RealGM

Danny Granger was one of the first people on the ground in Indiana after the Brawl of Auburn Hills destroyed the marrow of a championship contender and the relationship between the team and one of the NBA's most loyal fan bases. Taken in the first round by the Pacers in the 2005 Draft, Granger was counted on by the franchise to be its new face, one that would bring fans back with good basketball and good character. For four years, Granger held up his end, winning the NBA's Most Improved Player award in 2009, the same year he made his lone All-Star Game appearance. That season, Granger was fifth in the league in scoring, averaging 25.8 points per game; it was the first of four straight seasons in which Granger averaged better than 20 a night. And, gradually, the Pacers put better players around him -- Roy Hibbert, David West, Paul George -- culminating in the team's ascension in the East, all the way to the conference finals this year against Miami.

But Granger watched most of this season; hampered by a knee injury, he played in just five games early in the season. It looked like he would be able to return to action for the stretch drive toward the end of the regular season, but instead, with the pain in his knee returning, he underwent surgery at the end of March to remove a piece of scar tissue from his patella tendon. Now 30, Granger's career is at a crossroads; he is a veteran player with knee problems on a team that now has a budding superstar in George, who'll be seeking a max contract. And Granger has a year left on his five-year, $60 million contract, making him a potentially juicy trading chip for a team that still has a couple of holes to fill on its roster as it faces years of battling Miami, New York and Chicago for supremacy in the conference. Yet the Pacers insist that they have no plans to deal Granger, hoping to see more of him and George together on the floor next season. After Indiana's Game 7 loss in Miami last Monday, Granger, who had not spoken since being shut down at the end of March, spoke about his future.