NBA Rumors: Indiana Pacers in the Lead to Sign Michael Redd

The Indiana Pacers are emerging as the leading candidate to secure the services of former Milwaukee Bucks shooting guard Michael Redd.

Redd was one of the better scorers in the league before having his career curtailed by a series of knee injuries. Redd has only played 61 games in the last three years. Last year, he averaged less than 12 points per 36 minutes and only played 104 total minutes. 

Redd is a big gamble, but if he can even approximate his former production, he would be a great addition for the Indiana Pacers, who have been searching for a new shooting guard. The Pacers previously struck out trying to get Jamal Crawford and failed to work a trade for O.J. Mayo from the Memphis grizzlies. 

Redd is not a long-term answer, but he might be a short-term fill in for one season. 

The Pacers already worked a trade to see Brandon Rush exchanged for Golden State's Louis Amundson. The trade allowed the Pacers to add some depth to their bigs while freeing up a logjam at the wing. 

What they still need is a designated deep scorer to compliment Granger, Redd would fill that void. While he's not the type of player he once was, he still can be a solid roll player and would be a nice fit on the Pacers, who are doing a quiet job of building a valid NBA team. 

While they won't be in contention for the East—the top three spots are almost sure to go to Miami, Chicago and New York—they could have a team that could contend with Boston, Philadelphia and Atlanta for that fourth spot. 

Look for the Pacers to have a real breakout year. Redd would be another move in a series of smart acquisitions, including George Hill and David West.