Draft night for the Pacers: Is this it for Danny Granger in Indiana?

Cliff June 28, 2012 0

By CLIFF BRUNT

ISL Editor

It’s draft night, and the Pacers still need a superstar. They are not going to get one at the 26th pick, so a lot could happen tonight for a team that has morphed into win-now mode.

That includes trading Danny Granger.

Team president Larry Bird is leaving the team, but before he does, he will handle the draft. He told me several months ago that the missing piece was a guy the team could depend on to score every night.

What he meant was the Pacers lacked someone who could, or would, attack the paint from the perimeter successfully on a consistent basis.

The team revealed some of its upcoming strategy Wednesday by saying it is committed to re-signing both Roy Hibbert and George Hill.

The one thing I’m a big believer in is, you have to have some continuity with your team, new GM Kevin Pritchard said. Continuity is so important. Bring back (George) Hill. Bring back (Roy) Hibbert.”

It will take most of the team’s remaining salary cap room to re-sign them guys, as Bird would say.

Looking at the rest of the team, David West is not expendable. Paul George is the rising star.

That means a trade involving Granger is in play.

Donnie Walsh, the new president, said yesterday Granger was somewhat emerging as a star. Here’s the problem: He’s 29, and I can’t see him becoming that guy. He is capable, but he has been unwilling to give up shooting threes to become that consistent attacker.

Listening to Walsh, it sounds like he doesn’t want to tinker too much. But the Pacers still need that guy. If you keep the same team, you don’t leapfrog Miami or a healthy Chicago. Something has to change, and that final piece, that guy who throws Russell Westbrook-type fear into a defense, still isn’t there.

There is hope that George emerges, and the Pacers don’t have to shell out big dollars to get a superstar.

We have a lot of hope for Paul George, Walsh said. This team has to grow a little more. But it’s young and has room for growth and I think they know that.

Yes, George has the potential to be that game-changing slasher, but much has to happen. He has to get stronger. He’s too skinny and easy to knock off balance. He has to get more comfortable with being that guy and become willing to take the punishment that comes with it.

Coach Frank Vogel is going to have to cut him loose and make him more than a third or fourth option. He’s going to have to build his confidence and draw up plays for him in crunch time that Granger used to get.

Is Vogel ready for that?

He may not have a choice. You can’t make Granger that guy at this point. He’s a very good player, but he’s not the answer at this stage of his career when you have a younger version of him with greater potential waiting in the wings.

So don’t be surprised if Granger gets traded, whether the Pacers think an improved George is that guy or not. He’s the best chip the Pacers have. He’s still got some good years left, and a title contender could use him.

The Pacers reportedly are interested in Brandon Roy. If both Granger and George are still here, where does Roy play? Same with Indiana’s interest in Eric Gordon. He has to play somehow. There isn’t room for George, Granger and Gordon.

So this might be it for Danny as a Pacer.

The other things Indiana needs are is a backup center and a power forward to become David West’s successor down the road.

At center, Jeff Foster has retired and Lou Amundson and Kyrylo Fesenko are both free agents. You could re-sign one or both, but my guess is the Pacers will get a veteran here. Amundson is a forward who plays center in a pinch or when the Pacers go small. He has great hustle, but his lack of offensive skill was a liability in the playoffs.

At power forward, there are reports that the Pacers have interest in Draymond Green. He fits Indiana’s bill – he’s a winner who is versatile and doesn’t mind banging inside.

The good news about it all is that the Pacers hold the cards. They have a lot of pieces, and losing any of them will not kill them. Even Granger.

Morway talks exclusively to Indy Sports Legends about stepping down:

http://www.indysportslegends.com/morway-tells-isl-resigned-pacers-gm-recharge-batteries/#ixzz1z12G4zNv