It was revealed
earlier this week that Danny Granger will miss three weeks because of
knee tendinosis. The Pacers are 2-3 through their first five games. They
finished last season with the third-best regular season record in the
Eastern Conference and took an early lead in their semifinal series
against the eventual champion Heat.

With Granger out, Frank
Vogel has used a combination of Gerald Green and Sam Young at small
forward. Granger, an All-Star in 2009, is owed more than $13 million
this season. Granger is expected to remain around the team while he
rehabs his knee so that the training staff can monitor his progress.

http://basketball.realgm.com/wiretap/224390/Source_Pacers_Have_No_Immediate_Plan_To_Sign_Replacement_For_Granger

Any chance of Stephenson playing in the final two regular-season games
or the playoffs ended Saturday, when coach Frank Vogel said Stephenson
was demoted for violating team rules.

"He’ll be the fourth point guard through the playoffs," Vogel said.
"This is being done for disciplinary reasons. T.J. (Ford) will be our
third point guard."

Stephenson had been expected to play in the final two games but will assume the role formerly held by Ford, who has not played since Jan. 28.

Vogel declined to say what Stephenson did to warrant those actions. He did say, though, that there are no legal issues involved with Stephenson.

Stephenson has had maturity issues going back to when he was a high school star in New York City. It’s those same issues that caused him to fall to the second round of the draft last summer.

Vogel said Ford might play tonight against the New York Knicks and will definitely play in the regular-season finale at Orlando on Wednesday.

"It’s always a good thing when you get an opportunity to play," said Ford, who has been professional throughout the process. "I’ve been with the team the whole time. I’ve been practicing, been doing the best I can to stay in shape and keep a rhythm."

http://www.indystar.com/article/20110410/SPORTS04/104100364/1062/SPORTS04

Asked by FanHouse on Friday in Springfield, Mass., where Bird was
inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame along with members of the 1992
Olympic Dream Team, the Pacers president said the team needs to make
another trade before the start of the regular season. Asked by FanHouse
about Bird’s comments, Granger said management has told him to expect a
move, and he figures they will look to acquire a big man.

"We’re not done yet," Granger said after scoring 22 points for Team USA in a scrimmage Saturday against China at Madison Square Garden. "I talked to management, and we’re not done yet. What will happen, I don’t know yet. We’re still mulling over it. But we got a few things still up our sleeve."

Granger let it be known what the Pacers need after recently dealing power forward Troy Murphy to New Jersey in a four-team trade which netted Indiana point guard Darren Collison and small forward James Posey from New Orleans.

"We’re going to have to go after another big, I’m sure," said the 6-foot-8 Granger. "Losing Troy, he was great. I can play the (power forward) but I’m not a true (power forward). So we’re definitely going to have to add another big, and I think that will be our main focus."

The Pacers have the expiring contracts of Mike Dunleavy ($10.56 million), T.J. Ford ($8.78 million) and Jeff Foster ($6.66 million) to dangle in trades. That Murphy has an expiring contract worth $11.97 million played a role in the Pacers getting into the four-team deal, enabling them to acquire a much-needed point guard.

"I love them," Granger said of the trade acquisitions. "I really love them. As soon as it happened, I called Darren Collison because I was really excited about it … Amazing point guard. What he did for New Orleans when Chris Paul was out (the second half of last season with a knee injury). And I think in our system he’ll really thrive. And he shot it well. I think, when he got drafted, they didn’t know how good of a shooter he was."

http://nba.fanhouse.com/2010/08/14/danny-granger-expects-pacers-to-deal-for-a-big-man/

Some of you went from trying to push Larry Bird out the door to now
praising him after he was able to get their point guard of the future in
Darren Collison.

Bird and general manager David Morway made a lot of fans happy when they
acquired Collison and James Posey and unloaded Troy Murphy.

Getting Collison was a great pick up for the Pacers. They were the winners in the four-team deal.

Collison should be the starter when the Pacers open training camp Sept. 28.

"Obviously, we got the point guard we’ve been look for a while, and I think we got a good one," Bird said.

Bird said he didn’t get frustrated as the point guards went off the market via trades and free agency.

"Believe it or not, I’m pretty patient," he said. "With all the conversations we had with other teams, you never know if anything is going to materialize but the one thing about it is I’ve been very patient.

"I know this is a process and I’m going to do exactly what I said I’m going to do….I know a lot of people get frustrated at times, but you have to be patient in this situation."

Collison joins the young nucleus of Brandon Rush, Josh McRoberts, Tyler Hansbrough, Roy Hibbert, Lance Stephenson, Paul George and Danny Granger.

Bird made sure to point out that they’re not done trying to make moves.

"We’re not done with the summer," Bird said. "We’ve got some work to do…We’ll take it a piece at a time. We’ve got expiring contracts, some veterans here. It’s just a piece at a time. We’re going to get this job done and we’re going to do it on time."

http://blogs.indystar.com/pacersinsider/archives/2010/08/pacers_get_what.html

Maybe Jim O’Brien is trying to get himself fired. Maybe he’s gone in
the tank, just as his team has done for the past few months, and is
willing to take the cash for next season and move on back to Florida.

I’ve written it before, with a mild bit of hesitation.

I’m writing it now, with no hesitation, with major emphasis, with boldfaced capital letters.

O’BRIEN HAS GOT TO GO

We can all agree, this season was stillborn before it got past the first two weeks. Even in that home opener, they played with no energy, no passion, no clue. And it hasn’t gotten any better all season.

Maybe that says more about this current group of players than it does about O’Brien, but you can’t fire the players. Ultimately, they’re not performing for this guy. They’ve checked out, zoned out, quit hearing his voice. If it was just a matter of losing, fine, but they’re losing badly, losing by double digits, getting outworked on a regular basis.

