Is Bosh’s Help On The Way?

Is Bosh’s Help On The Way?

The Raptor Core blog is back three days before the NBA Draft on Thursday with some encouraging Raptor-related news to discuss. Many of you have surely heard the rumours regarding the Raptors acquiring Jermaine O’Neal from the Indiana Pacers for T.J. Ford, Rasho Nesterovic and the 17^th overall pick on June 26^th. Unlike the Boris Diaw-to-Toronto rumours that came up last week, this trade actually seems to make sense for both teams in a lot of ways. Also, it has been reported from people in both cities, as well as on ESPN – the ‘worldwide leader in sports’ coverage. It appears to be the hottest trade story in the NBA right now and for good reason, because it could make the Toronto Raptors one of the favourites in the East heading into next season. Here are my thoughts on the potential trade from a variety of angles:

1. First of all, it’s important to understand that a lot of rumours are leaked by the respective teams involved. The reason they do this is to create noise for other teams to hear. How would it help either team right now? In Indiana’s case, it helps them because teams that might be interested in Jermaine O’Neal will be coming with stronger offers for his services if they hear he might be headed here. In Toronto’s case, there are a lot of point guard spots that need to be filled in the league and T.J. Ford going to Indiana would give those teams one less option to work with – and a pretty good option, at that.

2. So why does this make sense for the Pacers? Jermaine O’Neal makes $21 million this coming season and $23 million in the season after that. The Pacers have adopted a running style that definitely requires players that can flourish in that type of system. Jermaine is not one of them. He is your typical half court, back-to-the-basket big man that will crash the boards and scrap for everything he gets, although he does possess a decent face up game. That’s not exactly what they need right now. Larry Bird has been very vocal about wanting another first round pick in the draft and #17 isn’t bad at all. Also, Jamaal Tinsley appears to have worn out his welcome in Indiana so T.J. Ford is the perfect replacement for him as a starter, especially since he loves to run and is widely considered to be one of the fastest players in the league. As far as Rasho Nesterovic goes, the Pacers get a big man in the final year of his contract to be a stopgap for this season at the center position. It’s more of a transition year for the Pacers to get their roster set up for the future rather than making an immediate push. This should and will be Danny Granger’s team – not Jermaine O’Neal’s.

3. Why does this make sense for the Raptors? Well, they solve the problem of having a disgruntled point guard in T.J. Ford sitting on the bench and stewing because of his mental make-up. Also, you rid yourself of the horrible contract of Rasho Nesterovic, who will be paid $8.4 million this coming season, which is a lot for a back-up that will most likely play behind Andrea Bargnani at the center position. I’m not fond of giving up the 17^th pick but that would probably be a sticking point of the deal if it wasn’t included. Another contract worth $2-3 million would need to be included by the Raptors in order to make the trade work financially, because they need to have the total value somewhere in the neighbourhood of $18 million, which is 15% less than the $21 million O’Neal is scheduled to make next year. He is the old school banger that they need down low because he can rebound and defend very well, which you might not immediately think of due to his stature. Is this trade worth it? I think so, because Rasho needs to be dealt anyway and T.J. won’t be here next season. Can he yield any other former All-Stars? Jermaine is only 29 years old and he only has two years left on his contract so it’s not like he’s over the hill or the Raptors are tying their hands financially.

4. What are the potential sticking points for this deal? Like I said before, Bryan Colangelo might not be willing to give up the 17^th pick but he doesn’t seem enamoured with anyone in the draft either. Who could they use that pick on that would help the frontcourt more than Jermaine O’Neal could? Robin Lopez? Roy Hibbert? Kosta Koufos? Jason Thompson? I don’t think so. While it hurts to give up the draft pick, this high risk, high reward situation is what could put the Raptors over the top in the East. I don’t see T.J. or Rasho being sticking points because without either one of them, this deal could never work financially. I could see a Maceo Baston or Joey Graham being thrown in to make the numbers work but really, this deal is as simple as deciding whether or not both parties want to make it happen, and then also deciding on whether or not the pick should be included. Personally, I’d rather keep it and use it on a swingman like Donte Greene out of Syracuse or someone else but like I said before, how often can you acquire a former All-Star for a bunch of pieces that clearly aren’t part of the long-term plan in Toronto anyway?

