Way back when Danny Granger and his then-girlfirend (now wife) attended University of New Mexico, they made infrequent trips to Phoenix. To the two southwest natives, it simply seemed like the kind of place they’d like to end up.
More than a decade later, Granger is here, though he didn't think that would happen until after his playing career was done. Before the season, he started a home already being built in the Valley. The Suns’ deadline deal with Miami simply sped up the plan.
“We always talked about how this is where we wanted to live when I was done [with basketball],” Granger said.
That moment nearly came two years ago. Multiple surgeries took their toll on the one-time All-Star and Team USA member just as it appeared he was peaking as one of the NBA’s superstars. It was Granger who appeared as the first bright spot for the once-grounded Pacers, averaging well over 20 points per game for four straight seasons (2008-2012).
Patellar tendinosis set in on his left knee during the 2012-13 season. He tried to come back through a combination of rest and injections, but the problem persisted and he ultimately underwent surgery. He returned two months into the 2013-14 campaign, but struggled to regain his All-Star form. With a new core of young talent in place, the Pacers ultimately traded him at the deadline.
Stints with the Clippers and Heat were interrupted by fluctuating roles and another knee surgery (2014). At one point, he seriously considered retiring. His wife intervened.
“She told me ‘Are you sure you want to give this up now, because you can’t come back when you’re forty and you want to come back,’” Granger said.
In Miami this season, Granger showed enough to convince himself he still had something left in the tank. The 11th-year forward averaged 11.0 points and 4.7 rebounds per game while shooting 35.7 percent from three.
Then February’s historically busy trade deadline hit.
“It took me a few hours to figure out who all was going where,” he laughed.
By the end of the day, Granger knew he’d been dealt to Phoenix. Aside from what he already remembered of the desert as a college student, he was intrigued by what he felt could help restore the still-only-31-year-old.
“I knew the reputation their training staff had,” Granger said. “I was definitely excited to come here.”
He spent an hour with the Suns’ medical team, learning just how drastically his natural balance had shifted because he was unconsciously favoring his former injuries. That in turn had put undue stress on other areas, adding up to a series of small but repetitive issues.
Grant Hill’s late-career turnaround with the Suns was a clincher for Granger. Hill overcame an even greater amount of injury and rehabilitation at the peak of what looked to be a Hall-of-Fame career. Multiple ankle surgeries and a staph infection, however, reduced Hill to a shadow of his former All-NBA self. With the Suns’ help, he regained his form enough to become a quality starter for a championship contender.
“They told me what they did with Grant Hill when he came and hadn't played in two years,” Granger said. “He probably played five or six years after that so that's my plan.”
Granger’s role now is two-fold: 1) full re-establish his health and 2) provide a veteran’s influence to a team that starts four players 25 years or younger.
The former objective is a necessary one. Granger could play through what ailed him in Miami, but both he and the Suns are intent on seeing what a completely loose-and-comfortable version of him can do in a Phoenix uniform.
“There were times, even stretches when I was playing for Miami, I felt great, bouncy, my shot was going,” Granger said. “And then the knee is always kind of just nagging at you. I'm thankful that I kept playing and I think I can play a lot longer.”
As for the wise voice of experience, tangible results are already visible. After Wednesday’s win over Minnesota, Granger’s portion of the locker room featured the kind of open conversation that hadn’t occurred nearly as often earlier in the year. His way of conversing and connecting with teammates has already left a positive mark on his teammates, one the Pacers admitted they missed after they traded him a year ago.
“Even in Indiana, I always took more of a mentor role,” Granger said. “I’ve always loved to teach. The years I always did basketball camps, I just loved working with guys you can make an impression on.”
That won’t be hard in Phoenix. Upon arriving at his first practice with the team, the 11-year veteran expressed out loud his surprise at the collective youth of his new teammates.
“This is a young team!” he exclaimed to Head Coach Jeff Hornacek.
His hope is to help them get older while, at the same time, get to feeling a little younger himself.