconds of garbage time in a meaningless game. The Reggie Miller era was no different.
We must give these guys credit for making it into the league, but you have to wonder what the Pacers organization saw in them. Whether it was the talent pool being dry, or just a big mistake by the front office, these are the most embarrassing players in the history of the Pacers.
Primoz Brezec
The Pacers selected Primoz Brezec in the first round of the 2000 NBA draft. The Slovenian gave the Pacers some size at 7'2", 252 pounds, but that was about it.
He spent his first three years in the league with the Pacers, averaging less than two points per game.
His shooting was terrible, as he was around 40 percent from the floor and 60 percent from the free-throw line. He averaged more turnovers than blocks, rebounds or assists. Brezec managed to hang around the league for eight years, which is better than a day job for sure.
He played for 6 different NBA teams and finished with a respectable career after two great seasons in Charlotte. Fans didn't get to see him play for Indiana very much, as he would often sub into the game with just seconds remaining.
Surely there were better players the Pacers could have taken in the first round that year.
Shawne Williams
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There were high hopes for Shawne Williams when the Pacers selected him 17th overall in the 2006 NBA draft. The University of Memphis star was supposed to help the franchise restore it's winning ways.
It couldn't have been more embarrassing for either side.
Williams lasted two seasons in Indiana, averaging 3.9 points per game in his first season, then 6.7 in 2007. His turnovers were up and his minutes were being limited because of his all-around poor play. His career totals didn't get any better with the Mavericks, Knicks or the Nets.
The potential was there coming out of college, but it never translated to the NBA. The Pacers were not willing to wait around forever, and Williams still hasn't found a home in the league. His inconsistency on the court and his troubles off of it were major red flags for a franchise trying to recover from the brawl in Detroit.
Though many fans were sad to see him go, there were many more that were thankful he was given the boot.
David Harrison
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In the first round of the 2004 NBA draft, the Pacers took David Harrison, a seven-footer from Colorado.
At 280 pounds, he was supposed to be a force inside for Indiana for years to come. Unfortunately for everyone involved, things didn't turn out so well.
He only lasted four years in the NBA, finishing with career numbers of 5.0 points, 2.9 rebounds and 0.2 assists per game. All of his numbers dropped in each season, except his free-throw shooting which spiked from 50 percent to 51 percent in his final season. Not exactly a giant step for Mr. Harrison.
With his drug problems and nonexistent work ethic, Harrison quickly became a dead weight, holding down the team with his issues. He has been in numerous recovery programs, but an attempt at making a comeback to the league has been unsuccessful.
He was one of the biggest disappointments to wear a Pacers uniform.
Duane Ferrell
When Duane Ferrell came to Indiana after six seasons with the Atlanta Hawks, the Pacers thought they were getting a very good player. After his scoring average with the Hawks climbed from 6.1 to a high of 12.7, it rapidly declined after he joined the Pacers before the 1994-95 season.
During his three seasons in Indiana, his scoring average was just 4.7 points per game. He only got about ten minutes of playing time each game, and couldn't really give the Pacers much on the floor. He never averaged more than one assist per game for the Pacers and was not the best of shooters.
Ferrell ended up playing two more seasons with the Golden State Warriors before hanging up his shoes for good. His time as a Pacer was limited, and when he got on the floor, it was clear to everyone why he spent so much time on the bench.
Terry Mills
Terry Mills only played 14 games for the Pacers, but man were they ugly.
He shot 32 percent from the floor, never attempted a free throw, and was 3-for-17 shooting from behind the arc. He averaged 1.8 points, which is impressive when you think about those statistics.
Mills was a big man, playing just under 300 pounds. The 14 games he played as a Pacer were the last of his professional career, which began in 1990 after a successful career at the University of Michigan. He looked good in blue and gold as a Wolverine, but in the Pacers blue and gold, it was obvious that he needed to retire, as soon as possible.
When he was with the Pistons, Mills was a solid player. As the years (and the pounds) began adding up, he became a shell of the player he was at Michigan. It was sad to see how his career ended, especially for Pacers fans that stuck around for the entire game to see him play the last few seconds.
Ron Artest
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Back when Metta World Peace was Ron Artest, he was one of the best defenders in the league. He was in his prime during his days with the Pacers, and was instrumental in their success from 2001 to 2005. He was part of a great roster that, when they acquired him, thought they were heading back to the NBA Finals.
How could a player that great be included in a list such as this one?
When you are the main instigator of the biggest, ugliest sports brawl in the history of sportsâ€"which nearly destroyed an entire franchiseâ€"his inclusion seems fairly obvious.
Artest derailed the Pacers when it looked like they would finally get Reggie a ring. It's hard to forgive or forget something like that as a fan, teammate or coach. No matter what type of success Ron had as a Pacer, it was all thrown out the window when he walked into the stands in Detroit.
Scot Pollard
Scot Pollard only played for the Pacers for three years, scoring just 1.7 points per game in his first season. His rebounding totals were dismal as well, especially since he was getting 17 minutes per game.
And he wore number 62 for the Pacers, which should tell you everything you need to know about him.
Pollard played for five different teams over his eleven-year career in the league. His days in Indiana were filled with poor play and flopping that would make soccer stars blush. For being a first-round pick (19th overall) in the 1997 NBA draft, he can easily be labeled a bust.
It was interesting to see his free-throw shooting drop the way it did through the course of his career. His first year in the league he shot 83 percent from the line, then less than 70 percent next year. In his first year as a Pacer, he shot 57 percent from the line.
Bruno Sundov
Bruno Sundov spent two seasons in Indiana, playing in just 33 total games.
His numbers were bad, especially for a 7'2", 260-pound center. The Croatian averaged 1.5 points per game in his last year with the Pacers, averaging less than four minutes per game.
Sundov was obviously the weakest link on a very talented team that had been to the NBA Finals. Still, you would figure he could get more than one rebound per game with his size. Seeing him in a Pacers uniform was a sore sight, and when he was in the game, you knew the outcome had already been decided.
The Pacers signed him in 2000 as a free agent, and while he never amounted to anything in Indiana, he was just a second-round pick after all (by Dallas, in the 1998 draft).
It showed, too, not just with the Pacers.
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