The Indiana Pacers reportedly agreed to trade two-time All-Star Roy Hibbert to the Los Angeles Lakers yesterday, and the main reaction from the Indiana fan base was excitement to have him shipped out of town. Opening up $15.5 million of cap space is always nice, but the Pacers owe a huge show of appreciation to one of their former franchise cornerstones.

Over the last couple of seasons, Hibbert has struggled with confidence and has been extremely disappointing. Despite that fact, he was still one of the big reasons that they made enough growth to get to the Eastern Conference Finals in back-to-back seasons. During the 2011-12 and 2012-13 seasons, there weren’t many centers around the NBA that could have been considered better all-around players than Hibbert was.

During the 2011-12 season in particular, Hibbert appeared to be putting everything together and becoming an elite NBA big man. He averaged 12.8 points, 8.8 rebounds and 2.0 blocks per game. Not only was he able to anchor one of the league’s best defenses, he was able to chip in consistently on the offensive end of the court and was solid on the boards as well.

It has been disappointing to see some of the social media reaction from Pacers fans since the trade. They have been saying rude things to Hibbert and being very vocal about being happy that he has been traded.

Instead of being too loud about their happiness that Hibbert is gone, the city and fan base should be thanking Hibbert for everything that he has done for the city of Indianapolis. Not only did he make an impact on the basketball court, he was also very active in the community. Hibbert also started up the Area 55 fan section, and bought fans season tickets for an entire section of Bankers Life Fieldhouse.

There aren’t many players that are willing to spend their money for fans to come to every home game. It made the atmosphere in Indiana even more exciting throughout the regular season, and intense during the Pacers’ playoff runs.

Needless to say, it is going to be a very different Pacers team than the one that we have come to know and love over the past four seasons. The “Blue Collar, Gold Swagger” motto has completely passed, and a new era of basketball is beginning in Indiana. Hibbert was always thought to be the heart of the Pacers’ defense, and now that he is gone it will be interesting to see who steps up and helps fill his role.

Both Ian Mahinmi and Myles Turner are capable of stepping in and playing minutes, but they won’t be the defensive stopper that Hibbert was.

All of that being said, it is time for the Pacers and their fans to begin thanking Hibbert for his time in Indiana. Even though he struggled quite a bit and never reached his full potential, he was a true professional and helped bring Pacers basketball back to being a legitimate force in the NBA.

Evan Massey is a featured writer for www.RantSports.com. Follow him on Twitter at @Massey_Evan and like him on Facebook.