O'Neal promising big things in Toronto

[greenway84]

O'Neal promising big things in Toronto
Aug 25, 2008
After a summer of intense workouts in Las Vegas, Jermaine O'Neal is intent on reclaiming his spot among the East's top big men in his first season with the Raptors.

He'll have to, in order to justify Toronto's investment. The Pacers picked up a starting point guard (T.J. Ford), a prized first-round pick (Roy Hibbert) and two veteran big men for the frontcourt rotation (Rasho Nesterovic and Maceo Baston) in the trade. The Raptors inherited an undeniably talented player, albeit one that has missed an average of 27 games due to various injuries during the previous four seasons.

"The fact is, I played on one leg for two years," O'Neal told Ian Thomsen of SI.com. "You hear people say that you slowed down, that you don't have it anymore -- but you know that you still have it. All the naysayers who are saying that I lost a step, they'll get a full dosage of me next year."

Full article here:
http://my.nba.com/thread.jspa?threadID=5700019959

Interesting to say the least. To be honest I think his injuries wont be the issue. I think him not being the number one option and him being bosh's big man that oneal always wanted here might be an issue.

By the way is it just me or does he look bigger, stronger, and meaner. In a good way.

[mizzoupacers]

If JO is healthy, then Toronto gets the best of the trade, at least in its first year.

But that's OK. I honestly think it had reached the point here where too much frustration had built up on all sides for things to work out for him in Indiana. Also, even if Toronto gets more immediate improvement than we do out of the trade, I think that when all is said and done it will still prove to be a trade that makes sense for both teams.

[CircleCitysportsfan]

Yay, the annual "I'm going to show you this year" JO speech.

[Miller4ever]

I love these promises. Makes the disappointment worse every year.

At least I won't be directly disappointed this time.

[Bosh4life]

...thats not something i like to hear as a toronto fan lol.
i guess all that raptors fans can do is hope, like yu guys have been hoping for the last 2 summers.
but hopefully the trade ends up working out for both teams and JO and TJ both stay healthy.
cause i would hate if we had to use Bargnani as a C again, just like i'm sure you guys would hate Jack as your main PG.

i hate that people count Pacers out from the palyoffs though, speaking as a Raps fan, TJ nd Rasho were big reasons we went from a 27 win to 47 win team in one year. anyways, i hope that JO is healthy this year to make the Raps a 50 win team.

[Donerik]

Bosh4Life

I hope TJ doesn't get hurt, but you can't understand our PG pain. After the brawl we briefly started Eddy Gill. We signed Flip Murray last season. Andre Owens. Orein Green. Anthony Johnson. Saurunas, and Last Season we played Queezy at the point, he played power forward in college.

If TJ gets hurt as long as we don't have to start Danny at the point we'll be happy, at least I'll be happy.

[freeman]

I was having this evil smile while reading the whole article. I don't know. Yah, maybe because it (the speech) happens every year, and JO still breaks down early in the season.
But should JO stay healthy, the Raps will be one of the best in the East. And it's a good thing that he knows his role as being a 'sidekick' to Bosh. I'd really love to see him healthy this season, i just can't seem to convince myself that he'll be back to his old form again. Maybe a bit lesser, but effective nonetheless.
In Pacers.com, TJ also had quite the same sentiments. He looks very optimistic and he believes in this roster even without an All-star on it. I think Indiana can be the surprise in the East. And with TJ on the wheel, this can be a very exciting team.

[bballpacen]

I hope that he does fulfill these promises, however, there is nothing to get to excited about Rap fans... He has made similar remarks in recent years past... But for his sake I hope that he does... JO is still one of my favorite players, and I hope that he is able to take advantage before his window is closed...