Pacers' West: 'Obviously we can't be talking about competing for a championship'

As the Indiana Pacers prepare for what promises to be a challenging, soul-searching, transitional year, their players are trying to adjust their expectations. 

After falling just two games short of an NBA Finals berth last season, and just one game shy a year before that, the Pacers now find themselves without two of the most important pieces of that puzzle – with Lance Stephenson having left for Charlotte and Paul George having been stanchion'ed into oblivion – and no significant upgrades elsewhere to compensate. 

"You have to give yourself a realistic starting point," said power forward David West during Pacers Media Day on Monday. "So obviously we can't be talking about competing for a championship, even being in title contention, we just have to talk about figuring out a way to get the best lineups on the floor, the best guys on the floor to give us a chance to compete."

Since coming to Indiana as a free agent before the 2011-12 season, West has been instrumental, not only to what the Pacers have done tactically on both ends of the floor, but to their gritty, physical culture. Since he joined the Pacers, they've finished no lower than third in the Eastern Conference. 

West is a dogged worker and a ferocious competitor, and he'll do everything he can to help keep the Pacers competitive this season. When even he's talking about reduced expectations, it speaks volumes about the lack of optimism surrounding the team. 

"We've got a challenge in front of us and we've gotta figure it out," West said. "That's the bottom line, you've got to figure out the lineups, you've got to figure out the defensive approach, offensive approach. We've gotta change all of that and at the same time have to go out and compete.

"What your intention was ... that reality is no longer here. That's just me being me. I'm not going to create this persona like we can just sort of keep going at the pace and direction that we were going. I think you just set yourself up for failure in those moments."

West, 34, averaged 14 points and 6.8 rebounds last season, while posting his lowest PER (17.5) since 2004-05.