| Oh Danny Boy Authored by Andrew Perna - July 3, 2008 - 10:41 pm
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The cap-constricting contract of Jermaine O’Neal and the personal transgressions of Jamaal Tinsley didn’t give them the brightest forecast heading in the offseason, but a pair of deals and news of a pending contract extension has helped the sun peak out from behind the clouds.
I’ve effectively exhausted the O’Neal/T.J. Ford swap, so I’ll spare you from reading more of what I have to say about the deal, but news of Indiana’s new priorities have caused even the most pessimistic Pacer fans to sing out loud.
Last week Larry Bird made it known that he is actively shopping Tinsley, who has three years and more than $21 million left on his current deal.
There have even been reports out of Indianapolis that the Pacers could buyout his contract if they aren’t able to find a suitor for the Brooklyn native. The addition of Ford and Jarrett Jack to the roster has made Tinsley expendable, and the shallow free agent market could yield Indiana something substantial in return.
Baron Davis, who unexpectedly entered free agency earlier this week, is already off the market having agreed to a deal with the Clippers and not every team in need of a point guard can afford the best-available in Gilbert Arenas.
Other options include unrestricted free agents Shaun Livingston, Chris Duhon, Jason Williams, Jannero Pargo, Damon Stoudamire, Sam Cassell, Juan Dixon, Anthony Johnson and Tyronn Lue – none of which are head-and-shoulders above Tinsley.
Bird should send Tinsley to one of the many teams in need of help at the point in exchange for a veteran power forward, something Indiana could use heading into the 2008-09 season.
After spending the last few seasons trying to rebuild on the fly while still competing for a playoff spot, Bird has ironically rebuilt the roster into a younger, much different group of players that just might have a better chance to play past mid-April than they have had in each of the last two years.
O’Neal, a six-time All-Star, needed a change of scenery after spending almost a decade in blue-and-gold and significant change has arrived in the heartland.
Three years ago Reggie Miller passed the torch to O’Neal, making the 6’11” forward the face of the franchise heading into a new era for the Pacers.
Now, after playing in just 162 of 246 regular season games as Indiana’s leading man, O’Neal is passing the torch to a “smaller” forward.
Danny Granger, who has just three years of NBA experience under his belt, will undoubtedly be the man in Indiana beginning this summer.
There are players with more experience on the current roster, like Mike Dunleavy, Troy Murphy and Jeff Foster, but Granger is arguably the team’s best player and easily the favorite. Fans starved for a first-rate citizen after dealing with the likes of Ron Artest, Stephen Jackson and Tinsley, have quickly taken to Danny’s likable personality.
“There was a time when people would call me a geek, when I was in like middle school,” he told Pacers.com of his childhood. “My dad had me with these Steve Urkel glasses with the strap that runs around my neck so if they fell that would just wrap around my neck. And I was smart, too.”
Luckily for the Pacers, Granger appears to like Indiana just as much as the city likes him.
His agent, Mark Bartelstein, claims that he is interested in signing a long-term extension with the team – music to the ears of Pacer fans everywhere.
Indiana has the summer to negotiate an extension with Granger, who will become a restricted free agent next summer if no agreement is reached prior to the season.
“These things are never easy, but they want to keep Danny and Danny wants to stay,” Bartelstein told the Indianapolis Star on Tuesday.
Talks are expected to begin within the next few weeks, with the completion of the deal marking yet another new era for the Pacers. Granger will probably ink a contract in the five-year, $60-70 million dollar range, keeping him in blue-and-gold well into the next decade.
More changes in Indianapolis later this summer should help Granger lead the Pacers to the playoffs for the first time in his career as the man in town. At that point in time, fans in Conseco Fieldhouse will probably feel the urge to sing once again.
'Tis I'll be here in sunshine or in shadow
Oh Danny boy, oh Danny boy, I love you so.
Andrew Perna is a Senior Writer for RealGM.com. Please feel free to contact him with comments or questions via e-mail – Andrew.Perna@RealGM.com. |
