Announcement

Collapse

The Rules of Pacers Digest

Hello everyone,

Whether your are a long standing forum member or whether you have just registered today, it's a good idea to read and review the rules below so that you have a very good idea of what to expect when you come to Pacers Digest.

A quick note to new members: Your posts will not immediately show up when you make them. An administrator has to approve at least your first post before the forum software will later upgrade your account to the status of a fully-registered member. This usually happens within a couple of hours or so after your post(s) is/are approved, so you may need to be a little patient at first.

Why do we do this? So that it's more difficult for spammers (be they human or robot) to post, and so users who are banned cannot immediately re-register and start dousing people with verbal flames.

Below are the rules of Pacers Digest. After you have read them, you will have a very good sense of where we are coming from, what we expect, what we don't want to see, and how we react to things.

Rule #1

Pacers Digest is intended to be a place to discuss basketball without having to deal with the kinds of behaviors or attitudes that distract people from sticking with the discussion of the topics at hand. These unwanted distractions can come in many forms, and admittedly it can sometimes be tricky to pin down each and every kind that can rear its ugly head, but we feel that the following examples and explanations cover at least a good portion of that ground and should at least give people a pretty good idea of the kinds of things we actively discourage:

"Anyone who __________ is a liar / a fool / an idiot / a blind homer / has their head buried in the sand / a blind hater / doesn't know basketball / doesn't watch the games"

"People with intelligence will agree with me when I say that __________"

"Only stupid people think / believe / do ___________"

"I can't wait to hear something from PosterX when he/she sees that **insert a given incident or current event that will have probably upset or disappointed PosterX here**"

"He/she is just delusional"

"This thread is stupid / worthless / embarrassing"

"I'm going to take a moment to point and / laugh at PosterX / GroupOfPeopleY who thought / believed *insert though/belief here*"

"Remember when PosterX said OldCommentY that no longer looks good? "

In general, if a comment goes from purely on topic to something 'ad hominem' (personal jabs, personal shots, attacks, flames, however you want to call it, towards a person, or a group of people, or a given city/state/country of people), those are most likely going to be found intolerable.

We also dissuade passive aggressive behavior. This can be various things, but common examples include statements that are basically meant to imply someone is either stupid or otherwise incapable of holding a rational conversation. This can include (but is not limited to) laughing at someone's conclusions rather than offering an honest rebuttal, asking people what game they were watching, or another common problem is Poster X will say "that player isn't that bad" and then Poster Y will say something akin to "LOL you think that player is good". We're not going to tolerate those kinds of comments out of respect for the community at large and for the sake of trying to just have an honest conversation.

Now, does the above cover absolutely every single kind of distraction that is unwanted? Probably not, but you should by now have a good idea of the general types of things we will be discouraging. The above examples are meant to give you a good feel for / idea of what we're looking for. If something new or different than the above happens to come along and results in the same problem (that being, any other attitude or behavior that ultimately distracts from actually just discussing the topic at hand, or that is otherwise disrespectful to other posters), we can and we will take action to curb this as well, so please don't take this to mean that if you managed to technically avoid saying something exactly like one of the above examples that you are then somehow off the hook.

That all having been said, our goal is to do so in a generally kind and respectful way, and that doesn't mean the moment we see something we don't like that somebody is going to be suspended or banned, either. It just means that at the very least we will probably say something about it, quite possibly snipping out the distracting parts of the post in question while leaving alone the parts that are actually just discussing the topics, and in the event of a repeating or excessive problem, then we will start issuing infractions to try to further discourage further repeat problems, and if it just never seems to improve, then finally suspensions or bans will come into play. We would prefer it never went that far, and most of the time for most of our posters, it won't ever have to.

A slip up every once and a while is pretty normal, but, again, when it becomes repetitive or excessive, something will be done. Something occasional is probably going to be let go (within reason), but when it starts to become habitual or otherwise a pattern, odds are very good that we will step in.

