Mickael Pietrus contacted by Pacers in wake of more bad news for Danny Granger

The Indiana Pacers are in the midst of coming up with a contingency plan now that their franchise swingman Danny Granger may be out until after February's All-Star break. One possible scenario is that the team enlists in the services of veteran free agent guard Mikael Pietrus, as Indianapolis Star Pacers beat writer Mike Wells tweeted Wednesday morning that the team is already in contact with Pietrus' agent, Bill McCandless.

McCandless had said in July that there's "no chance" that Pietrus, who turns 31 in February, would sign a veteran's minimum contract, which could have been part of the reason the Celtics did not bring him back after he played in 42 games for Boston last season. But if Pietrus does sign with the Pacers, it would likely be for the veteran's minimum. He is a nine-year NBA veteran who averaged 6.9 points on 38-percent shooting last year for the Celtics, although it is his ability to guard multiple positions that provides more value than any contributions he would make on the offensive end at this point in his career. His health would be another question for the Pacers to address. In June, he had arthroscopic surgery on his right knee.