After months of trying Larry Bird and the Indiana Pacers have done the unthinkable, they found a taker for Jermaine O’Neal. And surprisingly it appears they came out as the winners in the deal. The Pacers and Toronto Raptors started off the 24-hour period leading up to tomorrows NBA Draft in a big way. The deal calls for the Raptors to get O’Neal, while the Pacers land TJ Ford, Rasho Nesterovic, a player to be named later and the 17th pick. Time to break the deal down and tell you why I think the Pacers are the clear winners here.

First lets look at the Toronto Raptors. Coming into this off-season the Raptors were eager to add another big body to their front court, while clearing up room for Jose Calderon to be the full-time point guard. This trade solves both of those needs.

Ford was Calderon’s competition at the point, and when healthy could easily steal quite a few minutes from Calderon. The problem was of course, when Ford could stay healthy. Calderon is currently a restricted free agent, and General Manager Bryan Colangelo decided he wants Calderon to the future of the franchise. To make that happen money and playing time wise, Ford was very expendable. Ford has approximately $25 million and 2 years left on his contract, and for someone so oft injured the team felt he’s not worth the money no matter what he produces when on the court.

Bringing in O’Neal brings another very athletic big man into the mix, pending he stays healthy. Isn’t it kind of funny that one guy gets moved after injuries, and then the team brings in someone even more injury prone? Well back to the topic. O’Neal now joins Chris Bosh and Jamario Moon in making a very solid starting front court. O’Neal should take the role of starting center as long as he stays healthy.

Now the Pacers, the team who I feel is the winner in all of this. The Pacers have been trying for a while now to move Jermaine O’Neal and to move him for so much is a pretty good deal. T.J. Ford and the 17th pick highlight this deal. We’ll discuss the pick later, but first Ford.

Like I said before, when on the court TJ Ford has been a very productive player at the point position. The point is a position that the Pacers have sorely needed help at for a while now. Bringing in Ford who averages just under 7 assists a game in his career should be a big plus for this team. They’ll now have an efficient ball handler who can run their offense. Yes I know, they did have Jamaal Tinsley who actually had a career best 8.4 assists a game , but he is on the way out as Larry Bird looks to clean up the teams image.

Nesterovic is basically a salary guy that was thrown in to help even contracts out, and also minimize the Pacers loss of O’Neal. Truthfully, in the what have you done for me lately NBA, Nesterovic isn’t to much of a downgrade. Yes, I know O’Neal is the better center but based off injury and recent performances the numbers aren’t to far off. Nesterovic averaged about 8 points and 5 boards a game in 21 minutes, while O’Neal averaged 14 points and 7 boards in 28 minutes. Career wise different story thou.

The kicker in the deal the #17 pick in the draft. The Pacers all along have been trying to land a second pick in this years draft. This now gives them the 11th and 17th picks, which could be used to add some considerable depth to this team. I’d still look for the Pacers to take a guard with one of those picks, and then more of a project big man with the other. Another possibility would be to trade up in the draft now with those two picks, that would be way to tricky and a pretty big long shot. The reason being is this deal can not become official till July 9th because of provisions in Ford’s contract.

So why do I call the Pacers such big winners when both teams gained a lot from this deal? The main reason once again is they found a taker for Jermaine O’Neal. They’ve been trying to move him forever now! He’s one guy I truly did not expect them to be able to move and still get something of value in return. I guess I was wrong, not the first time, definitely won’t be the last.

This deal is a pretty big way to start of the 2008 NBA Draft Day. This is just one of what I’m sure will be many deals as this is usually the most exciting draft out of all the major sports. The deals are plenty and they come fast and furious. It’s going to be a fun day for NBA fans.

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