Well, it was months in the making, but the Indiana Pacers finally landed Al Harrington…again.
The Pacers acquired Harrington and center John Edwards in a sign-and-trade deal Tuesday for a 2007 first-round draft pick. ESPN.com’s Marc Stein reports that Harrington’s new contract is for four years and is worth $35.3 million. He has a player option in Year 4, meaning Harrington can return to the open market as an unrestricted free agent in the summer of 2009.
The Pacers were able to sign Harrington because they worked out a trade, which sent Peja Stojakovic to the Hornets and gave Indiana a $7.5 M trade exception in return. This gave the team the inside track to completing a sign-and-trade because the exception allows the deal to be structured in such a way that the Hawks don’t have to take on equal salary in return. The Hornets were going to sign Stojakovic outright, but instead agreed to the deal because they knew that they were likely keeping Harrington away from a possible playoff contender in the West. This was a very savvy move by both the Pacers and the Hornets.
In Harrington, Indiana has a versatile power forward that they can play alongside Danny Granger and Jermaine O’Neal. The backcourt is in flux, but if they are able to get that nailed down, the Pacers should be back in the thick of it in the 2006-07 season.
