Miles Plumlee and Orlando Johnson will leave the Indiana Pacers to join the Fort Wayne Mad Ants for two games this weekend. This is the first time the Pacers have assigned players to their NBA D-League affiliate.

Plumlee, a 6-10, 245-pound center/forward who was the Pacers’ first-round pick last June (26th overall), has played in four games this season, scoring four points and pulling down five rebounds. Johnson, a 6-5 guard who was a second-round pick that the Pacers acquired from Sacramento on draft night, has played in two games, but hasn’t scored.

"We could not be happier to have Miles and Orlando join our team for these first two games," said Mad Ants head coach Duane Ticknor. "We think we can provide both players a great opportunity to improve their games, and I am excited for this watershed moment in our partnership with the Pacers."

The Indiana Pacers expressed interest in Rashad McCants before he signed a deal in China with Foshan.

McCants last played in the NBA in 2009 with the Kings.

A source told RealGM's Shams Charania that McCants still hopes he can make a comeback to the NBA following the current season.

Donnie Walsh returned to Madison Square Garden on Sunday with the visiting Pacers.

Walsh spent several seasons as president of the New York Knicks where he rebuilt the roster coming out of the Isiah Thomas-era.

“I’ve said before, I think they’re a contending team,” Walsh said. “There’s not that many contending teams…You see the roster, but now they’re playing up to the roster and they’re only going to get better.”

The Knicks have acquired Tyson Chandler, Jason Kidd, Marcus Camby, Rasheed Wallace and Kurt Thomas since Walsh's departure.

“I’ve said they’re a contending team. But to go any further, you’ve got to do it. You can’t talk about it, you’ve gotta do it. And that’s kind of where all the teams are,” Walsh said. “They have the whole gamut of guys. I think around the league, they’ve got as good (depth) as anybody.

“I think Glen has done a wonderful job, got exactly the right guys to add to what was here before. And I’m really happy for the fans. Because during the years when we were breaking the team up, the two years we knew we were going to lose…I’m glad to see they can come here now and say ‘Wow, this is a team that can be really good.’ And I think that they will be.

“I’m happy that what I started here is coming to fruition here.”

While the Indiana Pacers have been linked to players such as Mickael Pietrus and Josh Howard this week, they do not have immediate plans to make a roster addition, according to a source.

It was revealed earlier this week that Danny Granger will miss three weeks because of knee tendinosis. The Pacers are 2-3 through their first five games. They finished last season with the third-best regular season record in the Eastern Conference and took an early lead in their semifinal series against the eventual champion Heat.

With Granger out, Frank Vogel has used a combination of Gerald Green and Sam Young at small forward. Granger, an All-Star in 2009, is owed more than $13 million this season. Granger is expected to remain around the team while he rehabs his knee so that the training staff can monitor his progress.

With Danny Granger out of the Indiana Pacers’ lineup, free agent Mickael Pietrus is an option for the organization but is far from officially signing a contract and remains in discussions with a few other teams, agent Bill McCandless told RealGM on Thursday.

While McCandless admits he has been in contact with general managers across the NBA, he insisted by phone: “A report goes out and everybody thinks Mickael is on a plane headed for Indiana. Everybody needs to hold their horses.”

Over the past week, Pietrus’ camp has seen a spike in interest for the veteran swingman, who has career averages of 8.4 points and 3.1 rebounds and is well regarded as among the stellar perimeter defenders in the league.

The health of Pietrus’ knee has been perceived as an issue, but McCandless stressed he is 100 percent healthy following an offseason of intensive rehabilitation. Pietrus’ representatives are confident a deal will be found soon.

If the Pacers indeed decide they will sign a small forward due to Granger’s absence with left knee tendinosis, Pietrus and Josh Howard are the leading candidates.

Danny Granger received an injection on Tuesday to treat left patellar tendinosis. The procedure was performed by Dr. James Andrews.

The Indiana Pacers' medical personnel are looking at a recovery time of approximately three months.