Danny Granger stopped by Pacers practice Friday and said goodbye to his former teammates following his trade to the Philadelphia 76ers on Friday.
The Indiana Pacers tried to carry on as usual after releasing their emotions in practice. However, there was no escaping the elephant in the gym ... especially when he walked through the doors.
Danny Granger visited the Indiana Pacers' practice gym on Friday afternoon, surprising his former teammates one day after he was traded to the Philadelphia 76ers.
"Geezy!" George Hill exclaimed when he saw Granger wearing a gray sweat suit, a hat and Nike sandals.
Several players, who had crowded around the same rim for shooting drills and one-on-one work, all stopped. And Granger smiled as he headed straight into the waiting arms of teammates wishing to say their last goodbyes.
"I love you, bro," Paul George said as he and Granger embraced.
GRANGER: Larry Bird: "Danny's always been my favorite."
GRANGER: Paul George thanks Danny Granger for being a mentor
On a day when many Pacers reached for the cliché of "it's a business" to explain how to move on after the Granger trade, they also revealed raw emotion. In particular, George was torn between endorsing the trade that brings former No. 2 pick Evan Turner and Lavoy Allen to Indiana and losing a longtime teammate.
"This is very emotional for me," said George. "Danny's been by my side even before I got drafted here. I understand it's business. (Team president) Larry (Bird) is looking forward to the future as well as the present. But it sucks. But I think the additions we made can and will help us moving forward."
The connection between George and Granger goes deep. The two worked out together during George's pre-draft process. They share the same agent, Aaron Mintz, partially because the he dropped Granger's name in the pitch so that George could picture himself having the same success. Also, Granger advised Bird to take George with the 10th pick in the 2010 draft. As fate would have it, the move meant that Granger was campaigning for his replacement. However, even as George ascended, he said that their relationship remained tight.
"It is tough," George said in a subdued voice. "I wanted to call Danny and text Danny yesterday but I couldn't even do it. It was just tough for me to do yesterday. Today seeing him and saying my last goodbyes – I'll reach out obviously after we leave here, I'll reach out to him again. But it's tough, I'm going to have to find a way to get through it."
Also, George expressed his pain for second-year player Orlando Johnson, who was waived so that the Pacers could stay at the maximum 15-man roster allowed by the NBA.
"I was even more hurt with O.J." George said. "I felt like (Johnson was) one of the guys that really kept our locker room together. He was just a great guy to have in the locker room. A part of the team regardless of the minutes he was getting. He kept the same spirits as if he was our go-to guy. He was always positive, always backing guys up. I wish O.J. well."
Indiana Pacers Danny Granger,left, and head coach Frank Vogel look on as they fell behind the 76'ers in the second half of their game Saturday night at Bankers Life Fieldhouse. Matt Kryger / The Star(Photo: Matt Kryger / The Star)
Coach Frank Vogel smiled and chuckled to himself when asked how Granger had helped the Pacers. Granger might have averaged 17.6 points through his nine-year career but Vogel knows better than most that the numbers do not show how deep Granger's impact went.
"I'm probably not the coach of this team if not for Danny Granger," Vogel said. "I want to thank him publicly for being my biggest supporter when (I was) the interim coach here and trying to turn that team around back then and obviously trying to earn a job. To have your best player be your strongest supporter is something I'll always be grateful for with Danny."
Other Pacers conveyed their reactions in solemn tones. The typically energetic Lance Stephenson hardly raised his eyes to the camera lenses while being interviewed. Rasual Butler described the "shock" that came from the news about the trade. And Roy Hibbert cut off a reporter's query about the difficulty in seeing a teammate leave.
"Man, I'm just going to answer two questions on that," Hibbert said, before unleashing his stream of consciousness. "It's sad to see Danny go. I talked to him, texted him. Sad to see Orlando go. But it's a business and I'm happy we have two good guys coming on to the team. But I'm sad to see those guys go."
Granger, who did not speak with reporters, also hugged team staffers along with Pacers' executive Donnie Walsh and general manager Kevin Pritchard. Then, Granger exited the back door and was gone. On the court remained the players who now must embrace new teammates and work towards keeping the togetherness in tact.
"There's always concern when your team chemistry changes," Vogel said. "I think guys are committed to not only winning (but) to re-establishing chemistry."
As the NBA business dictates, the schedule does go on for the Pacers. Vogel described an "energetic" practice in preparation for the Pacers' game in Milwaukee on Saturday night. While most players headed out after Granger's visit, the veteran Butler stayed to finish his normal routine of shooting.
Business as usual.
"It sends a message," Butler said about the trade, "that we're trying to win right now and the message is loud and clear and felt in the locker room. We're going to do our best to achieve that goal."
PACERS AT BUCKS
Tipoff: 8:30 p.m., Saturday
BMO Harris Bradley Center, Milwaukee
TV: Fox Sports Indiana
Radio: WFNI-1070 AM, 107.5 FM.
PACERS (41-13)
| Pos. | Player | Pts | Key stat |
| PG | George Hill | 11.1 | 3.6 apg |
| SG | Lance Stephenson | 14.0 | 7.3 rpg |
| SF | Paul George | 22.5 | 6.4 rpg |
| PF | David West | 13.6 | 6.5 rpg |
| C | Roy Hibbert | 11.6 | 7.6 rpg |
| 6th | Luis Scola | 7.6 | 5.2 rpg |
BUCKS (10-44)
| Pos. | Player | Pts | Key stat |
| PG | Brandon Knight | 16.7 | 5.0 apg |
| SG | Caron Butler | 11.0 | 4.6 rpg |
| SF | Ersan Ilyasova | 10.2 | 6.1 rpg |
| PF | Khris Middleton | 11.4 | 4.0 rpg |
| C | John Henson | 11.8 | 8.0 rpg |
| 6th | O.J. Mayo | 12.2 | 2.6 rpg |
Going different directions: The Pacers lead the Eastern Conference, the Bucks trail it. Their separation is 31 games, which means with only 28 games to play the two cannot swap positions in the Central Divisions.
No match last time: Indiana had one of its easiest games of the season Nov. 15 when it whipped Milwaukee 104-77 in Indianapolis. Hibbert led all scorers with 24 points.
Tighten those laces: In Thursday night's 101-90 home loss to Denver, Mayo got caught tying his shoe only a few feet from where a Nuggets player dunked. The video went viral. If there's any defense for the former USC star, his man, Randy Foye, was camped at the 3-point line as the play unfolded. Still, it wasn't a good look for a cellar-dwelling team.
Who plays? In addition to questions surrounding recently acquired players — Andrew Bynum and Evan Turner for the Pacers (neither is expected to play), Ramon Sessions for the Bucks — Knight missed Thursday's game with a heel injury. Having him is Milwaukee's only chance to beat Indiana, which should win by double figures.
— Curt Cavin
No comments:
Post a Comment