There's always a small minority that like to push people's buttons and/or test their own boundaries with regards to the administrators, and in the case of someone acting like that, please be aware that this is not a court of law, but a private website run by people who are simply trying to do the right thing as they see it. If we feel that you are a special case that needs to be dealt with in an exceptional way because your behavior isn't explicitly mirroring one of our above examples of what we generally discourage, we can and we will take atypical action to prevent this from continuing if you are not cooperative with us.

Also please be aware that you will not be given a pass simply by claiming that you were 'only joking,' because quite honestly, when someone really is just joking, for one thing most people tend to pick up on the joke, including the person or group that is the target of the joke, and for another thing, in the event where an honest joke gets taken seriously and it upsets or angers someone, the person who is truly 'only joking' will quite commonly go out of his / her way to apologize and will try to mend fences. People who are dishonest about their statements being 'jokes' do not do so, and in turn that becomes a clear sign of what is really going on. It's nothing new.

In any case, quite frankly, the overall quality and health of the entire forum's community is more important than any one troublesome user will ever be, regardless of exactly how a problem is exhibiting itself, and if it comes down to us having to make a choice between you versus the greater health and happiness of the entire community, the community of this forum will win every time.

Lastly, there are also some posters, who are generally great contributors and do not otherwise cause any problems, who sometimes feel it's their place to provoke or to otherwise 'mess with' that small minority of people described in the last paragraph, and while we possibly might understand why you might feel you WANT to do something like that, the truth is we can't actually tolerate that kind of behavior from you any more than we can tolerate the behavior from them. So if we feel that you are trying to provoke those other posters into doing or saying something that will get themselves into trouble, then we will start to view you as a problem as well, because of the same reason as before: The overall health of the forum comes first, and trying to stir the pot with someone like that doesn't help, it just makes it worse. Some will simply disagree with this philosophy, but if so, then so be it because ultimately we have to do what we think is best so long as it's up to us.

If you see a problem that we haven't addressed, the best and most appropriate course for a forum member to take here is to look over to the left of the post in question. See underneath that poster's name, avatar, and other info, down where there's a little triangle with an exclamation point (!) in it? Click that. That allows you to report the post to the admins so we can definitely notice it and give it a look to see what we feel we should do about it. Beyond that, obviously it's human nature sometimes to want to speak up to the poster in question who has bothered you, but we would ask that you try to refrain from doing so because quite often what happens is two or more posters all start going back and forth about the original offending post, and suddenly the entire thread is off topic or otherwise derailed. So while the urge to police it yourself is understandable, it's best to just report it to us and let us handle it. Thank you!

All of the above is going to be subject to a case by case basis, but generally and broadly speaking, this should give everyone a pretty good idea of how things will typically / most often be handled.

Rule #2

If the actions of an administrator inspire you to make a comment, criticism, or express a concern about it, there is a wrong place and a couple of right places to do so.

The wrong place is to do so in the original thread in which the administrator took action. For example, if a post gets an infraction, or a post gets deleted, or a comment within a larger post gets clipped out, in a thread discussing Paul George, the wrong thing to do is to distract from the discussion of Paul George by adding your off topic thoughts on what the administrator did.

The right places to do so are:

A) Start a thread about the specific incident you want to talk about on the Feedback board. This way you are able to express yourself in an area that doesn't throw another thread off topic, and this way others can add their two cents as well if they wish, and additionally if there's something that needs to be said by the administrators, that is where they will respond to it.

B) Send a private message to the administrators, and they can respond to you that way.

If this is done the wrong way, those comments will be deleted, and if it's a repeating problem then it may also receive an infraction as well.

Rule #3

If a poster is bothering you, and an administrator has not or will not deal with that poster to the extent that you would prefer, you have a powerful tool at your disposal, one that has recently been upgraded and is now better than ever: The ability to ignore a user.

When you ignore a user, you will unfortunately still see some hints of their existence (nothing we can do about that), however, it does the following key things:

A) Any post they make will be completely invisible as you scroll through a thread.

B) The new addition to this feature: If someone QUOTES a user you are ignoring, you do not have to read who it was, or what that poster said, unless you go out of your way to click on a link to find out who it is and what they said.

