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Mullin turns his eyes away from Jermaine
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Jermaine O'Neal ... how much left?
Now that the Toronto Raptors and Indiana Pacers have agreed to a trade that will send Jermaine O’Neal to Toronto, it’s pretty obvious isn’t it? Warriors VP of basketball operations Chris Mullin had to have told Larry Bird: “Thanks, but no thanks.”
How do I know that? I don’t, really. But surely it must have happened.
How else can you explain O’Neal, a six-time NBA All-Star and legit shot-blocker, going to the Raptors for point guard T.J. Ford, he of the scary injury history and, maybe worse, three more years left on a contract that’s got another $25 million or so remaining.
There may be another player thrown in there, but for sure it looks as if Rasho Nesterovic and the No. 17 pick also are going to the Pacers, not that it nudges the assess-o-meter a significant degree in Indiana’s favor.
The obvious implication here is that Bird, the Pacers’ president of basketball operations, held O’Neal out there for any and all takers, and didn’t get a lot of attention. Hardly any, apparently.
Surely, you don’t believe Bird talked only to the Raptors and found their deal such a no-brainer there was no need to go further shopping do you? Of course Bird came sniffing around Oakland knowing full-well the Warriors are in the market for frontcourt help … any kind of frontcourt help.
And Mullin must have said: “Nah.”
Which tells me one thing: Jermaine O’Neal is done. He must be.
Ford is a nice player, but in a perfect world he doesn’t have back and neck issues and he’s coming off the bench and playing about 18 to 20 minutes a night for you. Nesterovic will come off the Pacers cap at the end of 2008-09, which will help, and so might the pick.
But O’Neal was the face of the Pacers’ franchise for almost a decade, for goodness sakes. The only conclusion to come to is that knee injuries have taken their toll and O’Neal will not only never be the same as before but he won’t be able to come close.
Still, we’re talking about a 20-point and 9-rebound guy in six of the past seven seasons, and one of the league’s best shot-blockers. Yes, he’s making $21 million and $23 million over the next two years but that’s not long to wait to have that kind of money come off your cap.
If O’Neal got traded for Ford, then whom did Mullin refuse to part with? Apparently just about everyone on the Warriors’ roster. Which again, tells me that Mullin and every other GM out there think O’Neal’s days are over or just about there.
We'll see.
Topics: NBA draft , Golden State Warriors , Chris Mullin , Jermaine O'Neal , Toronto Raptors , Indiana Pacers , Larry Bird
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