Lance Stephenson is insisting he plans to remain with the Indiana Pacers... no matter what.
Stephenson, averaging 19 points and shooting nearly 60 percent on 3-pointers over the Pacers' first three games against just five turnovers, has always said he owes Larry Bird for taking a chance on him after he declared for the draft in 2010 following just one season at Cincinnati.
"I'm going to stay with the Pacers, so I'm not even thinking about that," Stephenson told NBA.com when asked what he plans to do when he can become a free agent this summer.
With a roster that already includes four players that have been selected to All-Star games (Paul George, Roy Hibbert, David West and Danny Granger), that bodes well for Indiana, expected to challenge the two-time defending champion Miami Heat and the Chicago Bulls for Eastern Conference supremacy this season.
"He puts the time in," George said of Stephenson's marked improvement. "He really made the commitment to step up. When we closed the season down last year in Miami, I gave a speech for everybody to come back better. He's one guy who picked it up."
Coach Frank Vogel now doesn't seem sure who he wants to start once Granger returns from a strained calf muscle. But whatever he decides, Stephenson already seems on board with it.
"Either way," he told NBA.com. "If I come off the bench, it doesn't matter. When we all play together we play great, so it doesn't matter if I start or come off the bench."
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