Danny Granger Welcomes Leandro Barbosa to the Pacers, Pledges Not to Take His Head Off or Bust His Lip | 8 Points, 9 Seconds

Danny Granger Welcomes Leandro Barbosa to the Pacers, Pledges Not to Take His Head Off or Bust His Lip

by on March 15, 2012 at 6:44 pm

In the NBA, there is an unwritten rules that good sportsmen will simply accept victory graciously and not continue to pile on once the game has been decided. So last year, after Leandro Barbosa took an unnecessary shot late in a game his Toronto Raptors were about to win against the Pacers, Danny Granger took umbrage with what he thought was a player trying to rub it in.

I mean, he really took umbrage.

Mike Wells of the Indianapolis Star recounted Granger’s words after that game.

Danny Granger has gone from wanting to take Barbosa’s “head off” and bust his “lip” a year ago to now being his teammate. Granger didn’t like how Barbosa took a shot in the final seconds of a game in Toronto last season. “If I was on him I would have took his head off and been suspended for a game for a flagrant foul,” Granger said after the March 12, 2011, game. “If I was on him I would have took his neck off him. That’s unsportsmanlike. I would have taken his head off and busted his lip.”

Then, today before the trade deadline, the Pacers acquired Leandro Barbosa. Awwwwwkward.

Not really. As you can see in the tweet above from Granger, all has been forgiven.

Welcome to the Pacers, Leandro. No need to worry about your head being taken off.

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  • km

    i say this as a pacers fan, you’re conveniently leaving out the part of this story where our team did it first.

  • NoLookPass

    The more I think about this move the move I worry about our passing. If A.J. Price goes to the bench that’s our 2nd highest PER36 assist man .2 behind DC while playing with lesser shooters. AJ also hasn’t been taking many shots unless its a blow out lately and its been leading to Hill and Tyler getting more shots and getting more good games from both.

    Now that spot is going to be filled by Barbosa who’s assists rate is well down in our rankings and is a player who shoots a ton (17.3 PER36) thus taking away shots from Hill and Hansbrough who both need their touches to be at their best This feels like a JOB move getting away from smash-mouth ball to become a jump shooting team.

    No doubt our roster is deeper and stronger than yesterday but I have no idea how its going to work and how we’re going to get enough shots for 8 scorers when we had a hard time doing it with 7 and now we have to do so with one of our better passers being forced back to end of the bench killing what little ball movement we had in our second unit.

  • Bruno

    NoLookPass,
    I wouldn’t rush into believing that AJ is gonna fall out of the rotation. I think Vogel is smart enough to notice what you just said. Barbosa is probably more of a insurance, we all know what happened when G.Hill went down. I’d say Leandrinho is more likely to get those few minutes Lance had, rather than taking any away from the main bench players.

  • NoLookPass

    Teams don’t tend get a Barbosa type player unless they plan on playing him. Its one thing hoping he buys in and takes less shots like the other players have but its another to strip him down to filling Lance’s role of closing out blowouts.

    With Bird talking about DC staying the starter and wanting Pendergraph to get more PT at PF things could get very interesting with the chemistry of the bench over the next few weeks or so in a time we need to get roles ironed out for the playoffs.

  • Zach Winningham

    Is it ludicrous to consider signing the waived Greg Oden? I know he is injury-plagued. But we could get him for literally NOTHING, and just “in case” the hometown hero gets healthy, he could be a good backup. The dude looks like he’s 54 years old but he’s actually 24 years old. Portland talked him down from a $9 mil salary this year to a $1.5 mil. We could talk him down even lower, have a huge dude on the end of the bench in a suit every night, that could possibly get better.

  • Realist

    Agreed, Zach. Hometowner Oden is worth the tiny gamble.

    For what it’s worth, I think Jeff Foster is going to be okay for the playoffs. I sense that he could play right now if we really needed him, but we don’t. Coaching staff is just being extra cautious and saving him.

    But yeah, I reckon take a flyer on Oden for sure.

  • Zach Winningham

    I mean, we literally have to give NOTHING up, just add one more folding chair to the end of the bench by Foster. We could literally get it done for less than 1M, and still have the cap room to do it and then some.

