Indystar: Danny Granger interested in negotiating contract extension this summer.
Well, all good things come to an end. We knew it was going to happen. Getting the production we’ve been getting from Danny Granger on a rookie scale contract has been quite the steal for the Pacers, but now it’s time to grant Danny a contract extension and give him the payday he deserves. It’s actually a good thing for the Pacers that Danny has brought this up, and it has shown his commitment toward staying with the Pacers for up to five more years. It’s really a no brainer for the Pacers to extend Danny: he’s incredibly talented and his stats have improved quite noticeably his first three years in the league, and he’s been a PR dream for the Pacers in a sea of recent nightmares. The only question is, how much is Granger gonna get?
To best figure out what the Pacers are likely to give Granger, let’s look at some contracts that some of the top tier SF’s in the NBA have signed.
Rashard Lewis: signed 7 year, 60 million dollar contract with Sonics in 2002 going into his 4th year in the league (same years of experience as Danny). He’s currently making even more money with Orlando.
Richard Jefferson: signed 6 year, 78 million dollar contract with the Nets in 2004.
Tayshaun Prince: signed 5 year, 47 million dollar contract with the Pistons in 2005.
Caron Butler: signed 5 year, 45 million dollar contract with the Wizards in 2005.
Josh Howard: signed 4 year, 40 million dollar contract with the Mavericks in 2006.
Gerald Wallace: signed 6 year, 57 million dollar contract with the Bobcats in 2007.
The most time the Pacers can lock DG up for the five year max, we’ll be offering in between 45-60 million dollars a year. A great deal for the Pacers would be to sign DG so a 5 year, 48 million dollar deal similar that that netted by Caron Butler in 2005. That’s an awesome scenario for the Pacers. If Larry Bird gets that done, than it’s an absolute A-plus deal. However, I don’t see that as necessarily happening and the Pacers will probably have to give up more for their rising star. At the absolute worst for the Pacers, the deal would be around 5 years 55 million dollars. While that would still give the Pacers some cap flexibility in the future, the Pacers would be paying Danny much more than Tayshaun Prince, Josh Howard, and Caron Butler are making.
Danny is absolutely key to the Pacers’ future but if he wants over 55 million dollars, I’d challenge him to put up a 24 and 8 season next year and then offer him a larger contract next year in a completely different ballpark. If Danny can do 24 and 8 in a season, then he’s our future #1 option, no doubt, and you offer him #1 option money instead of really good swingman money. Right now, though, it appears that while Danny will be really, really good, we need to have at least one other incredibly talented player at his side for the Pacers to be a successful team in the future. And unless Danny wants to be a paid loser, he’ll have to accept taking exceptional swingman money rather than shooting for a more outlandish deal like the one currently being offered to Elton Brand. DG seems like a team-oriented guy, however, and my prediction is he won’t in any way attempt to wreck the cap.