To utilize this feature, from any page on Pacers Digest, scroll to the top of the page, look to the top right where it says 'Settings' and click that. From the settings page, look to the left side of the page where it says 'My Settings', and look down from there until you see 'Edit Ignore List' and click that. From here, it will say 'Add a Member to Your List...' Beneath that, click in the text box to the right of 'User Name', type in or copy & paste the username of the poster you are ignoring, and once their name is in the box, look over to the far right and click the 'Okay' button. All done!

Rule #4

Regarding infractions, currently they carry a value of one point each, and that point will expire in 31 days. If at any point a poster is carrying three points at the same time, that poster will be suspended until the oldest of the three points expires.

Rule #5

When you share or paste content or articles from another website, you must include the URL/link back to where you found it, who wrote it, and what website it's from. Said content will be removed if this doesn't happen.

An example:

If I copy and paste an article from the Indianapolis Star website, I would post something like this:

http://www.linktothearticlegoeshere.com/article
Title of the Article
Author's Name
Indianapolis Star

Rule #6

We cannot tolerate illegal videos on Pacers Digest. This means do not share any links to them, do not mention any websites that host them or link to them, do not describe how to find them in any way, and do not ask about them. Posts doing anything of the sort will be removed, the offenders will be contacted privately, and if the problem becomes habitual, you will be suspended, and if it still persists, you will probably be banned.

The legal means of watching or listening to NBA games are NBA League Pass Broadband (for US, or for International; both cost money) and NBA Audio League Pass (which is free). Look for them on NBA.com.

Rule #7

Provocative statements in a signature, or as an avatar, or as the 'tagline' beneath a poster's username (where it says 'Member' or 'Administrator' by default, if it is not altered) are an unwanted distraction that will more than likely be removed on sight. There can be shades of gray to this, but in general this could be something political or religious that is likely going to provoke or upset people, or otherwise something that is mean-spirited at the expense of a poster, a group of people, or a population.

It may or may not go without saying, but this goes for threads and posts as well, particularly when it's not made on the off-topic board (Market Square).

We do make exceptions if we feel the content is both innocuous and unlikely to cause social problems on the forum (such as wishing someone a Merry Christmas or a Happy Easter), and we also also make exceptions if such topics come up with regards to a sports figure (such as the Lance Stephenson situation bringing up discussions of domestic abuse and the law, or when Jason Collins came out as gay and how that lead to some discussion about gay rights).

However, once the discussion seems to be more/mostly about the political issues instead of the sports figure or his specific situation, the thread is usually closed.

Rule #8

We prefer self-restraint and/or modesty when making jokes or off topic comments in a sports discussion thread. They can be fun, but sometimes they derail or distract from a topic, and we don't want to see that happen. If we feel it is a problem, we will either delete or move those posts from the thread.

Rule #9

Generally speaking, we try to be a "PG-13" rated board, and we don't want to see sexual content or similarly suggestive content. Vulgarity is a more muddled issue, though again we prefer things to lean more towards "PG-13" than "R". If we feel things have gone too far, we will step in.

Rule #10

We like small signatures, not big signatures. The bigger the signature, the more likely it is an annoying or distracting signature.

Rule #11

Do not advertise anything without talking about it with the administrators first. This includes advertising with your signature, with your avatar, through private messaging, and/or by making a thread or post.
See more
See less

Raptors Call O'Neal Trade \"Speculation\"

Collapse
X
 
  • Filter
  • Time
  • Show
Clear All
new posts

  • #16
    Re: Raptors Call O'Neal Trade \"Speculation\"

    I already put a disclaimer in my thread.

    Even if JO Is here this fall, I'm just gonna pretend he isn't.


    Comment


    • #17
      Re: Raptors Call O'Neal Trade \"Speculation\"

      Raptors Call O'Neal Trade "Speculation"

      Pacers spokesman David Benner said those reports were premature.

