I know I know- most Realtors first blog typically follows the "look how special I am" script. But not here because today is a sad day in Pacerland. The end of the J.O. Era. There are some fans out there relieved to hear that because of the scars we all bear from the last three seasons. Unless O'neal's knees fail again those same fans will be saying by seasons end it's one of the worst moves the Pacers have made in a long time.
The trade violates one very basic tenet, "Don't sacrifice quality for quantity." How good were the Timberwolves after giving up KG? How good were the 76ers after giving up Barkley? Now I'm not saying that J.O. is on par with those two but an All Star who can go left or right plus almost 2.5 blocks per game (while not at full strength) is nothing to sneeze at. If it was absolutely necessary to give up Jermaine, Why T.J. Ford and Rasho Nesterovic? A healthy Nesterovic could only muster 4.6 pts and 2.6 rebounds in 21 minutes per game last year. Ford averaged 6.6 assists which is pretty decent but are we just trading risk of knee injury for risk of career ending neck injury?
Maybe I'm just depressed because my vision of what the Pacers could have been has been dismantled. I know everyone wants to be like the Phoenix Suns of late but who were the last four teams standing this year? The best defensive teams in the league. A model the Pacers could have built quickly with a healthy J.O. and a few additions. Dunleavy proved that he's much better with the ball in his hands while Tinsley was out this past season. So why not give it to him? Let him do his thing as a point forward (ie Scottie Pippen). Get a superior defender who can hit timely outside shots instead of that elusive "pure point guard" everyone is trying to find (God I miss Anthony Johnson). Base the offense on movement with main options being Granger and Dunleavy. With O'neal not carrying the offensive burden anymore he could concentrate on being that great shot blocker off the ball and be amongst the league leaders once more ('03-'04). What a grand vision it was.
Larry Bird is Hall of Fame player. Unfortunately that doesn't mean squat when it comes to being a G.M. Larry you were in a hurry to pull the trigger. You could have got more. You should have got more. If I were the G.M. (what a scary thought) the list of players needing to be shipped out would be Jamal Tinsley, Shawne Williams, David Harrison, and Marquis Daniels. IN THAT ORDER.
So once again farewell Jermaine. We are going to miss you. May you have success in your new home. Just not too much though you're still in our conference!
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