INDIANAPOLIS - It looks like Al Harrington will return to the Indiana Pacers after all.

After weeks of speculation about the free agent's status and reports in the past week that a deal between the Atlanta Hawks and the Pacers had fallen through, Harrington's new agent expects him to be in Indianapolis soon.

"It's very close to getting done with Indiana," Greg Lawrence, a spokesman for Harrington agent Arn Tellem, said Monday night.

Lawrence would not say when Harrington would sign or if it would be a sign-and-trade deal with Atlanta.

Pacers CEO Donnie Walsh wouldn't say that a deal was imminent, but said talks never ceased.

"We are still in negotiations with Al Harrington and the Atlanta Hawks," Walsh said.

Harrington is considered among the top free agents on the market. The 6-foot-9 forward averaged 18.6 points and 6.9 rebounds a game for the Hawks last season.

He played his first six NBA seasons for the Pacers before he was traded to the Hawks for Stephen Jackson in July 2004.

Harrington dumped agent Andy Miller this month and hired Tellem, who also represents Houston's Tracy McGrady and Memphis' Pau Gasol.

The Pacers gave themselves a chance to get Harrington when they gained a trade exception worth $7.5 million in the sign-and-trade deal that sent Peja Stojakovic to the New Orleans Hornets. They are trying to recover from a 41-41 season that ended with a first-round playoff exit.