The Detroit Pistons have rebuilt their roster after losing Greg Monroe in free agency to the Milwaukee Bucks. Although Monroe was an important piece to the Pistons, they still figure to be a very deep team. One player currently on the Pistons roster who was once a great player is Danny Granger. It was assumed when Granger was acquired that he would be cut by the Pistons, but now it is being reported that cutting Granger is not a foregone conclusion, according to the Detroit Free Press.
Granger was traded to Detroit along with Reggie Bullock and Marcus Morris. He is reportedly one of five players fighting for the last two spots on the Pistons roster. Granger will be competing with rookie Darrun Hilliard, Bullock, Cartier Martin and Adonis Thomas. At this point it is hard to handicap who has the edge to make the team, but head coach and team president Stan Van Gundy says a lot depends on Granger's health.
"It's trying to sort out exactly what he wants, what we want, where his health is and all that, so that'll take some time to sort through, obviously great respect for him as a player and as a person (he's) everything we've heard, but he's had some significant health problems. We'll try to figure that out in the next couple of weeks," said Van Gundy.
If Granger can prove during training camp that he is healthy he would seem like a good bet to lock up one of those two spots as he has proven he can score in the NBA, but his health has been a major question mark. Since 2011-2012 Granger has not played in more than 41 games in a single season. In his eight plus seasons with the Indiana Pacers, Granger averaged 17.6 points per game while shooting 44 percent from the field and 38 percent from three. He was an All-Star in 2008-09.
Granger is now 32 years old and hasn't done much of anything in the NBA for the past two seasons, mostly due to injuries. He still is a 38 percent three-point shooter for his career, but if he can't stay on the floor then his shooting percentage means nothing. It's a shame to see a guy who was once one of the best scorers in the NBA not able to play at a high level anymore because of injuries. If health, the Pistons will likely take a look at keeping him on the team and he could possibly contribute with his long range shooting, but that is quite the big if.
