Pacers Notebook: Is Granger gone for good?
By CHRIS GOFF
ISL Correspondent
THE SCOOP: Pacers forward Danny Granger is out for the season, the team announced Thursday prior to a game in Dallas. He will undergo surgery on his left knee. The longtime franchise mainstay had played in only five games this season, scoring as many as 12 points on Feb. 28 against the Clippers. After battling patellar tendinosis for five months, soreness continued to bother Granger after his Feb. 25 return, manifesting itself after games were over. Earlier this month, Indiana removed Granger from the lineup but hinted that he would return. Now, this could possibly mean the end of his accomplished Pacers career.
THE AFTERMATH: Paul George isn’t Granger, but you can make a strong case he is a better player. George will continue to play elite defense, drain 3s and fill up box scores from Granger’s small forward spot. The handwriting was on the wall, once Granger continued to experience trouble, that the former All-Star would not return to the starting lineup. That meant Lance Stephenson’s role was entrenched as the second option for perimeter scoring. Stephenson scored 21 points last night in Houston and has been a major surprise this season. Though Stephenson isn’t nearly as good as Granger, you could do a lot worse.
Where Granger’s injury is felt most is on the bench. Fans held out hope that Granger could at least contribute 18 minutes a game as a reserve in the playoffs and add scoring punch to a second unit that sometimes struggles to find points. Now more responsibility falls on improving rookie Orlando Johnson, struggling veteran Sam Young and erratic swingman Gerald Green, who signed a generous contract in the offseason to be the sixth man but struggled so badly that he was out of the rotation for 26 games. It is hard to imagine any one of that trio being consistently reliable in the glare of the playoffs.
GREEN’S DAY: With Granger out, Green can earn a little more of his money. Green, in the middle of a three-year, $10 million deal, is paid big money even though he doesn’t make 40 percent of his shots. With Granger officially gone, Green will most likely be granted regular playing time. Green is averaging 6.8 points per game with a 31.3 percent mark on 3-pointers in 54 games thus far.
Green was supposed to be the replacement for Leandro Barbosa, but Johnson has been so good that Green has been pushed down in the bench hierarchy. Here is a chance for him to provide more value.
OUTLOOK: A duo of George and Granger as starting wings would have offered a reasonably strong counter, particularly on defense, to Miami’s Hall of Fame tandem of Dwyane Wade and LeBron James. Now the Pacers could be heavily reliant on just five players in the postseason. While the Heat bring Ray Allen off the bench, New York has J.R. Smith, the Nets have Andray Blatche, and the Celtics employ Jason Terry, Indiana lacks a similar source of instant offense from the second unit. Not having Granger in even a limited role is harmful to the Pacers’ chances in later rounds of the playoffs. At the same time, players can now move forward mentally, free of the distraction of day-to-day curiosity regarding the state of Granger’s knee. Roles are locked in, and Indiana can concentrate on making the most of what it has available.
SURGERY: Team officials do not yet have information on a date for Granger’s procedure, but expect him to be ready for the start of training camp. The decision to cut bait on this season was made after consulting Dr. James Andrews and receiving input from Granger himself. Granger took an injection in his left knee on Nov. 6 that was expected to keep him out around three months. That didn’t work, and here we are.
THE FUTURE: Granger will be 31 when his contract expires after next season. He is owed $14 million in the final year of the $60 million extension he signed in 2008. You’d figure any general manager in the league is less than bullish on paying him eight figures as he inevitably declines, to say nothing of questions about his health and durability. Granger has never asked to leave Indiana, even when times were bad, and management has rebuilt the team with Granger at the center. But George’s ascension, Granger’s knee woes and the inability to pay luxury tax have conspired to make Granger’s days in Indiana numbered. He is seventh in franchise history in games played and made field goals and fifth in scoring. Only Reggie Miller has more 3-pointers in a Pacer uniform. It is likely that team president Donnie Walsh attempts to move Granger this summer or prior to next season’s trade deadline. Expiring contracts are valuable trade chips because they can help a struggling team clear cap space. But today’s news means any Granger deal is unlikely to bring back fair value on Granger’s talent.
