ESPN - The
Indiana Pacers are closing in on acquiring
Al Harrington via a sign-and-trade deal, according to a report on ESPN by Marc Stein.
Multiple front office sources believe that the deal is as good as done.
The Pacers' chief competition, the
Golden State Warriors , expect Harrington to end up in
Indiana with a six-year $57 million deal.
Harrington, sources said, initially told interested suitors he was expecting a six-year deal worth at least $66 million. For the
Pacers to pay that much,
Atlanta almost certainly would have to be willing to accept a package built around
Indiana center
Jeff Foster. But Foster, by all indications, is not part of the forthcoming trade.
Indy's unforeseen trade exception from the
Peja Stojakovic sign and trade gets Harrington fairly close to his financial target and the team he likes best.
With a modest cash payment believed to be in the $250,000 range,
Indiana convinced the
Hornets to participate in a sign-and-trade swap for Stojakovic instead of signing him outright.
Without the $7.5 million trade exception resulting from that maneuver,
Indiana wouldn't be able to complete a sign-and-trade for Harrington unless the
Hawks were willing to take back contracts in the same monetary range as Harrington's new first-year salary.