4. From the Raptors’ standpoint, this creates a few new storylines. They will boast one of the best frontcourts in the NBA when you consider the starters and the bench if Andrea Bargnani rounds back into form. Their defense will improve as a result of O’Neal being the primary post defender, with Bosh being able to bring weak side help. I think his blocking numbers would skyrocket from what we’ve seen in the past. The downside is that the swingman position still has a gaping hole to be filled, and it might not be. With Jorge Garbajosa’s contract bought out, the Raptors would have about $7-8 million left in expiring contracts to trade after this O’Neal deal (Anthony Parker, Joey Graham or Maceo Baston – don’t forget one of the latter two would probably be headed to Indiana, or else this would be closer to $10 million). Would any team really see that $7-8 million of cap room as being enticing enough to give up an impact player at the shooting guard or small forward spots? I sincerely doubt it. Can AP, Carlos Delfino, Jason Kapono and Jamario Moon hold down those spots with Jose Calderon running the point? I think they could patch some things together and make it work but I’d feel a lot better if they could get a proven scorer in there to create his own shots and put points on the board in bunches. AP hasn’t shown he’s aggressive enough, Delfino isn’t consistent enough and Kapono can’t guard twos anyway.

5. With T.J. gone, who would be the back-up point guard? Is Roko Ukic really on his way to Toronto from Europe after being drafted in 2005? The Raptors might run into some financial problems and be paying the luxury tax this coming season. Jose Calderon will be in for a hefty raise and then you have O’Neal and Bosh in the frontcourt making a combined $35 million. Roko won’t come to Toronto for peanuts so let’s just assume he gets something in the neighbourhood of $3-4 million (using estimates based on what AP and Garbo got coming from Europe) – the team would probably be over the threshold and have to pay a dollar-for-dollar tax. For those of you asking “Who will the Raptors use this year mid-level exception on?”, I advise you not to hold your breath. I’d be shocked if Bryan Colangelo brought that money into play this offseason.

6. When it comes to Jermaine O’Neal’s health, I think we all know it hasn’t been there in the past three or four seasons. Last year, he missed a lot of games with a knee injury and was only able to play 42 games. Other than that, he hasn’t played more than 65 games since 2003-2004. Would the wear and tear of 11 NBA seasons affect him in Toronto? Maybe, but Chris Bosh would take a lot of the pressure off of him and so would Andrea Bargnani if he comes back strong like so many people believe he will. It worries me that O’Neal has been so injury-prone but he’s also been a warrior and that can’t be ignored. High risk, high reward and I think it’ll take a gutsy move from Colangelo to make the Raptors a great team. This might be it. He rids the team of one injury-prone player and acquires another that addresses a team need. Why not try it?

So all in all, would the Raptors be better next year if Jermaine O’Neal came in? Definitely. Would they be better defensively? I think it’s obvious. How about offensively? I think Chris Bosh could have an MVP-calibre season with help in the frontcourt. He’s never played with someone like J.O. that can go both ways effectively. Will the overall point guard play fall off with T.J. gone? Maybe a little, but Jose is capable of playing at least 36 minutes per night anyway and Roko Ukic is no slouch if he ends up coming over. Is it even possible to get another scorer with what little bargaining chips the Raptors would have left over after this deal? Maybe it is if a team is really desperate to get expiring contracts but other teams would probably offer something useful for the future, which Toronto can’t. To conclude this topic, I like the trade and think it should happen. I’d grade it an A- with the 17^th pick and if we got to keep it, I’d give B.C. an A+ for turning this thing around a lot quicker than any of us could’ve envisioned. I’m still extremely worried about the swingman spot, though. I think acquiring a decent scorer could be the difference between more playoff failures and making it to the Conference Finals.

Anthony Parker Going Back To Europe?

