Wow... after listening to the Danny Granger interviews, I really like this guy. The Pacers have a mature, well-spoken, humble and highly intelligent player. A rare occurrence in the NBA these days. He should be able to step right in and backup Artest. What a great opportunity for both parties.
And Bird and Carlisle sure are high on him:
"Granger can come in here tomorrow and play," said team President Larry Bird. "He's very talented. I never dreamed he'd be there. ... I still can't believe it. I think he's that good of a player."
"If we would've had the fifth pick, he would've been the best player available. That's how strongly we felt about Danny Granger's abilities to not only play in this league but contribute on our team. We're very fortunate tonight, and very happy." - Rick Carlisle
Check out some of the videos at the Pacers Site
And on a side note... his dad sure is excited about his son coming to the Pacers.
Congratulations to Bracey Wright. Drafted in the second round by Minnesota, he has the opportunity to live out his dream. I wish him well and hope he makes their team.
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These are my thoughts and only my thoughts... if you don't like them, don't come around here no more! Complaint Department -->
4 comments:
Granger is a great addition to the Pacers. But let's not forget the team's remaining needs. We need a shooter desperately. If there is not a trade (Croshere and/or Pollard for somebody) then the Pacers are going to be the best rugby team in the NBA. They will average 79 points per game and lead the league in turnovers.
At this moment, the Pacers have the third biggest payroll in the NBA (behind Knicks and Mavericks) and are not good enough to seriously run for a championship. Donnie has made some mistakes, and he must make a major trade to rectify them.
Boy do I disagree...
Stephen Jackson was brought in last year to be Reggie's replacement. Unfortunately we didn't get to see how that would work out due to the Palace incident. Once Jackson was back from his suspension he was thrust out of position playing Artest's spot. And out of necessity, Reggie had stepped into the forefront again and Carlisle was running the offense through Reggie. With Reggie gone, O'Neal being the focus of the offense, Artest back at the small forward and Jackson back at shooting guard, I think we will all see that Jackson can light it up from outside.
James Jones showed signs of brilliance from outside last year and I think he will be a solid contributor off the bench, as will Fred Jones.
The biggest question to me is at point guard... can Tinsley stay healthy. He had moments of greatness last year and Johnson did a great job filling in as a starter. Unfortunately he wore down from having to play WAY TOO MANY minutes. If Tinsley can start for the full year and Johnson can come off the bench, they will be solid!
I don't think a trade is the way to go and I don't think the Pacers will be on the market this year. I do believe the Pacers will be at the top of the East and very easily could be the #1 seed come playoff time.
In the 03-04 season, the Pacers won 61 games and lost in the East Finals.
Many of the teams in the East have improved since then and are in the process of improving further during this off season.
Now look at the Pacers. We've got mostly the same team we had before. There are two main changes, and they aren't improvements. We've got Steven Jackson instead of Reggie Miller at shooting guard (not a clear improvement, though I like Steven) and we've got Danny Granger instead of Al Harrington at back-up small forward (not an improvement, though I like Danny.)
There are some other changes. The Indiana Joneses are more mature, and David Harrison is new, etc. But those are all not a certain and solid argument for a championship run.
The Pacers are a good team. They were a good team back in the days of Vern-o, too. But eating candy apples at City Market is one kind of thrill and winning the Championship is another.
The Pacers are good, but they are not the best at anything. Good coaching gets them all the wins it can, and there is a lot a talent and heart. But when you look at the stats, the Pacers are a good inside team, a poor rebounding team, and a weak shooting team.
If the Pacers are serious about winning a championship, they are still one killer trade away from it.
Anonymous forgot to add one more thing against the Pacers. They are a slow, half-court team that cannot run itself and cannot defend when the other team runs.
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