The O'Neal Raptors Era

As a Raptors fan, I need to analyze this from my side. My initial reaction was one of pain and suffering. Obviously this is not because of TJ Ford being gone. The anti-TJ bandwagon began when I was swimming in a lake one long weekend to see Benjamin running out having just heard the latest news on the radio.

Now, let me try and talk myself into Jermaine O'Neal. I will completely omit every negative aspect of this deal to help my delusional mind accept him.

1. Defense:
J.O. can at least play man to man defense against a Center and is a good shot blocker. God bless Bosh and his hops, but he doesn't block any shots. JO may be an average rebounder, but that's a step up from Rasho and Bargnani. His creeky knees affecting his defense and rebounding does not worry me.

2. Offense:
J.O. Did average 20/10 for his prime. His low shooting percentage does not worry me.

3. Intangibles:
J.O. was miserable in Indiana with how terrible that team was. A change of scenery should revitalize him to the player he was in his prime. Even then he doesn't have to be the star of this team, but just a strong second fiddle. I'm not worried about the palace incident, his love of strippers or that he pouted through an injury a lot like Vince Carter used to do for us.

4. Economics:
J.O. may be making 47 million over the next two years, but it's only two years! And it's not like we can't use that expiring contract next year should we need to. He can't imagine he'll get an extension anywhere near his current contract. I'm not worried that he ate up all the cap we had for this year to make a move on another big name.

See, I'm not worried at all! I don't know why I ever doubted this trade. O'Neal's not washed up.... well, maybe he is, but it's not like we gave up a lot.