  • Zach Winningham

    I also think it would be a good showing to the fans. We’ve always loved our hometown high school bball heroes. Dude won three 4-A championships in a row at Lawrence North. Just a little no-risk “Thank You” for 800k-ish that will probably lead to nothing but could lead to a 24-year old former superstar becoming a decent player in hometown blue and gold.

  • NZ Buc

    I’m all for the pacers trying to sign Oden – what benefit would they get doing it now, vs when what I believe is when his contract expires (I waiver claimed) after this season.

    I’m assuming if he clears waivers, Indy could sign him to a multi-year deal (which is obviously a huge gamble).

  • Ian

    As for Oden, depends on how many players the Pacers have on their roster.

    I’m guessing (hoping?) that the Hornets do their much rumored move to buy out Kamen and we can pick him up for cheap.

    As for Barbosa, the Pacers aren’t stupid, and I”ve never seen any sign that Bird forces Vogel to play a certain player. Barbosa is essentially a 2-3 month rental, so its not like we’ve invested anything in him. I think he’s largely George Hill insurance, as the 2nd unit collapsed without him. There are also going to be nights where Price or Hill aren’t bringing it. There are also going to be nights where instead of going with Jones as a backup SF, we swing George over to SF when Danny is out and have Barbosa play the 2. Has anyone noticed that George’s minutes have declined recently when the bench has been dominating? This guy is 22. He can play 38 minutes a night on young legs, so if Barbosa sometimes pushes Jones to the bench I don’t think that’s a bad thing. Jones is such a feast or famine player.

  • richard

    great move in getting barbosa. he will provide some more needed scoring off the bench. message to coach vogel: dont do what jim obrien did and decrease good players mins. i have also notice that paul george min are down an he has finally getting confidence an has bein playin well. dont destoy hics confidence for the sake of aj an dontay. bad coaching if paul mins continue to decrease, if anything decrease collisons.

  • AMFinocchi

    I think we GOT to pick Oden. Make him a 2 year contract, and let him recover completly with no pressure. Then, que can be the back-up C this team needs. This team needs to think in long term, not this season, in which we can get to the Conference Semis or Finals on fall vs Miami. I wouldn’t give Barbosa another contract, I would try to bring Eric Gordon back home, or, a ball-passer point guard. I think this year Indiana is a improvement year, but not a title contester. But next year, or the other, we can see Indiana fighting to OKC in the Playoffs Finals. Sorry if I made some mistakes, my english is a little bit rusty.

  • Mark

    MAN!!! if you want a perimeter shooter, ya bring in James Jones….OR a Kyle Korver PERIOD! yeah, yeah, they’d cost MUCH more money…..but in the end it would pay for itself. that being said…..i think that Barbaosa will work out just fine. i personally would’ve traded Granger and Stephenson and hansbrough for May’o, Tony Allen, and Kaman…………THEN you’re set. i’m just wondering WHY Larry is setting on this money. but so far Larry has been doing a pretty decent job. just can’t complain.

  • Dario

    You guys are right on about PG mns being down some—-don;t wan’t to see too much of that—-and right on about Larry Joe doing a decent job—–I was thinking he got his pocket picked trading for LOU——goes to show you what I know! Barbosa is good insurance for George and George, ——god forbid. And he is in game shape, experienced and knows his job. If Hill needs an off night, we can not miss a beat.

  • NoLookPass

    If the first half was any indication it looks like the trade and Birds comments have gotten in the second units head. AJ taking a shots again, Lou thinking he actually has an offensive game other than wide open runs to the rim, Tyler back looking past first every play and then becoming hesitant on his jumpers and Hill not getting enough shots unless time is running out.

    I think when the 5 guys of the second unit was out there Hill took 2 shots one forced at the shot clock buzzer and Tyler had zero while Lou and Aj had 1-for-3′s each with each make wide open looks. All of that quality movement from the last games lost for every man playing for himself and his spot. The starters aren’t feeling it tonight either but the bench looks totally lost out there!