Well the deal finally went down. T.J. is out, Jermaine O’Neil is in. The potential is amazing but at the same time the entire deal is based on how well the knees hold up.

O’Neil when healthy and playing at 100% is one of the best bigs in the game and an automatic 20-10 guy. So why am I so worried? I guess I would feel better if he did not have the basketball body of a 40 year old.

Jermaine has been around for what seems like forever and at this point my mind keeps flashing back to the big Hakeem signing. I know that is not fair but it is my initial reaction. It looks flashy and sexy from a fans point of view and really it does have a lot of good.

I am a little sad to see T.J. go. I think he got caught up in a no win situation and every little thing he did wrong got blown out of proportion and piled on to why he had to go. You heard it hear first, Ford will come back to bite the Raps in the ass one day. So many former Raptors have done it already and T.J. will continue to the trend. The sounds of speeding engines on Indiana’s home floor and all of the car references imaginable will make T.J. a perfect fit before he even steps on the floor. I wish him the best and hope he can play injury free for years to come.

I guess the deal kind of makes tonight a little boring if you are a Raptors fan. All the weeks of trying to guess who they would pick down the tubes. Maybe they will be involved in another trade? I mean they still need a small forward and a back up PG.

Rasho is going to Indiana as well and will continue to do just what you expect him to do. I will miss his smile haha.

So once everyone passes the physicals, this deal will be done and we can start dreaming of a healthy O’Neil playing next to a healthy Bosh. The potential is great but at the same time it could backfire.

These are my initial reactions, I am sure there will be more to say as it sinks in. Enjoy all of these other links and opinions.

Here is what the papers are saying

  • “The Indiana Pacers have agreed in principle to a trade that will send six-time All-Star Jermaine O’Neal to the Toronto Raptors, a person familiar with the situation said Wednesday night. The Pacers will receive point guard T.J. Ford, reserve center Rasho Nesterovic, a player yet to be named and the rights to Toronto’s 17th pick in tonight’s NBA draft.” (Indianapolis Star)
  • “Bryan Colangelo, the fashion-wise head honcho of the Toronto Raptors, showed up at the club’s annual pre-draft press conference wearing the usual checklist of chicer-than-thou finery yesterday. The bespoke summer-weight navy suit? Check. The belt-and-shoe combo crafted from the finest leather of caviar-fed virgin ostriches? Goes without saying. But hang on. Your alert correspondent spotted a chink in the Men’s Vogue-worthy exterior. Colangelo’s shirt – and it was the usual high-style, high-collared, hand-sewn-by-a-grandmother-on-the-outskirts-of-Bologna shirt – was bereft of the usual worth-more-than-your-Toyota cufflinks. It was a shocking omission, like Shaq O’Neal suddenly stripped of his deputy’s badge. And granted, if you’re looking for symbolism in the fearless leader’s image, this wasn’t exactly Rob Babcock in a wrinkled golf shirt and Dockers keeping the secret that turned out to be Rafael Freaking Araujo. ” (Toronto Star)
  • “Jermaine O’Neal was too enticing a proposition for the Raptors to pass up. With health concerns from both sides eased, a blockbuster trade involving O’Neal, T.J. Ford and Toronto’s 17th pick in tonight’s NBA draft has been agreed to in principle, a significant move the Raptors hope gives them the most potent frontcourt in franchise history. Even as the Portland Trail Blazers tried to get back into the Ford sweepstakes yesterday, the Raptors decided they like the immediate impact Indiana’s O’Neal will have rather than waiting for anything they could have obtained with the draft pick.” (Toronto Star)

What the blogs are saying

  • “It actually appears to have happened. TJ Ford along with our prized 17th pick and the expiring contract of Rasho Nesterovic for Jermaine O’Neal. Rasho’s obviously thrown in for expiring reasons and is easily the third best piece that the Raptors are giving up in the trade. Whether the best piece is TJ Ford or the 17th pick is up for debate.” (Arsenalist)
  • “Normally, landing someone of O’Neal’s calibre would be great news. The fact of the matter, for me anyways, is that seemingly, the Raptors gave up a lot of assets (4 for 1) to land O’Neal. We started the summer with 5 players with expiring contracts (Rasho, Parker, Garbajosa, Graham and Baston) for a total of about $20.5mil in expiring contracts, TJ Ford - a starting point guard in the NBA and the 17th pick.” (Raptors Talk)

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