5 Biggest Rumors Surrounding the Indiana Pacers Right Now

The Pacers have gone 12-12 since they traded Danny Granger to the Philadelphia 76ers for Evan Turner at the NBA Trade Deadline. Most people believe that Turner has caused issues in the locker room, and many believe the small forward was the teammate that Roy Hibbert referred to as selfish. Whether the rumor of Turner being a problem child is true is up for debate, but most signs point to it being accurate.

The Pacers' recent struggles have been blamed on head coach Frank Vogel by many people, and it is generally believed that he is on the hot seat. After all, it has been well stated that Vogel wasn't the first choice of President Larry Bird, the locker room is clearly revolting and the head coach may have lost his touch. Whether or not Indiana would make such a rash move now is up for debate, but without a good postseason the coach is toast.

Indiana has already stated that they will be resting starters over the final four games of the regular season, but now rumors say that bench players are actually being forced to practice harder than starters. This seems like a rather realistic proposition and likely could be contributing to both the lack of defensive form and work ethic by the starters as well as the locker room tension.

Roy Hibbert recently called his teammates selfish, and some believe that underlying tension exists with star forward Paul George. One rather lewd and unrealistic sexually related incident has been reported, but there is little doubting that neither player has shown the consistency, teamwork and general dedication that the world has become used to. Something is going on between George and Hibbert, but it is hard to tell why.

With the rumors of Frank Vogel being sacked well documented, some people have taken to saying that Larry Bird will move from the front office to the bench. Bird did compile a record of 147-67 as Pacers head coach from 1997-2000, reaching three Conference Championships and the 2000 NBA Finals, so there is little doubt he could succeed. It seems more realistic that Bird will become head coach at the beginning of 2014-15 than now, though.