Manu Ginobili was upset when the San Antonio Spurs decided to trade George Hill to the Indiana Pacers for Kawhi Leonard.

"When he came to the Spurs, I got really angry because enjoyed playing with George Hill," said Ginobili to Ole.com. "I was frustrated that they had traded him for a rookie (Kawhi Leonard). But I did not know who he was. Since his first year, despite the lockout, he showed some things. One glimpsed at his potential. But in the second half of last season, it was crazy."

Leonard averaged 11.9 points and 6.0 rebounds in 31 minutes per game last season.

Paul George has bought every single ticket of Fresno State's season opener on Nov. 16 to allow fans to attend the game on him.

George purchased the tickets for Save Mart Center's full 15,596 seat capacity.

George spent approximately a quarter of a miller dollars on the tickets.

George attended Fresno State.

Danny Granger will miss approximately three weeks as he rehabilitates a strained left calf injury sustained in the preseason.

The length of time is a precautionary measure as the Indiana Pacers want to ensure Granger is physically ready to play in light of missing all but five games last season due to his knee injury.

The rehabilitation time is strictly related to the calf injury.

The Indiana Pacers have released forward/center Hilton Armstrong.

The Pacers’ roster now stands at 14 players.

Danny Granger had a setback with his calf injury and is not expected to be healthy for the Indiana Pacers at the start of the regular season.

"We're not expecting Danny to be ready for the start of the regular season," Frank Vogel told reporters on Thursday. "His calf strain is a little bit worse than [doctors] originally thought. There's a chance he could play opening night, but it's probably unlikely."

The Pacers will start Lance Stephenson at shooting guard in Granger's absence.

"With this setback, we'll see where he's at on almost a day by day basis," Vogel said of Granger.

Granger missed most of last season due to knee issues.

Danny Granger has felt healthy during training camp and is still working to figure out his permanent role on the Indiana Pacers.

Granger believes the Pacers will benefit with him in his comfort zone, as a starter, and with Lance Stephenson coming off the bench.

“I’ve always started, so obviously I’m more comfortable doing that,” Granger said. “And Lance, he’s more of a playmaker. So when he’s in the second group, I think he actually excels more. He has the ball in his hands, he can make plays. When he’s with the starting group, the ball’s going into the post or Paul [George] has it. I play off the ball a lot.”

The Pacers are looking for Stephenson to bring a spark as a reserve.

“He’s just a load,” David West said of Stephenson. “He’s a playmaker, a shot maker, a shot creator. Lance is a big part of what we’re trying to do, and he has to have a great year for us. He’s beyond that stage of kind of proving himself. It’s time for him literally to be who we know he is.”

The Indiana Pacers have released guard Ron Howard and forward Darnell Jackson.

The Pacers’ preseason roster is now at 15 players.

Larry Bird spent a season away from the Indiana Pacers' front office due to health issues, but he returned this season and has built a deep team through free agency and trade.

In Bird's mind, returning to the Pacers so soon was an outcome even he did not envision.

"I never dreamed I'd be back, especially so quick," Bird said. "But I thought that's the best thing that I've done in a long time -- get away from it, refresh, watch the team play."

When asked how difficult it was to leave, Bird said: "It wasn't hard. I knew we had a good team, that the team was pretty well set."

The Sacramento Kings were among the teams that called the Pacers' ownership wondering about Bird's status.

Danny Granger did not participate in Wednesday's practice due to back soreness.

“He tweaked his back yesterday,” Vogel said. “His knee was doing really, really good. No concerns there. But he got hit with a screen yesterday and kinda jerked his back out of whack.”

Granger played in just five seasons due to patellar tendinosis.