      "There is no trade to announce. It is all speculation," Benner told The Associated Press.
      "I'll always be a part of Donnie Walsh."
      -Ron Artest, Denver Post, 12.28.05

      Comment


      • #18
        Re: Raptors Call O'Neal Trade \"Speculation\"

        (He got traded too...Shhh...)

        Comment


        • #19
          Re: Raptors Call O'Neal Trade \"Speculation\"

          sighhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh


          2006 WORLD CHAMPION INDIANAPOLIS COLTS

          Comment


          • #20
            Re: Raptors Call O'Neal Trade \"Speculation\"

            Originally posted by Shade View Post
            Wanna bet?
            Either way you win!

            Comment


            • #21
              Re: Raptors Call O'Neal Trade \"Speculation\"

              Yeah, whateva. Speculation my ***
              R.I.P. Bernic Mac & Isaac Hayes

              Comment


              • #22
                Re: Raptors Call O'Neal Trade \"Speculation\"

                NBA.com has it reported as an agreement based on physicals.
                I'm in these bands
                The Humans
                Dr. Goldfoot
                The Bar Brawlers
                ME

                Comment


                • #23
                  Re: Raptors Call O'Neal Trade \"Speculation\"

                  In relation to this thread.....this little blurb in the already-posted article by Hollinger sticks out:

                  http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/column...altrade-080625

                  The trade can't be completed until July 9, however, because Ford is a base-year compensation player until the first day that next season's cap rules kick in (July 1), and so the trade won't work under the cap until then. From then until July 9, the league has a moratorium on trades and signings. Given all that, the trade won't be official for a fortnight.

                  Instead, this will be the trade that everybody knows about but nobody acknowledges publicly. There will be no announcements or news conferences and it might mess with some summer-league plans. But the teams are exchanging medical information, and right now everything appears to be a go.

                  By the way, this delay also means there are still two weeks for other teams to get in on this trade and make it more than a two-way deal. (With luck, maybe it morphs into one of those indecipherable five-way deals that somehow involve the rights to an international player who was drafted five years ago but never got a sniff of the league. I have visions of Roberto Dueñas and Sergei Lishouk waiting anxiously by the phone to find out their new "team.")
                  I'm inclined to go with UB and Shade on this and say that it's just the legal policy to say that there is no trade until the papers are signed....but still think that there can be some cold feet if something comes up.

                  I guess we just have to wait for the Beat Reporters to report on JONeal's workout.

                  Also...I'm intrigued and worried about the 2nd part about how there is still time to make changes to the deal until July 9th. I'm hoping that JONeal comes up relatively healthy in the medical and that the Raptors don't ask for more.
                  Ash from Army of Darkness: Good...Bad...I'm the guy with the gun.

                  Comment


                  • #24
                    Re: Raptors Call O'Neal Trade \"Speculation\"

                    JO has confirmed that he is going to Toronto.

                    Comment


                    • #25
                      Re: Raptors Call O'Neal Trade \"Speculation\"

                      Originally posted by Unclebuck View Post
                      JO has confirmed that he is going to Toronto.
                      Hey, Buck, sorry if that earlier question came off as challenging you or your credibility or being curt. I didn't mean to. Your wording was so firm, that I wanted to make sure I understood where you were coming from before I used the information anywhere else.

                      Comment


                      • #26
                        Re: Raptors Call O'Neal Trade \"Speculation\"

                        Last edited by Oneal07; 06-26-2008, 02:55 PM.
                        R.I.P. Bernic Mac & Isaac Hayes

                        Comment


                        • #27
                          Re: Raptors Call O'Neal Trade \"Speculation\"

                          Originally posted by count55 View Post
                          Hey, Buck, sorry if that earlier question came off as challenging you or your credibility or being curt. I didn't mean to. Your wording was so firm, that I wanted to make sure I understood where you were coming from before I used the information anywhere else.
                          No, no problem at all.

                          Comment


                          • #28
                            Re: Raptors Call O'Neal Trade \"Speculation\"

                            Originally posted by Unclebuck View Post
                            JO has confirmed that he is going to Toronto.
                            Didn't he tell his daughter last year they were moving to LA?

