He wanted to come back.
The team adamantly let it be known they wanted him back.
So, it is no shock that David West and the Indiana Pacers have reached a verbal agreement to finalize a 3-year deal, worth a reported $36 million according to Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports. Instead, the shocker could come for another member of the Pacers now that West is back.
The news of West's return to Indiana comes three days into what is expected to be a very hectic NBA offseason and free agency period. And while speculation about where Dwight Howard will land may be stealing the headlines, by re-signing West the Pacers put themselves in position to perhaps steal the East from the Miami Heat.
West averaged 17.1 points and 7.7 rebounds and led the Pacers to the Eastern Conference finals last season, and as soon as Indiana was eliminated the questions shifted to, will West be back? The Pacers wasted no time in making that happen and will now shift their focus in to signing Paul George to a contract extension, and likely trying to figure out what the future holds for someone like Danny Granger.
Granger is being shopped, at least that is the word from Ken Berger of CBSSports.com.
“The Pacers' agreement with forward David West on a three-year, $36 million deal on Tuesday coincided with ongoing exploration of possible trades for Danny Granger and Gerald Green, league sources said,” wrote Berger.
Granger is entering the last year of his deal with the Pacers, after sitting out essentially an entire season after suffering a left knee injury. Rumors have swirled over the last few months about the uncertain future in Indiana for the former all-star, and now with the return of West, Granger moves a step closer to moving on.
The other part of this equation: The Pacers are interested and are apparently chasing New York Knicks forward and restricted free agent, Chris Copeland. There is mutual interest between the two sides, as Indiana looks to lockup a core of West, George and Copeland.
As for Granger, it looks like he will be on the outside looking in with Indiana.
