At today’s NBA Trade Deadline, ESPN NBA analysts Jon Barry, Jalen Rose, Avery Johnson, Bruce Bowen, Tim Legler, Antonio Davis and Tom Penn shared their insights on the reports that the Indiana Pacers traded Danny Granger to the Philadelphia 76ers for Evan Turner and Lavoy Allen.

ESPN NBA analyst Jon Barry on the benefits of this trade for Indiana:
I think it is a fantastic deal for Indiana. Granger clearly hasn’t been the same player since returning from the knee injury and the Pacers are now Paul George’s team. Now you add a player in Turner that is solid in every area of the game to bolster an already improved bench. I love this move.

ESPN NBA analyst Jalen Rose on the trade:
This really helps Indiana add depth and get better offensively. This move and the Bynum move show that Larry Bird is putting all of the chips into the middle of the table and going for the franchise’s first NBA title.

ESPN NBA analyst Avery Johnson on the trade strategy:
I think as much as I wanted to see the Danny Granger experiment work for Indiana, I just didn’t see the lift and explosiveness that he had prior to his injury. I think the thinking with Indiana was to get somebody younger and more athletic who can help anchor that second unit by helping C.J. Watson and Andrew Bynum, when he gets healthy. I think for the 76ers, it’s one of those situations where Granger is in the last year of his contract. They can use this as a test run to see if this is a piece that they could rehab and get him healthy and back to playing like he did as a scorer with a career average of 18 points a game.

ESPN NBA analyst Bruce Bowen on whether the Granger trade will impact Indiana’s success this season:
It won’t have much of an impact. This gives more minutes to others like C.J. Watson, Chris Copeland and/or Rasual Butler. It also allows Paul George to play extended minutes and not have to worry about keeping players happy. It’s really just the business of basketball. Granger hasn’t played in two years and George has emerged as the star that Granger wasn’t.

ESPN NBA analyst Tim Legler on the value of Danny Granger:
It’s a head-scratcher to me. I understand that Danny Granger doesn’t look like the Danny Granger that we knew – a 25-point scorer in this league who was the best player on this team. He’s been hurt most of the time while Paul George has emerged. Danny Granger, at some point, was going to pay dividends for this team whether it’s late in the year or in the playoffs against a team like Miami because he’s an x-factor that can get hot and can carry you offensively. Now, Evan Turner’s averaging 17 [points per game] for Philadelphia, but he’s taking 16 shots to do that. He’s at 42 percent on a bad team. Is that going to translate to helping the Indiana Pacers with offensive production off their bench, which I think is critical, because I still think Paul George will have moments where he’ll be quiet in that series against Miami. Granger could have been the difference-maker to make up for that. I don’t know if Evan Turner can be.

ESPN NBA analyst Antonio Davis on the trade:
I am shocked that the Pacers traded Danny Granger. I thought he provided them a different dynamic, being able to defend at the 3 and 4 positions. He seemed to be accepting his new role and he was gaining confidence and also added depth and experience to the bench, which I feel is the weak link of the Pacers. I’m assuming this had everything to do with business and not necessarily with the team on the floor. The one thing I will say, between Donnie Walsh, Larry Bird and Kevin Pritchard, I’m not questioning moves they make. There had to be a very good reason.

ESPN NBA analyst Tom Penn on the salary cap implications of this trade:
Danny Granger is in the last year of his deal and makes $14 million dollars and the Pacers were right at that luxury tax threshold after they brought Andrew Bynum in. So they bring back Evan Turner, who is also in the last year of his deal, but potentially could be a restricted free agent that they could lock up to stay longer or at least maintain his rights. Lavoy Allen gives them another big, but they get about $6 million in space underneath that cap threshold. It really saves them some money and maybe allows them to tinker around the edges with other veteran free agents they might sign who get waived by other teams. I don’t see Danny Granger staying in Philadelphia and it’s really a curious deal for the Pacers, who by all accounts, are firing on all cylinders.

Legler on Granger’s recent struggles:
He’s 22 minutes a night now off the bench. His touches are probably infrequent. There’s no rhythm to what he’s doing offensively. So he’s dealing with all of those things and it’s a short sample of work to make a determination that he won’t help [them] this year to win a championship. That’s why I’m a little confused by it and I’m just not sold on Evan Turner and what he’s going to bring. And, I don’t think what they have right now coming off their bench offensively is enough to beat Miami.

Legler on how the trade impacts how the Pacers match up against the Heat:
The bigger question for me is this: Indiana has a two-game lead on Miami. They play two more times. And now you’ve changed the dynamic of your team somewhat. They might end up losing the number-one seed if they don’t get consistency down the stretch here and ultimately be in the same position they were in a year ago. And they made that their mission, not to allow that happen to them and that’s what’s interesting to me about this. LeBron James might be the happiest guy of all right now.