Pacers' center Jeff Foster believes that better days are ahead for the Pacers, who have missed the playoffs in each of the last two seasons, according to Indianapolis Star.

"Obviously, things haven't gone the way many people expected since the brawl and Reggie (Miller) retired," Foster said. "You would see that by how we played and the lack of support we got from fans."

Indiana made the postseason in each of Foster's first seven seasons, and he is the second-oldest player on the team's roster.

"It was tough because Jermaine really didn't want to be here the last couple of years," Foster said about the six-time all-star that was sent to Toronto in June. "It was tough to become a team when your best player did not want to be on the team."

Pacer's President Larry Bird values having a guy like Foster on his roster.

"He's a glue guy to your team," Bird said. ". . . He's going to come in here and give you everything he's got."

The Pacers can extend the contract of forward Danny Granger anytime between now and the end of October, and it appears as though he could receive a deal similar to the one the 76ers gave Andre Iguodala, according to The Indianapolis Star.

Granger and Iguodala had somewhat similar numbers last season, and Iguodala got a six-year extension worth $80 million from Philadelphia.

RealGM Note: Pacers GM David Morway told RealGM during the first week of August that they had yet to open up negotiations with Granger.

Granger was 46th in the NBA in season FIC and 'deserved' to make $11.11 million during the 07-08 season.  Iguodala was ranked 20th and 'deserved' to make $13.76 million and was 21st during his own third season in the NBA.

Sarunas Jasikevicius admitted on Thursday that he was utterly miserable during his time with the Pacers, according to The Indianapolis Star.

"I was pretty much miserable (in Indiana)," Jasikevicius said Thursday night. "Those were bad times for me. Obviously."

He blames a majority of his problems in Indiana on former coach Rick Carlisle, now with the Mavericks.

"Obviously, the (up-tempo) style of play Rick promised me was never there, the opportunities to play were never there, and the players who were supposed to be gone by the time I came were still around," Jasikevicius said. "Rick did a great false recruiting job on me, like college recruiting where they say, 'If you come here, we promise you the world.' "

"But Larry (Bird) being such an honorable man, and (then-president) Donnie (Walsh), too, they hire the coach and let him coach the way he wants. Rick's a half-court man, no question."

Sarunas, however, wasn't able to get off the bench in Golden State either, where Don Nelson runs an European-style of play.

"I don't know that there's any reason to respond," Carlisle said in response. "It's all pretty baseless . . . I respect Sarunas' game and his basketball IQ, and that's why the only NBA success he had was with me as a coach."

The Indiana Pacers have the option to extend the contract of forward Danny Granger this summer, but have not opened up discussions yet.

"We haven't actually started that process yet," General Manager David Morway told RealGM's Andrew Perna last week. "We have until October to do that, and I'm sure we will have conversations. Danny is a young player that we hope to build with, but we haven't even begun yet."

Granger averaged 19.6 points and 6.1 rebounds for Indiana last season and has quickly become the face of the franchise.

Agent Mark Bartelstein told the Indianapolis Star in July that Granger is interested in remaining with the Pacers over the long-term.

"He?s excited about being a part of the community, and he?s excited about being a part of the rebuilding of the Pacers," Bartelstein told the Star.

In addition to leading Indiana in scoring last season, Granger hit 40.4% of the 423 three-pointers he attempted in 2007-08. He also made 85.2% of his free throws while missing just two games all year.

Free agent guard Flip Murray is drawing interest from Dynamo Moscow, according to The News-Herald.

He drew some interest from the Cavaliers as well, but that was before the team signed Tarence Kinsey. The Mavericks and Wizards have shown some interest as well.

Murray played with Indiana at the end of last season.

Pacers' owner Herb Simon is on the same page as team President Larry Bird and general Manager David Morway regarding point guard Jamaal Tinsley, according to The Indianapolis Star.

"Tinsley, he's probably outlived his welcome here," Simon said Tuesday. "He's a very talented player. Teams will give us a hard time because they know it's better for him and for us to have him play somewhere else. We're confident that we'll find a good place."

Bird said in a radio interview last month he doesn't believe in buying out contracts, and David Morway revealed the same line of thinking to RealGM on Tuesday morning.

Indiana Pacers' General Manager David Morway said in a phone conversation with Andrew Perna of RealGM on Tuesday morning that the team will not buyout the contract of point guard Jamaal Tinsley.

"We won't buy Jamaal out. That's not even a consideration; we're not even looking at that," Morway said of the rumors.

He didn't reveal any possible destinations for Tinsley, but talks involving the Iowa State product are on-going.

"Right now we are in conversations with a few teams, and we'll see where that takes us," he added. "But our intent is to trade Jamaal and try to find the right situation for both him and the franchise."

Morway also said that the Pacers have discussed options with Tinsley in an effort to ensure he's okay with possible scenarios.

"We have had conversations with Jamaal's representation, and we will continue to do that," Morway continued.