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Danny Granger Expects Pacers to Deal for a Big Man
Chris Tomasson
Senior NBA Writer
NEW YORK -- First, Larry Bird said it. Now, Danny Granger is being even more specific about what type of move the Indiana Pacers soon could make.
Asked by FanHouse on Friday in Springfield, Mass., where Bird was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame along with members of the 1992 Olympic Dream Team, the Pacers president said the team needs to make another trade before the start of the regular season. Asked by FanHouse about Bird's comments, Granger said management has told him to expect a move, and he figures they will look to acquire a big man.
"We're not done yet," Granger said after scoring 22 points for Team USA in a scrimmage Saturday against China at Madison Square Garden. "I talked to management, and we're not done yet. What will happen, I don't know yet. We're still mulling over it. But we got a few things still up our sleeve."
Granger let it be known what the Pacers need after recently dealing power forward Troy Murphy to New Jersey in a four-team trade which netted Indiana point guard Darren Collison and small forward James Posey from New Orleans.
"We're going to have to go after another big, I'm sure," said the 6-foot-8 Granger. "Losing Troy, he was great. I can play the (power forward) but I'm not a true (power forward). So we're definitely going to have to add another big, and I think that will be our main focus."
The Pacers have the expiring contracts of Mike Dunleavy ($10.56 million), T.J. Ford ($8.78 million) and Jeff Foster ($6.66 million) to dangle in trades. That Murphy has an expiring contract worth $11.97 million played a role in the Pacers getting into the four-team deal, enabling them to acquire a much-needed point guard.
"I love them," Granger said of the trade acquisitions. "I really love them. As soon as it happened, I called Darren Collison because I was really excited about it ... Amazing point guard. What he did for New Orleans when Chris Paul was out (the second half of last season with a knee injury). And I think in our system he'll really thrive. And he shot it well. I think, when he got drafted, they didn't know how good of a shooter he was."
The 6-foot Collison shot 40 percent from three-point range as a rookie last season. He averaged 12.4 points and 5.7 assists.
Now that the Hornets have gotten a key small man, they'll turn their attention to a big man.
Chris Tomasson can be reached at tomasson@fanhouse.com or on Twitter@christomasson
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