On the eve of the NBA draft, the Toronto Raptors and Indiana Pacers finally agreed to a trade. Sources told ESPN The Magazine’s Ric Bucher that the Pacers and the Raptors have agreed to a deal that, pending review of medical information, would send Jermaine O’Neal to Toronto in exchange for T.J. Ford, Rasho Nesterovic and the No. 17 pick in Thursday’s NBA draft.
ESPN.com has also learned that the Raptors will get the 41st pick from the Pacers as part of the deal while the Pacers will receive Raptors forward Maceo Baston to complete the deal. Ford’s contract makes him a “base-year compensation” player, meaning the trade cannot be completed until July 9.O’Neal had surgery in April 2007 to repair torn meniscus cartilage in his left knee. He came back to start this season but occasionally played through swelling and pain. Before the Pacers announced his most recent injury, O’Neal said the knee hadn’t fully healed from the procedure.
O’Neal played in only 42 games last year and at one point missed 33 straight games before returning to the lineup on March 31. He had his worst season with the Pacers since 2000-01 as he averaged 13.6 ppg and 6.8 rpg after averaging 19.4 ppg and 9.6 rpg in 2006-07. Team officials recently told the Indianapolis Star that O’Neal, a six-time All-Star, and his knee are healthy. Read the rest of this entry »