                            Comment


                            • #29
                              Re: Raptors Call O'Neal Trade \"Speculation\"

                              Here's kind of a unique way for the Pacers to confirm it:

                              http://www.nba.com/pacers/news/08062..._analysts.html

                              Originally posted by Pacers.com
                              Analysts view reported trade as "win-win"



                              O'Neal-Ford trade reports rampant
                              Pacers Draft War Room

                              Editor's note: Though no announcement has been made, numerous media outlets have reported an agreement in principle between the Pacers and Raptors sending Jermaine O'Neal to Toronto in exchange for T.J. Ford, Rasho Nesterovic, the No. 17 pick in tonight's NBA Draft and a player to be named later. What follows are excerpts of the analysis by NBA analysts of the reported deal.


                              --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                              John Hollinger, ESPN.com Insider
                              Read the full story
                              It's rare that I like a trade from both sides, but once in a while one comes along that's mutually beneficial. Wednesday's deal between Indiana and Toronto is just such a deal. … both teams are repackaging their assets to get into a far better position than they were before, and for either side, the downside seems pretty minimal.

                              Let's take a look, first, from the Pacers' side:

                              They got something for Jermaine O'Neal: This wasn't easy, not with O'Neal being owed $44 million over the next two seasons and his run of poor health the past few years. While his name has come up a lot in trade conversations over the past year, talks never got far because the other side always flinched at his salary.

                              They got a point guard: Ford was excellent last year when he played, ranking sixth among all point guards with a 20.4 player efficiency rating (PER). And while Ford's spinal stenosis condition is obviously a concern, I'm told the team doctors carefully went over his medical information and concluded there isn't anything immediately career-threatening.

                              They can trade Tinsley: Obviously, this involves finding somebody who wants to take him, but he was their only true starting point guard. Now they have his replacement.

                              The draft is their oyster: Prior to this trade, the Pacers seemed locked into taking D.J. Augustin at No. 11 to resolve the point guard issue. They still might -- forming an all-Longhorn point guard rotation -- but they're also freed to pursue other talents that may unexpectedly fall their way (like Brook Lopez). And with the No. 17 pick, they can grab a second young big man -- heavens knows this draft has enough of them -- to quickly rebuild the frontcourt rotation.

                              Cap space! Ah, yes, now we get to the big kahuna. By taking on the expiring contracts of Nesterovic and Baston and taking back $2.5 million less than O'Neal makes to begin with, the Pacers put themselves in position to be about $16 million under the cap next summer (depending on where the cap number comes in, which we won't know until next July). They can pursue a big free agent (or take one in a trade) to team up with Ford, Danny Granger and the draft picks, and they'll have the next generation of Pacers up and running.

                              So, big picture, the Pacers finally start over. For the past couple seasons they've been hemming and hawing about whether to go in a new direction; now Bird has set a definitive course. As a result, look for other dominoes to fall in Indy -- starting with Tinsley and possibly including Troy Murphy and Jeff Foster. …

                              So the upshot is, this deal absolutely works for both teams. I expect the Raptors to be significantly better next season as a result of this deal, as it takes a player who was utterly redundant and converts him into a solution for the team's single biggest weakness.

                              And I expect the Pacers' rebuilding to be much smoother and faster now that they've jettisoned O'Neal and received '09 cap space and two good young pieces in return.

                              The players come out of it in better shape, too. O'Neal and Ford get new leases on life after being sprung from difficult situations. Bosh finally gets a frontcourt partner to do the dirty work for him. Calderon gets starter's minutes and some added salary leverage. Even throw-ins Nesterovic and Baston are likely to get more burn in Indy than they would have in Toronto. Only Bargnani loses.

                              So it's a win-win all-around. Kudos to both Bird and Colangelo for recognizing the mutual benefit.



                              --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                              Chris Mannix, SI.Com
                              Read the full story
                              O'Neal may just be the first domino to fall in Indiana. Sources say Indiana was willing to trade everyone but small forward Danny Granger at the deadline. "They made it clear they were willing to blow it up," a Western Conference executive said. Contrary to reports, front-office sources say the Pacers have been shopping forward Mike Dunleavy -- who is owed $29.3 million over the next three seasons -- while showing some reluctance to part with center Jeff Foster, who is considered a favorite of coach Jim O'Brien.

