Danny Granger joins Suns to heal first, perhaps play later

Danny Granger walked into US Airways Center on Monday with an All-Star resume and the experience and character of a veteran who can help the Suns.

But, first, the Suns will help him.

The priority with Granger, acquired by the Suns on Feb. 19 in the Goran Dragic trade, will be to use the Suns' heralded athletic training staff to help the 31-year-old regain some of the old form that made him an Indiana star before two knee surgeries.

From there, Granger could play this season and next season, when he has a $2.1 million player option to return. He already was building a home in Paradise Valley for retirement but the plan would be to use the house as a player first.

"I would love to play and suit up but I think overall, for me, as far as my long-term plan with my career is to get extremely healthy first," Granger said. "They told me what they did with Grant Hill when he came and hadn't played in two years. He probably played five or six years after that so that's my plan."

Until the league March 1 playoff-eligible deadline, Granger explored options to join a contender with a Suns buyout but determined coming to Phoenix was his best option. He met with the Suns' athletic trainers for more than an hour Monday and was told "it can be fixed." Granger underwent left knee surgery in 2013, when he said he considered retirement but instead changed his exercises and diet regimen to return. He underwent another left knee surgery last summer.

"I haven't returned to the level I was before but I don't think that's impossible to get back there," Granger said. "I'm only 31. There were times, even stretches when I was playing for Miami, I felt great, bouncy, my shot was going. 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."

In the meantime, Granger said he will embrace the role of offering veteran guidance to the Suns, just as he once did for a young Pacers team. Suns coach Jeff Hornacek is open to the idea of playing Granger this season if he is healthy enough and the Suns remain in postseason contention.

"As we go on, if we're still in the race, yeah, why not get a veteran guy like that in there?" Hornacek said. "If somehow we're out of it, then maybe it makes more sense to play the young guys. Our thoughts right now are we're still in the playoff hunt and we're still going to go after it. If he can give us something toward the end there, maybe that happens."

Markieff at home

Suns power forward Markieff Morris played his first home game since criticizing home crowds nine days earlier and barely heard a boo.

Earlier Monday, Morris acknowledged that he "said a couple things that I shouldn't have." The crowd, again with heavy visitor support, were forgiving or oblivious and cheered him.

Markieff and his twin, Marcus signed autographs on the concourse before Monday's game. Markieff said no comments or actions would earn favor more than his play.

"It's the only thing you can do," Morris said. "I'm not going to sit up here and apologize a thousand times. It's not going to work. The only thing you do is earn it back on the court."

Free throws

Hornacek sees a lot of offensive qualities that he has asked from his players in how well the Warriors move the ball: "You swing it from side to side. You catch the ball in the slot. You either drive it quickly or you swing it to the corner and cut or you interchange. They do such a great job of making extra passes. They're like Atlanta. A lot of times, they'll pass up a mid-range 10-footer to drive it in there to throw it out to someone else that has a wide-open look. They're very good at that — unselfish play.

– Markieff on Golden State: "They're kind of like the team how we were last year, other than they shoot more 3s. But we used to have a fast-paced, shoot-any-shot type of team too."

– Warriors coach Steve Kerr on the departure of Dragic, who he drafted as Suns general manager: "It would have been nice for him to make a whole career here so I was a little saddened by the way it sort of played out. But again, it's not my business and they have to do what they feel is right and they got some talent back in the deal so they're pushing forward."