On the eve of the draft the Pacers finally pulled off a trade to get more than Jermaine O'Neal is worth. There have been rumors for a little over a year now that the Pacers were shopping O'Neal. Finally they found a suitor, the Toronto Raptors. The deal, pending medical clearance, moves Jermaine O'Neal to Toronto in exchange for TJ Ford, Rasho Nesterovic, and the No. 17 pick.
According to the rules of the collective bargaining agreement, there will have to be another player or players added to the deal to make the salaries match.
Jermaine O'Neal is coming off his worst season since 2000, he played in only 42 games last year and at one point missed 33 straight games before returning to the lineup on March 31. His numbers were less than desirable, he averaged 13.6 ppg and 6.8 rpg after averaging 19.4 ppg and 9.6 rpg in 2006-07. Supposedly, according to team officials his knee is fine, yet it has plagued him since his surgery in April of 2007 to repair torn meniscus cartilage. This trade leaves the team with no first rounders for this years draft.
The Pacers don't have much to brag about on their end of the deal. TJ Ford brings 25 million left on a three-year deal and a history of neck injuries. Rasho is the least disirable player in the
In any estimation this was a trade that needed to get done for both teams. TJ Ford needed to move out of Calderons way and the Pacers needed to get something for O'Neal before he became a free agent. The upside to this deal for the Pacers, they now have the 11th and 17th picks in the draft. These bargaining chips could be exactly what they need to talk Miami into trading the number two pick and having their choice of OJ Mayo or Michael Beasley.
The one question this leaves me asking, what do I do with my fathead of Rasho.
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