The Pacers' will attempt to improve starting Sunday when the free agency period begins. Contracts can be signed starting July 11.

The Pacers don't have enough cap space to sign an expensive free agent. They have their midlevel exception, which is more than $5 million, and a $4 million trade exception acquired during the eight-player deal with Golden State.

"After the draft, everybody looks at their team and they say, 'I need this, I need that,' " Pacers president Larry Bird said. "Now it will start heating up and we'll see what we can do. I expect us to be very active to find the guys coach O'Brien feels he needs for this team. Rick played a different style. We tried to get his type of players. We have a new coach now, so we're going to try and get his style (of players)."

Finding an outside shooter, a backup point guard and settling Jermaine O'Neal's future are priorities.

It seems the Pacers are interested in the likes of Kareem Rush, Jason Kapono, Earl Boykins, Steve Blake, Chucky Atkins, and Tony Delk.

The Indiana Pacers announced Friday they waived Orien Greene. The 6-4 guard played in 41 games for the Pacers last season, averaging 2.6 points. The Pacers picked up Greene on waivers from Boston, July 9, 2006.

As reported by Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo, multiple league sources are saying that the Nets have made an offer of Richard Jefferson, Nenad Krstic and Jason Collins to the Pacers for Jermaine O'Neal.  There are no picks involved so the deal can wait until July.

The Trail Blazers and Knicks are having "serious discussions" about a trade that would send Zach Randolph and Martell Webster to the Knicks for Steve Francis and Channing Frye.  The parties have exchanged variations on the deal but all combinations would result in Randolph heading to New York.  It is unclear whether there are picks involved so this too may be a deal that can be consummated after the draft.

The Washington Wizards are taking a serious look at Italian guard Marco Belinelli as their choice for the 16th pick.  

Sean Williams, the controversial big man who was dismissed from his Boston College club, may be the Nets' selection at number 17.

Since Kobe Bryant made his trade demand public, the Lakers have been trying frantically to find the talent that will appease their superstar.

When a trade for Kevin Garnett fell through earlier this week, reports re-surfaced that the Lakers would make a play for Indiana?s Jermaine O?Neal.  

But Wednesday evening, the Pacers' chief decision-maker Donnie Walsh told the New York Times that there was ?no validity? to reports of trade discussions with the Lakers.

With their bid to land Minnesota's Kevin Garnett all but dead, which can't make Kobe Bryant very happy, the Lakers restarted trade talks with Indiana about acquiring Jermaine O'Neal on Tuesday.

"O'Neal is available and the Lakers are interested," said an Eastern Conference GM last night. "That's what's being discussed now."

The source insisted that the Celtics are also involved in talks for O'Neal and would be willing to part with the fifth pick as part of a package.

The Pacers are open to moving O'Neal, although teams such as the Knicks who covet him don't have the pieces.

"He's an awful good player," team president Larry Bird said about O'Neal yesterday. "And anytime you've got a player of his caliber, you've got to be careful.

"If you do trade him, you have to get something back. Hopefully we can do something that makes our team better, whether it's Jermaine or whoever."

Indiana Pacers president Larry Bird said Tuesday there is a "50-50" chance the team will have a selection in Thursday's NBA draft in New York.

"Will we try to get in the draft?" Bird said. "We probably will. We've had a lot of discussion about it. A lot of calls, but we like our core of young players, and so does everybody in the league. They're trying to get them for draft picks, and we don't know if we want to go that route."

The Pacers do not have a draft pick. They traded their first-round pick -- No. 11 -- to Atlanta to complete the Al Harrington deal. The Pacers gave Portland their second-round pick on draft night last year for the rights to James White, who was released before the season.

Indiana Pacers players Jamaal Tinsley and Marquis Daniels will stand trial starting Sept. 10 on charges related to a bar fight.

Prosecutors said Tuesday they expect the trial before Marion Superior Court Judge Lisa Borges to last three days.

A grand jury indicted Tinsley on a felony charge of intimidation and misdemeanor counts of battery, disorderly conduct and intimidation in connection with a Feb. 6 fight at the 8 Seconds Saloon. Daniels is charged with battery and disorderly conduct, both misdemeanors.

There are ongoing discussions concerning a four-team trade that could send Pacers forward/center Jermaine O'Neal to the Celtics, according to league sources. But those same sources said that it is extremely unlikely that O'Neal will ever play in a Boston uniform.

Celtics executive director of basketball operations Danny Ainge has never been a big fan of O'Neal's, and there remains the not-so-small matter of O'Neal being able to opt out of his contract after next season.

Marcus Camby's agent, Rick Kaplan, said he has heard all the wild trade rumors surrounding his client that have included Indiana, Chicago, Atlanta, Washington and the Los Angeles Lakers. Kaplan, however, doesn't believe Camby will get dealt and said his client wants to remain a Nugget.

"It would really surprise me if Marcus was traded. From everything the team is saying publicly, that's not a likely option," Kaplan said. "It makes little sense to trade Marcus. While he is the most tradable commodity, he might be their most important or second most important player at a decent price. Marcus is probably their best value.

"He really doesn't want to be traded."

The owners of the Lakers and Minnesota Timberwolves have begun talks for a trade that would involve sending Kevin Garnett to the Lakers, league sources said Monday.

A multi-team trade discussion is underway involving the Lakers, Indiana, Minnesota and possibly a fourth team, with the Lakers getting Garnett and the Pacers getting Lamar Odom and teenage center Andrew Bynum from the Lakers. Another minor player will likely be added to make the deal work financially.

Jerry Buss and Timberwolves owner Glen Taylor spoke by phone for 20 minutes Friday. Buss reportedly ended the conversation by suggesting that Lakers General Manager Mitch Kupchak and Timberwolves vice president of basketball operations Kevin McHale would continue the discussion Monday.

Kupchak, Buss and Lakers Coach Phil Jackson met on Friday to discuss options based on the assumption they would still have Bryant, The Times has learned.