Whittington on Pacers' frontcourt: 'It's the land of opportunity'

When forward Matt Stainbrook was looking for an NBA team with which to continue his career, a past teammate pointed him toward a frontcourt in need: that of the Indiana Pacers.

"It's the land of opportunity," said forward Shayne Whittington, who played with Stainbrook at Western Michigan before Stainbrook transferred to Xavier.

So Stainbrook and a host of others flocked to Indianapolis, eagerly accepting summer league deals, hoping that, as the team transitions to a faster pace, they could fill in as the missing pieces.

The Pacers' rotation of bigs is in flux. David West has already opted out, Roy Hibbert may be moving on via trade and Luis Scola and Chris Copeland are free agents.

So excuse the forwards on the Pacers' Orlando summer league roster for starting to dream about a future in Indiana.

"You know the outlook of the team right now and you hear things," Stainbrook said. "You want to take advantage. You look to help in ways that guys who are leaving are taking with them. I'd be lying if I said I don't go to fantasy world and I'm living in Indianapolis, playing for the Pacers."

It's the same for Romero Osby, the former Oklahoma Sooners standout in whom Indiana showed interest before the 2013 draft. After an injury-plagued season overseas and with the Orlando Magic's NBA Development League team, Osby is looking to prove he's healthy — he needed shoulder surgery in 2014 — and can contribute.

For someone who was named first-team All-Big 12 in 2013, that means sticking to his aggressive style in the paint and knocking down 3-pointers. In his third straight offseason in the summer league, Osby thinks he can take advantage of some of the younger players on the team.

"You can kind of see the little holes where the young guys are messing up," Osby said. "You see when things go wrong and can correct it. Having a couple of years in the game kind of gives you an edge."

Osby averaged 17.2 points and 7.1 rebounds in 18 games, making 15 starts in the D-League last year. He had similar numbers playing in France and Puerto Rico and has potential to fit in as a small forward.

To get a training camp offer, he'll have to compete with former Indiana star Christian Watford and Stainbrook and show he can hang with 2015 lottery pick Myles Turner and Whittington.

In fact, it's Whittington whom Pacers coaches are expecting the most from in Orlando. Indiana assistant coach Dan Burke, who will coach the team in Orlando, says Whittington should be "licking his chops and taking full advantage of the opportunity."

Whittington played in just 20 games last season, averaging 2.9 points and 5.4 minutes per game. He's also in need of a new contract. So while he helped Stainbrook decide to take a summer league offer from the Pacers and added to the talent pool looking to grab a training camp invite or maybe more, Indiana's frontcourt shuffle could become a lot easier to figure out if Whittington can show he's worth another chance going forward.

"It's an open spot," Whittington said. "This is my opportunity to prove that I can play with these guys and play well."

Follow Star reporter Blake Schuster on Twitter: @Schustee.