Rumors: Can Mavs Land O'Neal?
By: Bill Ingram
Every player has a defining moment. It's the moment when the cosmic tumblers converge in just the right way and a little light clicks on. For Jermaine O'Neal that moment came on November 19th, 2004. It was the night of the infamous brawl in Detroit.
It wasn't the brawl, exactly, that jolted Jermaine into a new state of awareness. It was going home and explaining the fight and his ensuing suspension to his young daughter . . .and then sitting at home game after game as his teammates fought on without him.
That same season (2004-05) marked the last time O'Neal was actually healthy enough to play every night. Aside from the suspension, O'Neal appeared in 44 of the 47 games he was eligible for, averaging a career-high 24.3 points and 8.9 rebounds per contest. Since then he has struggled to stay healthy or come close to averaging those same numbers, but Jermaine O'Neal is still a player with something to prove.
Pacing the sidelines and trying to make sense out of an insane situation from a coaching perspective that night in Detroit was Rick Carlisle. Carlisle, who built a championship team in Detroit and then watched as his abrupt successor got the ring - a ring that involved beating Carlisle's Pacers in a six-game second round playoff match-up.
Now the word is that Carlisle will be taking over the Dallas Mavericks, and perhaps it's time for two people who were intertwined in a bad situation to find redemption together.
Jermaine O'Neal will be dealt this summer. Count on it. The Pacers offered him around last summer, then again at the trade deadline, and they will most certainly be actively engaged in talks this summer. Mike Dunleavy's emergence has made O'Neal expendable, and the Mavericks have exactly the piece the Pacers desire.
Josh Howard will also be dealt this summer. For all of his promise as an All-Star forward, his public discussion of his marijuana use has made him an undesirable in Dallas. This is not the first time an O'Neal-for-Howard swap has been brought up and it won't be the last. This time, however, when the Pacers call the Mavericks should listen.
O'Neal represents everything that's missing in Dallas. He's a low post scoring threat who also rebounds and blocks shots. He's a force to be reckoned with in the paint - something the Mavs have been missing ever since Roy Tarpley was suspended from the NBA for drug use. O'Neal says he will be healthy next season for the first time in several years, and given a head coach who thoroughly understands his game and a point guard who can set him up brilliantly (Jason Kidd), perhaps O'Neal, Carlisle, and the Mavericks can do something special together.
The window is rapidly closing in Dallas; some say it has already slammed shut. The emergence of the Hornets in the Southwest Division has put the Mavs - and even the Spurs - in the rearview mirror and fading fast. If the Mavs are going to get a ring during the Nowitzki era, it will have to be soon. Bringing in Jermaine O'Neal would be a big first step in getting back on the championship course.
Link- http://www.hoopsworld.com/Story.asp?story_id=8580
I think their suggesting a deal of Howard and Dampier for O'Neal. I don't see it. I think i'd need to be a 3 team deal. I don't think Larry Bird would be interested in Howard due to his weed addiction. lol. But i also think if Indiana is going to deal O'Neal, they are going to recieve a top 10 pick. Can Howard land a high pick?
I wouldn't mind Dampier. I think he could be actually quiet decent in the East and maybe they land Brendon Bass? He reminds me alot of a Dale Davis. Our folks would LOVE that kid.
