Pacers trade Jermaine O'Neal to Raptors for TJ Ford in 6-player deal

JO hasn't been healthy in 5 YEARS. His last 4 years he played 42, 69, 51, and 44 games. That is AWFUL. If you factor that there are lso "recovery" games when a guy tries to get his wind back and rust out, that's even more games he wasn't an impact player.

I love JO's game. He is the Rebounder and Shot Blocker that the Raps need and can also put in 19-20 ppg. He is a perfect fit, but the reality is he is 30 yrs old, hasn't played a full season in 4 years and his body is not getting healthier with age.

At 44M/2 yrs, this guy really scares me. The only advantage i see in this trade is that we would have an enormous amount of salary space for 2010 however a lot of teams are prepping for that as well so the question will be can we get players to come up north.

I really hope BC keeps shopping. I am also more inclined to do this trade without the 17th pick because of how deep the draft is this year but i think Indiana is specifically shopping for a second pick so i would be surprised if they did this deal without the pick being included.

That's a LOT of value for Oneal

[QUOTE=dffsaf9]For Toronto this deal doesn't make much sense, aside from clearing cap space in a couple years. JO and Raptors are in a different phase, he's a 29 year old injury prone, past all-star, Toronto is a young up-coming team still adding pieces and trying to find an identity.[/QUOTE]

I don't get what you're trying to say, JO would provide the Raptors with a ton of experience and leadership. A froncourt with Bosh and a healthy JO would be deadly. But ya, the only downside is that he's injury prone.

Some Raps fan tell me, what specifically is wrong with Ford's back? Is it just freak accidents, just a weak spine? Seems the difference between he and JO's injury woes are that Ford seems to have a degenerative condition that will always make him an injury risk, whereas JO's knees can and have been fixed by surgery.

[QUOTE=Beebo]I don't get what you're trying to say, JO would provide the Raptors with a ton of experience and leadership. A froncourt with Bosh and a healthy JO would be deadly. But ya, the only downside is that he's injury prone.[/QUOTE]
Not really,but I could see where you're getting at.

I still believe Toronto should trade for Eddy Curry at C.

[QUOTE=InspiredLebowski]Some Raps fan tell me, what specifically is wrong with Ford's back? Is it just freak accidents, just a weak spine? Seems the difference between he and JO's injury woes are that Ford seems to have a degenerative condition that will always make him an injury risk, whereas JO's knees can and have been fixed by surgery.[/QUOTE]

TJ Ford is one "Horford" hit away from ending his career.

[QUOTE=Interminator]Not really,but I could see where you're getting at.

I still believe Toronto should trade for Eddy Curry at C.[/QUOTE]

Eddy Curry??? You ****ting me??? Raptors should stay away from any Knick players.

[QUOTE=Interminator]Not really,but I could see where you're getting at.

I still believe Toronto should trade for Eddy Curry at C.[/QUOTE]

You serious? JO is one of about 5 big men in this league who can anchor a great defensive team. He's an injury risk but he'd solve the problems they had in Toronto without him. If this is all it takes to get JO we should make a move for him here in Charlotte, a package of J Rich, Adam Morrison and Matt Carrol isn't equal value for him but its better than the Raps offer.

[QUOTE=Beebo]But ya, the only downside is that he's injury prone.[/QUOTE]

I was under the impression that JO has not been healthy on paper due to the fact that his team is playing for nothing. I strongly believe JO will suddenly become healthy for a team that has a reason to play.

Ford is injury prone but that is still too much for O'Neal who hasn't played a full season in about 5 years, is old (since he came right to the league out of highschool), is injury prone, and most importantly has the 5th highest salary in the league! the pacers should be giving up a 1st round pick just to unload that horrible contract. He makes $21 million a year!

[QUOTE=shok]I was under the impression that JO has not been healthy on paper due to the fact that his team is playing for nothing. I strongly believe JO will suddenly become healthy for a team that has a reason to play.[/QUOTE]

Your saying he might be pulling a "Vince Carter"??

[QUOTE=shok]I was under the impression that JO has not been healthy on paper due to the fact that his team is playing for nothing. I strongly believe JO will suddenly become healthy for a team that has a reason to play.[/QUOTE]

Thats what I'd heard too.

[QUOTE]Some Raps fan tell me, what specifically is wrong with Ford's back? Is it just freak accidents, just a weak spine?[/QUOTE]

He has a condition called spinal stenosis.

Basically, what it is is that Ford's spine canal is narrowed and that causes it to compress against the spinal cord or nervers.

[url]http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spinal_stenosis[/url]

More detail there.

I say good move by the Raps.

[QUOTE=InspiredLebowski]Some Raps fan tell me, what specifically is wrong with Ford's back? Is it just freak accidents, just a weak spine? Seems the difference between he and JO's injury woes are that Ford seems to have a degenerative condition that will always make him an injury risk, whereas JO's knees can and have been fixed by surgery.[/QUOTE]

He's 5'11, 165 lbs and attacks the paint relentlessly, it's just freak accidents that result from a man that size constantly coming into contact with 6'11, 260 lbs forwards and centers who are swatting at the ball and instead are crushing him, injuries happen. The only reason to worry is just his style of play and his size.