The Indiana Pacers are in a very interesting position heading into the 2013 season, as they made it all the way to the Eastern conference finals last year against the Miami Heat and took them to seven games before losing and since they did it all without Danny Granger, does that mean the team doesn't really need him?
This is a question that the front office of the Pacers has been looking at very hard over the past few months and while no deals are imminent, there has been chatter around the league. According to Yahoo Sports, the New Orleans Pelicans looked into Granger before pulling off the Tyreke Evans deal and the Chicago Bulls also looked into a possible deal when Luol Deng was being mentioned in trade rumors leading up to the NBA draft. The Pelicans made moves for Evans and Jrue Holiday from the Sixers and while they haven't moved Gordon yet, that has been something rumored to be going down as well.
Gordon has been mentioned in trade rumors ever since he signed an offer sheet with the Suns that he hoped the Pelicans wouldn't match, but of course they did and after an injury plagued season he finally appears healthy. Gordon said in the summer league he was happy to be in NOLA and now that the team has made some moves they could be playoff bound. Gordon is a nice fit for the team, but after getting Evans and Holiday they may be ready to move on and two options for the team could be deals with the Pacers and the Bulls.
The Pelican obviously have been willing to make trades this offseason and the move for Holiday was a big one, as the team gave up Nerlens Noel in the process after taking him with the sixth overall pick. The Pelicans also traded for Evans and gave him a four-year, $44 million contract after he was a restricted free agent with the Kings. The three team deal included moves to the Blazers and the Kings, with Portland getting New Orleans center Robin Lopez and Sacramento receiving guard Greivis Vasquez. This offseason the Pelican also signed guard Anthony Morrow and center Greg Stiemsma and now a move with Gordon could be next.
When Gordon was a free agent, the Suns tried to sign him with a four-year, $58 million contract and after that was matched by the Pelicans, the star showed some disappointment and then had a rough season where he played in 42 games and averaged over 17 points and now the team may try to move him. Granger would be a nice fit if he is healthy and that is the biggest question, as he played in only five games and is making $14 million next season in what is his contract year. The Pacers could free up some big money with the move and the 30-year-old could help the Pelicans finish off their rebuilding. If the Bulls think about moving Deng, Gordon could be a nice fit alongside Derrick Rose.
