Five Months In the Making: Danny Granger Signs With Heat

Upon hearing that the Philadelphia 76ers had bought out Danny Granger’s contract this past February, a crazy thought entered into my mind.

The Pacers traded Danny Granger away in hopes of finalizing their roster to make a run at an NBA Title.

Danny Granger.

Once the face of their franchise in the mid-2000s, was betrayed by his team just after the all-star break, and reports said he was less than pleased on the move.

This move excited me for two reasons:

1) Danny Granger still knows how to shoot from downtown and, in my opinion, still has some life left in him

and

2) It would give the Heat (and Granger) a chance to pour salt in the wounds of Indiana when they knocked the Pacers out of the playoffs.

Of course Miami didn’t bring Granger to South Beach, but while he went off to play in Tinzle Town with the Clippers, the Heat went on to win the Eastern Conference for a 4th straight time.

Needless to say, I assumed any Granger to Miami deal was dead.

Even when the Josh McRoberts news came out this afternoon my imagination couldn’t even create a thought for Granger joining as well.

And then a scenario, not of imagination but of factual information, was created.

This should be a very exciting moment for Heat fans.

Regardless of the fact that Granger is up there in age and didn’t play much last season due to injury, he did show impressive numbers over the final 12 games of the Clippers regular season and presents many positives that are beneficial to Miami.

For one, Granger is the perfect forward with his 6’2 225 lbs. build. This adds more length options for Miami on the wings and, since Granger is also a stretch 4, gives Spolestra another weapon to spread the floor during small-ball scenarios.

Imagine throwing Granger in the mix during the final seconds of a playoff game, where the Heat are trailing by 1 and the opposing defense wants to clog the paint so LeBron can’t drive.

Well thanks to Danny, who is a strong three-point shooter in his own right, the defense has to leave the paint because they can’t afford him to be wide open.

This gives LeBron more space to work with, and ultimately gives the best player on the planet even more options to work with to try and win the game.

Only time will tell which Danny Granger the Heat have obtained, the former all-star or the ghost of himself.

My thought? A full off-season of training will get him back into strong form by the time the season begins this fall. He won’t be the all-star he was in the mid-2000’s but he won’t be a lifeless body either.

I’ll leave you with this thought, which should calm some nerves surrounding LeBron’s future.

Why would two players with plenty of NBA life left, sign with Miami if they didn’t know the King was returning?

Five months later than I thought, but I’m glad to have him nevertheless.

Welcome to the Heat Danny.