Blazers Interested In Jermaine O'Neal

Post #1 » by **RealGM Wiretap** » Wed Jan 7, 2015 5:47 am

The Portland Trail Blazers have begun to express interest in Jermaine O'Neal.

O'Neal was drafted out of high school in 1996 by the Blazers.

The Dallas Mavericks are widely considered the frontrunners to sign O'Neal, who lives in the Dallas area. The Cleveland Cavaliers and Los Angeles Clippers are also interested in O'Neal.

Via Marc Stein/ESPN

SlobbaN · Post #2 » by **SlobbaN** » Wed Jan 7, 2015 9:52 am

I think he will wait till ASW or even till March 15 to sign. Teams have been knocking on his door for over 2 weeks now and he doesn't seem interested in signing now.

Jermainevent · Post #3 » by **Jermainevent** » Wed Jan 7, 2015 1:08 pm

One of my all-time favorite players on my favorite team, it was really exciting to watch him develop in the Blue and Gold during the 2000's. It's a shame that the brawl happened, that 2005 team was destined for a championship and O'neal would be a Pacers' legend. I still remember when the Pacers began their rebuild, had 3 high schoolers with immense potential, O'neal, Bender, and Harrington.

2Mas · Post #4 » by **2Mas** » Wed Jan 7, 2015 4:08 pm

SlobbaN wrote:I think he will wait till ASW or even till March 15 to sign. Teams have been knocking on his door for over 2 weeks now and he doesn't seem interested in signing now.

He said it was up to his fam if he played. Then he posted on his ig a picture of him getting the treatment on his knee in Germany. Said it step 2/3. The first step was his family & the decision to play. The 2nd was obviously getting his knee right. The easy guess is that the 3rd would be what team he plays for.

He'll be signed to a team way before March 15th. I do think the ASG is a chance though.

-Portland it'd be a nice story, but between Lopez, Kaman, LMA, TRob, Freeland (solid) it's not a big need.
-GSW has a need, esp w/ Bogut being always hurt.
-No way he goes to LAC or Cle. Cle looks far from a contender & he HATED his time w/ Doc in Boston. He said he felt he was used wrong.
-Dallas seems to be the best situation for his family. Playing on a contender with a major need he can fill. It seems that's his best option.

I'd guess he signed with Dallas before the end of the month.

SlobbaN · Post #5 » by **SlobbaN** » Wed Jan 7, 2015 5:03 pm

2Mas wrote:
SlobbaN wrote:I think he will wait till ASW or even till March 15 to sign. Teams have been knocking on his door for over 2 weeks now and he doesn't seem interested in signing now.

He said it was up to his fam if he played. Then he posted on his ig a picture of him getting the treatment on his knee in Germany. Said it step 2/3. The first step was his family & the decision to play. The 2nd was obviously getting his knee right. The easy guess is that the 3rd would be what team he plays for.

He'll be signed to a team way before March 15th. I do think the ASG is a chance though.

-Portland it'd be a nice story, but between Lopez, Kaman, LMA, TRob, Freeland (solid) it's not a big need.
-GSW has a need, esp w/ Bogut being always hurt.
-No way he goes to LAC or Cle. Cle looks far from a contender & he HATED his time w/ Doc in Boston. He said he felt he was used wrong.
-Dallas seems to be the best situation for his family. Playing on a contender with a major need he can fill. It seems that's his best option.

I'd guess he signed with Dallas before the end of the month.

Cleveland has that 4,9 mil exception though. But his home and family are in Dallas. Tough call.

billtill4 · Post #6 » by **billtill4** » Wed Jan 7, 2015 6:12 pm

If your depending on this guy to help you win a championship. You're not going to win one

ADDinChicago · Post #7 » by **ADDinChicago** » Wed Jan 7, 2015 9:59 pm

billtill4 wrote:If your depending on this guy to help you win a championship. You're not going to win one

Of course not. But as you 10-12th man on the roster to help make your playoff roster that much potentially deeper, I don't know any contender that wouldn't want to sign him (I'm not saying teams linked to him like Portland, Golden State or Dallas are "true" contenders).

mawbsta · Post #8 » by **mawbsta** » Thu Jan 8, 2015 5:10 am

Jermainevent wrote:One of my all-time favorite players on my favorite team, it was really exciting to watch him develop in the Blue and Gold during the 2000's. It's a shame that the brawl happened, that 2005 team was destined for a championship and O'neal would be a Pacers' legend. I still remember when the Pacers began their rebuild, had 3 high schoolers with immense potential, O'neal, Bender, and Harrington.

...and I still remember when the Raptors swapped Bender for Antonio Davis. Thank you.

Jermainevent · Post #9 » by **Jermainevent** » Sat Jan 10, 2015 3:01 am

mawbsta wrote:
Jermainevent wrote:One of my all-time favorite players on my favorite team, it was really exciting to watch him develop in the Blue and Gold during the 2000's. It's a shame that the brawl happened, that 2005 team was destined for a championship and O'neal would be a Pacers' legend. I still remember when the Pacers began their rebuild, had 3 high schoolers with immense potential, O'neal, Bender, and Harrington.

...and I still remember when the Raptors swapped Bender for Antonio Davis. Thank you.

Yeah that move likely cost the Pacers the 2000 NBA championship, or at least would have increased their chances to win significantly. Pacers had Dale Davis, Rik Smits, and Sam Perkins to put on Shaq, which didn't work.