                              With O'Neal out of the picture, the Pacers are now in full rebuilding mode. With Ford and the remaining three years and $25 million of his contract now on board, incumbent point guard Jamaal Tinsley is expected to be moved or have the remaining three years and $21.4 million on his contract bought out. Pacers president Larry Bird also told local reporters this week that second-year forward Shawne Williams is "on thin ice."

                              Ford, however, is a risk. An ultra-quick, streaky-shooting point guard, Ford has the talent to be a 30-to-35-minute starter. But Ford missed 13 games with a neck injury last season, the same injury that caused him to miss all of the 2004-2005 season. There is literally the possibility his career could end at any moment.

                              For Toronto, acquiring O'Neal means that All-Star power forward Chris Bosh will finally have some help in the frontcourt. Despite an injury-plagued 2007-08 season, it is widely believed that O'Neal's knee problems are not an issue anymore and that had he been playing for a contender, he might have been able to play late last season. While not a pure center, O'Neal averaged 19.6 points and 9.4 rebounds in 2006-07 and, when healthy, is still a force in the pivot.



                              --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                              Andrew Perna, RealGM.com
                              Read the full story
                              I’m not against the deal, but I’m not enamored with it either.

                              Ford would be a nice option at the point, to either completely replace or challenge Tinsley, but his health issues have worried me enough to hesitate dealing a guy like O’Neal.

                              Maybe I’m a little jaded in thinking that O’Neal still has enough left in him to be an All-Star, but I don’t think Ford’s ceiling is nearly as high as O’Neal’s even with his history of injury problems. There have been reports in recent weeks that Jermaine is close to full-strength, but with his track record over the last few years no one will believe that until they see it.

                              The question becomes what’s better – an above average point guard for seventy games or a 20/10 power forward for sixty?

                              The addition of Nesterovic to the deal is nice, especially because it will give the Pacers some cap relief next summer (a year earlier than O’Neal will give the Raptors). I wouldn’t expect him to do much for Indiana on the court though.

                              What really intrigues me about this deal is the possible inclusion of the seventeenth pick in the draft. After having no first rounder last season, having a pair this year would make it feel as though Christmas has come six months early in Indianapolis.

                              With both the eleventh and seventeenth picks, Indiana could grab themselves a pair of studs to contribute right away. They could take a point guard to provide insurance to Ford and Tinsley (if he’s somehow still in town), while selecting a big man to help fill the void left by O’Neal just a few picks apart.

                              You’d have to figure that the Pacers would get rid of Tinsley by any means necessary if they acquire Ford, and opt to grab someone with point guard skills in the Lottery.

                              If Bird trades for Ford and/or someone like D.J. Augustin (a fellow Longhorn), Russell Westbrook or Eric Gordon falls into Indiana’s lap at No. 11, I’d almost advise that he offer Tinsley up for a gas card and a pack of cigarettes. And I don’t even smoke.



                              --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                              Eric Pincus, Hoopsworld.com
                              Read the full story
                              O'Neal has been on the block for over a year. If he's finally healthy, the Raptors will have a formidable front line paring with Chris Bosh and O'Neal. Moving Ford clears up their confusion at the point, assuming they are able to re-sign restricted free agent Jose Calderon. A source says the Raptors wouldn't have moved TJ if they weren't very confident that Calderon would return.

                              Toronto is now without any pick in the draft and will look to add a steady backup at the one to Calderon. It's a pretty big gamble considering O'Neal's salary and knee problems, but the Raptors could be getting a lot better defensively should the deal go through.

                              It's best to call it a win-win since the Pacers were desperate to add a true point guard. They've shopped Jamaal Tinsley to no avail considering he has three more years at $7.2 per and a questionable reputation (health, attitude, etc).

