Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports: "Indiana Pacers have agreed in principle to send six-time All-Star Jermaine O’Neal to the Toronto Raptors for point guard T.J. Ford and the 17th pick"
by Brent Beck on Jun 25, 2008 7:36 PM EDT
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It looks like it is actually happening. Here is what Yahoo! Sports reported this evening in their article "O'Neal nearing trade to Toronto for Ford":
NEW YORK – After on-and-off again negotiations, the Indiana Pacers have agreed in principle to send six-time All-Star Jermaine O’Neal to the Toronto Raptors for point guard T.J. Ford and the 17th pick in Thursday’s NBA draft, a league executive said Wednesday.
After nearly completing the deal earlier in the week, Pacers and Raptors officials needed to exchange more medical information on O’Neal’s left knee and Ford’s neck before finding a comfort level with the trade. It is believed both sides now are comfortable making the deal, though the trade won’t be complete until both O’Neal and Ford pass their physicals.
Toronto also will send Rasho Nesterovic and another role player to match up with O’Neal’s salary. O’Neal is owed $44 million over the next two seasons. He played just 42 games for Indiana a year ago with a left knee injury. O’Neal has expressed a desire to leave the Pacers for a contender.
Ford, who has a history of neck injuries, became expendable when Toronto GM Bryan Colangelo decided that he wanted to make Jose Calderon the franchise’s future at point guard.
Ford was diagnosed with spinal stenosis, a condition that narrows the openings the spinal cord runs through. He missed the 2004-05 season with the Bucks following neck surgery, and missed 13 games with a neck injury last season after Atlanta’s Al Horford leveled him on a breakaway layup. Ford has $25 million and two years left on his contract. Indiana had been searching for a point guard and Ford takes the job now.
Calderon is a restricted free agent, and Colangelo has insisted that he’ll match any offer for him. Clearly, the Raptors will belong to him now.
The Pacers would now hold the 11th and 17th picks in the draft.
In a recent post HoopsWorld reported this in reference to the deal:
O'Neal Deal Nearly Complete
The big trade that's expected to go down tomorrow is, of course, the Jermaine O'Neal/TJ Ford deal. The Raptors are taking one more look at O'Neal, wanting to be sure he's healthy and ready to play big minutes alongside Chris Bosh, but the word is that this deal will, indeed, get done.
The expectation is that the Raptors will send Ford, Rasho Nesterovic and their #17 pick to the Pacers, who loved what they saw from Danny Granger and Mike Dunleavy, Jr. during O'Neal's prolonged absence this season. The feeling is that they can build around their other two front court players if they have a good veteran point guard running the show, and when TJ is healthy he's as good as they come. He's also a tremendous presence in the locker room and a strong role model off the court.
Expect the Pacers to use the #17 pick on the best big man available and be happy with the upgrades they were able to make on draft day.
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To be honest here is what I am praying for!
2008 NBA Draft:
Pick 11: D.J. Augustin (Eric Gordon if he falls)
Pick 17: DeAndre Jordan (Anthony Randolph if he falls)
what I think Bird might be thinking, which I am down with….
Pick 11: Kosta Koufos (Brook Lopez if he falls, maybe Eric Gordon, still a possibility of taking Augustin to be an insurance policy for Ford due to his neck)
Pick 17: Anthony Randolph (Possibly Darrel Arthur, or sadly Roy Hibbert)
I love Augustin, Koufos, Jordan, Randolph, and both of the Lopez brothers, would you guys be mad if we came away with both of them? That would be so crazy! Brook and Robin playing on the same pro team haha I dont know what Iwould think the mourning after, I will tell you one thing I would be watching a lot of Stanford games.. Lets start praying that Eric Gordon falls now!
Brent Jonathan Beck
by Brent Beck on Jun 25, 2008 7:55 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs
Woot! Woot!
ESPN has it confirmed too.
Gosh Brent, your idea of flipping TJ to the Blazers has me REALLY, REALLY intrigued. It’s very unlikely but it’d be awesome (If more than just the pick…say Sergio Rodrigez…was also coming our way). But can a player be traded to another team right after a trade? I thought that wasn’t allowed, but I’m no expert.
by SethGrandpa on Jun 25, 2008 9:07 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs
I should also note...
The deal is done “pending physicals”, and with JO and TJ that means it’s no sure thing.
by SethGrandpa on Jun 25, 2008 9:08 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs
You Have To Consider Though
that the Pacers and Raptors wouldn’t have gone through with this if they weren’t certain they were healthy.
http://naptownsfinest.com
by Colts Homer on Jun 25, 2008 10:17 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
YES!
Great deal. I’m excited for next year. Find a way to get Daniels, Williams, and Tinsley out, and you will see me back at Conseco cheering for b-ball players who play hard and play through the pain while keeping out of the headlines off the court.
Do you think Tinsley would come back after a broken neck? No way in hell he would do what TJ did. I’m a big TJ Ford fan. I’ve always liked him and considered him able to be as good as any point guard in the league.
I’d also like to point out that I called this trade (pretty much). I’m sure the FanPost is somewhere.
http://naptownsfinest.com
by Colts Homer on Jun 25, 2008 9:43 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs
ECF
Yeah i think we are for sure going to get DJ Augustin also, what a surprise, Diener to third string, and the POINT GUARD situation cleared up for years to come….... after next years draft its time to start think eastern conference finals again!
Brent Jonathan Beck
by Brent Beck on Jun 25, 2008 10:44 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs
Brent
Thanks for getting this up. I had a YMCA baseball game tonight with my son and couldn’t believe my eyes when I finally logged on tonight. WOW!!!!!
by Tom Lewis on Jun 25, 2008 11:02 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
What do you think about....
Getting
Brook and Robin Lopez? That would just be nuts!
Brent Jonathan Beck
by Brent Beck on Jun 25, 2008 11:29 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
Pretty nuts! I am extremely excited to say the least, ESPN has an article with some great insight where they are saying the trade is great for both sides, check it out…
http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/columns/story?columnist=hollinger_john&page=Onealtrade-080625
Brent Jonathan Beck
by Brent Beck on Jun 25, 2008 11:17 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs
My Projected Roster for 2008
First, let me say what I think will happen for the rest of the year.
1) The Pacers draft DJ Augustin, Darrell Arthur, and George Hill and sign Mike Green in UDFAs
2) Tinsley gets bought out
3) Daniels and Williams are traded to LA for Tim Thomas and Josh Powell.
That makes the roster look like this:
PG: TJ Ford/DJ Augustin/Travis Diener/Mike Green
SG: Danny Granger/Kareem Rush/George Hill
SF: Mike Dunleavy/Josh Powell
PF: Tim Thomas/Darrell Arthur/Ike Diogu
C: Troy Murphy/Jeff Foster/Rasho Nesterovic
To start off the year, Green, Powell, and Hill are on the IR, but that will change when injuries set in. Great depth on the team.
http://naptownsfinest.com
by Colts Homer on Jun 26, 2008 1:35 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs
Still looks like a lottery team.. but I almost hope for that.... and Dunleavy at 2 -----> to Traded
I also would want Arthur or Diogu starting instead of TT if that happened but I love the Augustin…. Im still not sold on if Bird really liked Arthur or not seemed like a textbook smokescreen for who Anthony Randolph
Brent Jonathan Beck
by Brent Beck on Jun 26, 2008 1:45 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
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