Danny Granger missed all but five games of the 2012-’13 season for the Indiana Pacers, and they have to decide what they want to do with him. Here are three options on Indiana’s hands regarding the Granger situation.
Option no. 1: Keep Granger, have him start at small forward.
This option seems like it is very realistic. With Granger back in the starting lineup, Indiana would have much more of a scoring punch as he averages quite a few points more than Lance Stephenson, who would move to the bench with Granger back in the rotation.
The starting lineup would be just like last season: PG George Hill, SG Paul George, SF Danny Granger, PF David West (if re-signed), and C Roy Hibbert. Although Indiana’s current starting lineup almost made it to the Finals this season, having Granger come in would make it better. There are positives to just keeping it together, but implementing him would improve Indiana’s scoring and defense from the starting rotation.
Option no. 2: Keep Granger, but use him as a sixth man.
Keeping Indiana’s starting lineup together from this season could be a very good thing as they were oh-so-close to the NBA Finals with it. All they needed was some help from the bench, and having Granger play as a sixth man could be huge for the Pacers.
For one, it would keep Stephenson in the lineup, where he would continually grow as a player. Also, it would create huge mismatch problems for the other team’s bench. I mean, unless Granger’s knees slow him down, what bench player in the league will stop him from scoring 10-15 points off the bench every night?
Option no. 3: Trade Granger for picks and/or bench players.
As I said, Indiana was a good bench away from the Finals. Trading Granger for picks/players to build the bench up could be a huge move for the team. He is currently rehabbing his knee, but he is still worth a lot. Granger has plenty of time to heal that knee and some teams have already shown interest in trading for him despite the fact that he isn’t completely recovered yet.
Indiana could possibly get two picks for Granger, two average bench players, or a combo of the two. Either way, the Pacers would get a couple good bench players that could help push Indiana into the Finals.
To be honest, can the Pacers lose with either option? Assuming he’s healthy, they either get a great scorer back in the starting lineup, one of the better scorers in the league on the bench causing mismatch problems, or multiple picks or players to fill up the roster and patch up the weak bench.
As long as Granger gets healthy, the Pacers could have a good problem on their hands.