Danny Granger returned to action for the Pacers on Friday, playing 22 minutes off the bench in his team’s blowout win over the Rockets. The Pacers are pretty stacked and are now led by Paul George who emerged during Granger’s injury caused absence. How Granger will fare is still unknown but if he plays well and adds to the team’s championship hopes they can keep him or trade his expiring contract for more assets. For right now they’re looking to keep him and see how he does.
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.
