The Indiana Pacers and Memphis Grizzlies exceeded expectations by advancing to the Conference Finals. For the Pacers, they were just one win away from reaching The Finals for the first time since 2000.

Indiana Pacers

The Big Questions:

1. Can they come to an agreement on an extension with Paul George?

2. Does David West re-sign with the team?

3. Will they find a team interested in Danny Granger on an expiring contract?

Notable Free Agents: David West (Unrestricted), Tyler Hansbrough (Restricted), and Jeff Pendergraph (Unrestricted)

2013 Draft Picks Held: Own 1st Rounder, Own 2nd Rounder

The Lay of the Land: With Roy Hibbert, George Hill and Ian Mahinmi all signed to deals through at least 2015, the Pacers have enough cap room to be interesting but not enough to make a huge splash. Fortunately for them, the year Danny Granger comes off the books is the same year Paul George's extension will kick in so their deals effectively replace one another.  Unfortunately, that type of replacement would mean that the team can only get cap space to use if they cannot come to an agreement with Paul George this summer or want to take the risk of waiting at the start of the summer of 2014 to add a few players and then go over the cap with the Most Improved Player.

With that in mind, the team needs to decide if they want to re-sign David West while also considering a trade centering on Granger. Due to their likely cap situation, Indiana might be best served from a talent perspective to try to move Granger in order to add a contributor from another team on a longer contract. This can happen with or without any of their power forward free agents (West, Tyler Hansbrough and Jeff Pendergraph) due to their flexibility on salary. I have been hoping we would see Indiana product Eric Gordon on the Pacers for a few years now, but that would likely be too big a return for Granger given their respective ages and team structures. Some potential targets are Arron Afflalo (Orlando) and Derrick Williams (Minnesota) though both seem like a little bit of selling low for different reasons.

One very interesting possibility would be sending feelers out to Memphis about Zach Randolph since their new front office might want to give Ed Davis a try during his rookie deal while also getting scoring on the perimeter and gaining even more salary flexibility. I am not saying the Grizzlies will do it (or should), just that it might create an interesting dialogue.

Memphis Grizzlies

The Big Questions:

1. Have they decided on a core of Marc Gasol, Zach Randolph and Mike Conley Jr for the next few seasons?

2. Can they agree to terms on an extension with Ed Davis? Is there even middle ground for a deal there at this time?

3. Will they be able to add one or two depth players through the draft or free agency?

Notable Free Agents:  Tony Allen (Unrestricted)

2013 Draft Picks Held: Own 2nd Rounder, Toronto’s 2nd Rounder, Miami’s 2nd Rounder (Own 1st Rounder held by Minnesota)

The Lay of the Land: After making two meaningful trades at the deadline, we still do not know if the Grizzlies are done setting their long-term core. It certainly appears that Marc Gasol will be around considering his production and deal, but I am not convinced that the brass is similarly committed to Zach Randolph. Having Ed Davis on a rookie deal for another season allows the team to wait to make any decisions there but it could be the right summer to make a deal should a strong offer come across their desk. Mike Conley seems to be in between the two big men because he fills a nice role without being truly indispensable.

In terms of retaining their key pieces, the only player who could leave on his own volition is Tony Allen. Unless we have a Ray Allen situation that no one knows about at this time, Memphis has enough flexibility to give Allen a fair deal and keep his defense on the squad for another few seasons. Beyond that, the team has three second round picks to either combine and move up or try to strike gold on a cheap rotation player or two.