Insider: Pacers reveal priorities with Monta Ellis visit

The Indiana Pacers showed where their priorities lie on the first day of the NBA free agency period.

While Pacers executives Larry Bird, Kevin Pritchard and head coach Frank Vogel dined with high-scoring guard Monta Ellis at a downtown Indianapolis steakhouse Wednesday night, the team did not call its own unrestricted free agent, Rodney Stuckey.

Ellis and his wife arrived in town around 3 p.m., checking into a local hotel. Earlier, Yahoo Sports' Adrian Wojnarowski reported that Ellis and the Pacers had worked on a deal estimated to be for three years and $32 million. However, a league source told The Indianapolis Star late Wednesday afternoon that a deal was not imminent.

"Just a meeting to see if they're on the same page," the source said. "That's it."

Ellis, one of the last remaining preps-to-pros success stories, has played a decade in the league as a dynamic scorer. Ellis has averaged 19.3 points, 4.8 assists and 3.5 rebounds in 678 career games and last season led Dallas with 18.9 points.

Last week, Ellis, 29, officially became an unrestricted free agent by declining the $8.7 million option in the final year of his contract with the Mavericks.

Before Ellis hit the market, the Pacers appeared primed to chase their in-house free agent. Less than two weeks before the start of free agency, Bird praised Stuckey (12.6 points, 3.5 rebounds and 3.1 assists per game in his first season with the Pacers) and stated the team's plans to re-sign him.

"I want him back, too," Bird told The Star. "He knows how much I want him, I told him that at the end of the year."

However, after 12:01 a.m. EST on Wednesday morning -- when teams could make contact with free agents -- the Pacers did not reiterate this desire to Stuckey. The Pacers only sent correspondence to Stuckey's representative, and did not place a call, according to a source with knowledge.

Stuckey, however, did receive interest from other teams and by late Wednesday, was mulling multiple offers, the source said.

Call Star reporter Candace Buckner at (317) 444-6121. Follow her on Twitter: @CandaceDBuckner.