Olympiacos of Greece claims to have held talks with Anthony Parker regarding returning to Europe to play for their team. AP is due to receive a little over $4 million next season if he stays with the Raptors. Obviously, it would be considered tampering for AP to be talking to any other team – regardless of their league – about signing a deal with them while under contract to Toronto. I think this is just another rumour and I’m not certain of what the exact figure might be that he was supposedly offered but I just can’t see Parker going back to Europe unless he was blown away by an offer. First of all, the yellow legal tape would be hard to cut through because the Raptors would need to cut AP and Olympiacos would probably pay his buyout fee for him like the Raptors did when they paid for Garbo to come over here. It would probably take something in the neighbourhood of $6-8 million annually for AP to uproot his family and move them back to Europe and into new surroundings after two seasons in North America. Could I see it happening? Not really, but if it did, it’d be a big blow to the Raptors organization. How could they make up for the loss of their starting shooting guard when they’re so thin at that position to begin with?

CB4 Suiting Up For USA

Chris Bosh was named to Team USA today, which was kind of surprising. The 12 guys I predicted yesterday all made the team and you can find their names in the previous entry right below this one. Basically, the big man rotation for the United States will be Dwight Howard, Carlos Boozer, Carmelo Anthony and Chris Bosh – in no order. LeBron James will probably see some power forward duty once in a while but either way, this crew should bring the gold home in Beijing. I was somewhat disappointed Bosh made the team because I think he would’ve been better suited to sitting this tournament out and getting prepared for what should be a big season for the Raptors regardless of what moves they make. He really started slow last season because of the plantar fasciitis that kept him out of the qualifying tournament for the most part. Hopefully the bright side to him making the team will be the competition and daily interaction with superstars like Dwight and LeBron will make him a better and hungrier player come October.

NBA Headlines

“Shaq Rips Kobe”

Link: http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=3457917

I think the whole thing is hilarious. Shaq’s rhymes were pretty good and if he really holds Kobe Bryant somewhat responsible for helping to break his marriage up, that’s pretty low stuff from the MVP. Then again, he is nicknamed after a snake so what else could you expect from him? It’s all entertainment and I guess the truce is off and the beef is back on.

“DUI Nets Melo A Two-Game Suspension”

Link: http://www.denverpost.com/ci_9675320?source=rss

Carmelo Anthony will be suspended for the first two games of the 2008-2009 season after his DUI charge a few weeks back. Is anyone really surprised? All this guy knows how to do is get in trouble off the court, even though he’s so talented on it.

“Would Knicks Lack Cap Room For LeBron?”

Link: http://www.zwire.com/site/printerFriendly.cfm?brd=1699&dept_id=46370&newsid=19793355

People are already looking at the financial side of the 2010 free agent market. LeBron James will be the biggest name available that summer and the Knicks are going to be the ones trying to pick him up but they need to rid themselves of some bad contracts by then. One of them belongs to Zach Randolph and if they can’t get rid of him in the next two years, they might have to kiss their chances of getting the King goodbye.

“Is Detroit Seeking Josh Smith?”

Link: http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080623/SPORTS0102/806230382/1127

I like Josh Smith but I don’t know why Detroit would want him when they have Tayshaun Prince. It seems like a really lateral move. Smith has some offensive skills but so does Prince – they just aren’t utilized as well as they could be because of all the talent around him like Billups, Hamilton and Rasheed Wallace. I don’t get this one.

“Marion Likely To Bypass Opt-Out”

Link: http://www.sun-sentinel.com/sports/basketball/heat/sfl-flspheatnote23sbjun23,0,5402004.story

I think this is a smart move on Marion’s part. There aren’t many teams that will throw a lot of money at him compared to what he’ll make this coming season. He might as well take that money and then see what happens after next season when he becomes a free agent. There’s no harm in it, especially since Miami might be wheeling and dealing in the coming weeks.

“Nuggets Have Vowed Not To Trade Melo”

Link: http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=3456352

Looks like Melo will be in Denver for at least the next few months heading into the 2008-2009 season. I don’t know why the Nuggets would give someone like Anthony such an assurance when he’s been such a bad ambassador for the team off the court but I guess that’s what talent does. The Nuggets aren’t getting any closer to a Championship, though, because they can’t play a lick of defense.

That’s it for this entry to TRC. I hope you all enjoyed it and it’s great having Raptors news to discuss after so long. It feels like literally two months since Toronto was on the map in any way. This Jermaine O’Neal rumour is probably the best way to attract other offers from teams looking to get T.J. Ford. However, if B.C. pulls the trigger on that deal to acquire Boris Diaw, I think I’ll lose my sanity. NO DIAW!! Until next time..

-Mark R.

[The Raptor Core]