The Pacers have signed forward Danny Granger to a five-year contract extension worth between $60 million and $64 million dollars.

"I think it?s great for Danny and the Pacers," Granger?s agent, Mark Bartelstein said. "I think (president) Larry Bird and (general manager) David Morway and (owner) Herb Simon did a terrific job in being proactive here. There were a lot of long conversations with David, Larry, myself and my associate Aaron Mintz.

"You have a great emerging player. I think the Pacers are trying to rebuild the franchise and I think to let Danny get into restricted free agency when you never know what could happen, I think it was a terrific move on their part to get Danny locked up. It shows how much he means to them."

The extension will begin next season.

Indiana forward Danny Granger believes that the team can play with anyone in the NBA, including the defending-champion Celtics, whom the Pacers will host on Saturday.

"Against Boston, we have a good chance of winning the game," Granger said. "They're the world champions, but we feel we can play with anybody."

The Pacers lost to the Pistons in a close game on Wednesday. The deadline was Friday for Indiana to extend the contract of Granger, who will become a restricted free agent next summer if not agreement is reached.

The Pacers and forward Danny Granger still haven't agreed to terms on a contract extension as Friday's deadline inches closer.

Granger admitted that the sides are talkin,g and it wouldn't surprise him if negotiations on an extension, which could be as long as five years, went down to the wire.

The fourth-year forward will be a restricted free agent after the season, meaning the Pacers can match any offer, if an agreement isn't reached.

T.J. Ford believes that the Pacers have done a great job of remaking their roster and that the infamous brawl at the Palace of Auburn Hills is a thing of the past.

"I think those guys did a fantastic job. For the amount of time Jermaine was in Indiana, I think he took the organization to the top and to the best of his ability," said Ford. "But the team has moved on, and the Indiana Pacers are trying to restore the feeling that those guys had when they first got to Indiana before the brawl."

Ford is excited to have the opportunity to lead Indiana with Jarrett Jack and Travis Diener vying for minutes behind him.

"For me it's a plus either way," said Ford. "I'm in an opportunity to be out there and get the minutes that I want, that I always wanted in the NBA."

The Milwaukee Bucks have acquired forward Austin Croshere off waivers, General Manager John Hammond announced today. In a subsequent move, the team requested waivers on forward Adrian Griffin.

Croshere (6-10, 235) comes to the Bucks with 11 years of NBA experience. He spent his first nine seasons with the Indiana Pacers, the team that drafted him with the 12th overall pick in the 1997 NBA Draft. He followed up his Pacers' career with one-year stints in Dallas (2006-07) and Golden State (2007-08). He averaged 3.9 points and 2.4 rebounds in 44 games with the Warriors last season. He comes to Milwaukee with 645 regular season games to his credit and career averages of 6.9 points and 4.1 rebounds. The 33-year-old has also appeared in 68 playoff games and owns postseason averages of 6.7 points and 3.6 rebounds.

Griffin (6-5, 230) appeared in two preseason games with the Bucks.

The Bucks' opening night roster remains at 15 players.

The Indiana Pacers announced Thursday they have waived forwards Austin Croshere and Josh Davis.  

The Pacers roster now stands at 15.

?This was an extremely difficult decision to waive Austin,? said Pacers General Manager David Morway. ?Austin?s a terrific professional and has represented this franchise extremely well and we appreciate his passion, dedication and commitment to the Pacers over the years.?  

Croshere played for the Pacers from 1997-2006.  In those nine seasons he averaged 7.5 points and 4.3 rebounds per game.  He was traded to Dallas in 2006 for Marquis Daniels and played for Golden State in 2007-08.  

Davis is a three-year veteran of the NBA, having played for Atlanta, Philadelphia, Milwaukee, Houston and Phoenix.  He has career averages of 2.5 ppg and 1.7 rpg.

Morway added, ?both Austin and Josh had very good camps and we think both players will find a place in the NBA this season.?

The Pacers must trim their roster to fifteen players on Monday, and in order to keep Austin Croshere around they'll have to release someone with a guaranteed contract.

"I'm just really trying to embrace this opportunity to play for the Pacers another year," Croshere said. "I'm only thinking about making the team. Things might play out differently, and I'll worry about that in the future."

Until the decision is made, Croshere plans to remain in Indianapolis, where he has continued to own a home.

"There's a lot of things that are not in my control," he said. "I'm worrying about things I do have control over. I think I've shown in my three weeks here that I'm good enough to play in the NBA and help teams. I think this team has a chance of making the playoffs. I think a veteran would help."

The Pacers have until Oct. 31 to extend the contract of forward Danny Granger up to five years.

"I think both sides feel great about each other," Granger's agent Mark Bartelstein said Tuesday. "We've talked about some things, and we're going to see what happens here the next couple of weeks. We've had conversations, but I wouldn't say anything past that."

If a deal isn't struck, Granger will become a restricted free agent next summer.

"I think a lot of people forget it's an extension," Granger said. "I'm optimistic something will happen, but at the same time, if it doesn't happen I still have this season, and it'll happen next summer."

The Heat are reportedly interested in Pacers' point guard Jamaal Tinsley, who has been stuck in limbo as Larry Bird tries to unload him.

Miami currently has Marcus Banks, Mario Chalmers, Chris Quinn, and Shaun Livingston under contract at point guard.

Mike Dunleavy made his preseason debut for the Pacers on Friday night in the team's victory over the Grizzlies.

Dunleavy posted 9 points, 4 rebounds, 2 steals, and an assist for Indiana.

"It felt good to get back and play with a uniform on in that regard," Dunleavy said. "I was just trying to move around on my knee as much as possible. That's the only challenge because I've been here for a while and I know everything that's going on. Hopefully, I'll keep getting better and pushing forward."

Dunleavy missed the first four games because of tendinitis in his right knee and played at times with a noticeable limp on Friday.