The Indiana Pacers went all in trying to re-sign Lance Stephenson including making a movie for him. They also offered him a five-year, $44 million contract, but the deadline given is what caused him to stray.
Candace Buckner of the Indianapolis Star:
“I wanted to stay there but they gave me a deadline where I had to choose,” Stephenson said. “So there wasn’t no time for me to make a decision. They gave me a deadline (before) how long it (was) going to take for them to go somewhere else.
“I had to make a quick decision and me and my agent decided we would see what other teams (were) talking about.”
On July 2, the Pacers turned their attention to Plan B and agreed to terms with free agent CJ Miles. In Stephenson’s view, the Miles’ deal sealed his departure from the Pacers.
“They didn’t have nothing else. They had no more money or anything. That was basically it right there,” Stephenson said. “Soon as I said no to that offer, they went and signed CJ. I figured they thought I had no chance of coming back, they just went on and signed CJ. … I felt like it was a wrap after that.”
Stephenson was a very important factor in the Pacers success but his behavior towards LeBron James during the Eastern Conference Finals did raise some eyebrows. Stephenson later signed a three-year, $27 million contract with the Charlotte Hornets.