This team came into the season with the most minimal of expectations. Win three or four more games than last year, end up with 40 total and maybe sneak into the playoffs in the top-heavy Eastern Conference. Instead, they’ve regressed.

http://www.indystar.com/article/20100307/SPORTS15/3070387/1034/SPORTS15/O-Brien-must-go-for-the-good-of-the-bad-Pacers

The Pacers have work to do if they expect to be able to trade forward Troy Murphy before the Feb. 18 deadline.

The Pacers have already tried to send him to Cleveland, but those talks
didn’t last long because they were asking for too much, according to a
source.

The Pacers wanted the Cavaliers to give up forward J.J. Hickson, center Zydrunas Ilgauskas and multiple draft picks for Murphy, the source said.

**********************

Jeff Foster is expected to fly to Los Angeles later this week to get another opinion on his sore left back.

Foster, who hasn’t played since the middle of December, will likely need surgery at some point, it’s just a matter of when he decides to do it.

Don’t expect to see Foster play again this season.

http://blogs.indystar.com/pacersinsider/archives/2010/02/pacers_asking_f.html

T.J. Ford is approaching the possibility he could be traded by the
Indiana Pacers in the next month as part of the business of the NBA.

The starting point guard earlier in the season, Ford has been benched
and hasn’t played since Dec. 30 as Pacers coach Jim O’Brien has elected
to go with Earl Watson as the starter and rookie A.J. Price as the
backup.

"The ball’s in their court," Ford said when asked what he thought about a trade possibly coming before the end of the season. "Definitely, I want to play. If I’m not going to play here, if I can go somewhere else and play, then of course."

Before Friday’s game in Detroit, O’Brien was asked if there is a possibility the Pacers could move Ford before the Feb. 18 trading deadline.

"I don’t think there’s any doubt," O’Brien said. "He’s a quality point guard. He could really help another franchise."

Ford said he has not discussed a trade with Pacers management — "I’m not looking to trade T.J.,” Pacers president Larry Bird said Saturday night — and hasn’t been told his benching is for the rest of the season.

"It’s a business," Ford said. "It is what it is. I’m doing all the things I’m supposed to do since I’m still on the roster. I’m healthy. I still get my workouts in, my conditioning in. I stay ready.

"If they trade me, they’ll trade me on their own will and power. I haven’t said anything. I’m just doing what I’m supposed to be doing."

Ford makes $8.5 million this season and has a player option for $8.5 million next year.

http://www.indystar.com/article/20100124/SPORTS04/1240372/1088/SPORTS04/T.J.-Ford-just-wants-to-play

That hasn’t kept other teams from inquiring as the Feb. 18 NBA trade
deadline approaches. The most recent inquirer is familiar to the Pacers.

David Kahn, former right hand man under Donnie Walsh during his days in Indy, came calling earlier this month. Kahn, now the general manager of the Minnesota Timberwolves, offered up Al Jefferson for Granger, easily the Pacers MVP.

Bird declined, still intent on making Granger the cornerstone of his rebuilding effort.

Kahn then denied to the Minnesota press corps that he dangled Jefferson. While Jefferson, 25, has plenty of potential, he is coming off a serious injury and is still working himself into shape.

Sources said it will take a lot more than a player like Jefferson, who is averaging just below 18 points per game so far this season, to get Bird to part with Granger. Jefferson has three years and $42 million left on his contract after this season.

Granger isn’t the only Pacers player getting interest as the trade deadline approaches.

The Cleveland Cavaliers are looking to add a power forward with shooting range to its roster, and Pacers’ Troy Murphy has caught the Cavs’ attention. Cleveland also is hot for Washington’s Antawn Jamison.

Sources close to Murphy said the Notre Dame graduate would welcome the trade to the playoff contending Cavs. And why not? Who would pass on the opportunity to play alongside LeBron James, even if it’s only for one season.

The Cavs have reportedly dangled center Zydrunas Ilgauskas, who has an expiring contract, for Murphy. But Bird wants more. The Cavs have offered J.J. Hickson for Jamison, but didn’t want to give that much up for Murphy.

http://www.ibj.com/the-score/2010/01/14/pacers-larry-bird-listening-to-trade-offers/PARAMS/post/15747

It might be news to those of you hanging onto him in fantasy leagues
clinging to the hope that he’ll soon get his starting job back from
Earl Watson, but it isn’t news to anyone in an NBA front office.

Indiana has been trying to trade Ford for "years," an NBA source told ESPN.com on Sunday night as Ford sat out the entire 48 minutes and Indiana was steamrolled 132-89 by the New York Knicks. "Not weeks. Not months. Years," the source said.

Ford, the eighth overall pick of the 2003 draft, was demoted from starter to third-stringer (behind Watson and rookie A.J. Price) prior to Indiana’s victory on Saturday over the Minnesota Timberwolves. Ford’s pecking-order status has dropped to just above the doghouse level that was occupied by Jamaal Tinsley all last season in Indiana.

It is a far, far fall for a player who started 25 of Indiana’s first 30 games this season, a fall that appears will remain permanent barring an injury to Watson or Price. The source cited above said Indiana has practically given up hope of trying to trade Ford, who is making $8.5 million and has a player option worth another $8.5 million for next season. He is so certain to exercise that option, we’ll go ahead at this early date and name him to the starting five on the 2010-11 dead money team.

Chances are, it’ll be money that will still be on Indiana’s cap a year from now, when "expiring contract" will be required to always appear in the same sentence with the words "T.J." and "Ford."

Because unlike two weeks ago when O’Brien switched Ford for Watson as the starter but then changed his mind a few games later (the huge difference in their plus/minus ratio was a major factor), this time the move sounds permanent.

http://espn.go.com/nba/dailydime/_/page/dime-100103/daily-dime

TSN/AP