                              Ford also has significant injury issues (spine) but should be a good fit with Mike Dunleavy Jr. and Danny Granger. The Pacers have a long way to go before they're a playoff caliber team. At 17, they may add a big man like Robin Lopez.

                              At least now they can move on without the albatross contract of O'Neal ($45.4 million over the next two seasons).



                              --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                              Bob Kravitz, Indianapolis Star (published June 24)
                              Read the full story
                              This deal, or at least a similar deal that would provide the Pacers with a new point guard and salary cap flexibility, has to happen, for several reasons:

                              First (and second and third), it would get Indiana out from under the massive O'Neal contract, which will pay him $21.3 million this year and $22.9 million next year. The Pacers cannot rebuild as long as O'Neal's contract is on the books, eating up nearly one-third of the team's annual payroll.

                              This is not a shot at O'Neal, whose ultimate legacy should be that he did a lot of good things on the court and off here in Indianapolis. It wasn't his fault that he was the face of a dysfunctional team; he wasn't the one getting into trouble.

                              His biggest problem was that he got hurt a lot, and even that was not entirely his fault. After Brad Miller left in free agency, O'Neal never again had a solid big man by his side to take the brunt of the defensive beating.

                              Was he the hardest worker? No. Was he the perfect leader? No. But he was the best player on a flawed team.

                              It would provide the Pacers with a solid, if injury-prone, point guard.

                              Ford is a risk. He missed the 2004-05 season with a serious neck injury, and he may be one bad fall from retirement. But he played 72 games in 2005-06, 75 games in 2006-07, and returned from an injury to play 51 games last season.

                              If he gets hurt and is forced to quit, insurance will pay 80 percent of his contract, and his cap number ($8 million this year, $8.5 million next year) will be wiped off the team's books one year after the injury.

                              Ford's game, which relies on speed and breaking down perimeter defenders, is perfectly suited for coach Jim O'Brien's free-wheeling, 3-point-happy offense.

                              The downside is his defense, which was an issue for the Pacers on the perimeter all season. Because of his size and health, he's a defensive liability. But he gives the Pacers freedom to make Jamaal Tinsley disappear, and any moves that make Tinsley vanish and move O'Neal's contract have to be viewed as major steps forward. …

                              That would be a nice day's work for Bird, if he could replace Tinsley, move O'Neal's contract, acquire an expiring deal and add a second first-round draft choice.



                              --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                              Dave Feschuk, Toronto Star
                              Read the full story
                              While adding O'Neal might help the .500 squad make an incremental improvement this coming season, his arrival in Toronto marks a step backward for a once up-and-coming club. Thirty in October, Jermaine might be better known as Jer-pain or Jer-moan for his alarming history of injury and gimme-the-ball immaturity. But Colangelo's suddenly not-so-young Raptors weren't exactly dealing from strength. …

                              Nine months ago, Colangelo said the core of the club was Chris Bosh, Ford and Bargnani. Now Ford's heading out, Bargnani's a boot-camp summer away from being declared a bust, and Bosh is working on his game ... as a Jay Leno contributor. Comedy is Bosh's only remedy, perhaps, because he and Toronto's fans never expected it to get so lame so quickly.

                              Does O'Neal get them to the second round? His health's a bigger question mark than Ford's, and he's a worse teammate than Nesterovic with, recent returns suggest, only marginally better stats. Even if he's better than that, remember Colangelo's vision of the Euro-tinged, 100-shots-a-night Raptors? Now they'll indulge O'Neal's painfully deliberate, averse-to-contact post game. If you thought Ford was a chemistry problem, wait until Jer-mine goes without his touches.
                              Sure looks like the francise's media outlet is selling the deal...

                              Comment


                              • #30
                                Re: Raptors Call O'Neal Trade \"Speculation\"

                                Don't worry guys.. The only reason they actually CANT announce there has been a trade.. is cuz Ford can't even be traded yet.. We still have to wait until July 1st before he can even be traded... So there is "no trade to announce" because its against the rules to trade TJ Ford before that date.
                                Last edited by Ownagedood; 06-26-2008, 03:28 PM.

                                Comment

                                Working...
                                X