The Indiana Pacers are one of the serious title contenders in the league this season, with a deep and talented roster that has a number of players who are valuable contributors. One of those players is small forward Danny Granger, who returned to the line up on Friday night with a role off of the bench.
Many believe that the Pacers could look to trade Granger, who is set to become a free agent, at some point this season but team president Larry Bird said that the team’s current plan is to ride things out with Granger for the time being.
From Bob Kravitz of the Indianapolis Star:
"“I’ve talked to Danny, talked to his agent; I’m not looking to trade him,” team President Larry Bird said Saturday. “But you never know. If the right thing came along that would help the franchise, I would have to look at it, but I’m not out there looking at deals.”If the Pacers did deal Granger —and he’d have to be healthy for anybody to want him — they’d have to take back $14 million in salary commitments. That means bringing back guys who are in the final year of their contract, along with trade exceptions.“We couldn’t take back guys who are going to be $14 million next year,” Bird said."
The real question will be whether or not they would get value out of any trade that would allow them to keep their team chemistry while continuing to push forward. It doesn’t look like that is the case for the Pacers, however, so Granger will remain with the team that he wants to be a member of as he tries to help them work their way to an NBA title.