In my opinion, this deal greatly benefits the Raptors in various cases. Sure, the Raptors give up an injury prone, up-and-comer in TJ Ford, a solid contributer in Rasho, a bench warmer in Maceo Bastion, and a 7-2 athletic centre in Hibbert, but they got back an underrated post defender, shot blocker, and a highly rated offensive post player in Jermaine O'Neal (when healthy).
If Jermaine is healthy, the Raptors, in essence, have traded a ball controlling, speedy point guard, a role player, and two unproven big men for an All-Star without giving too many solid contributers in the scheme of their offense while improving their interior defense.
Positives:
—The presence of Jermaine O'Neal should reduce the double teams on Chris Bosh and allow him to beat his man via his many offensive skills.
—Jermaine compliments Bosh nicely because Bosh, though an exceptional low post player, prefers to play the perimeter, drive and draw the foul, and play facing the basket while Jermaine has the same skill set and has agreed to compliment Bosh's game, which translates to him posting up on the low block frequently.
—Sam Mitchell has said that when the ball goes up the court it will fall in the hands of Jermaine and Bosh to set up the offense. With the attention teams will be giving these two great players, there will be better shots for premier shooters like Parker and Kapono.
—The Raptors correct two major weaknesses in the previously mentioned interior defense and, as importantly, rebounding.
Contrary to the heralded "Twin Tower" potential in these two All-Stars, there are also quite a few negatives to this trade.
Negatives:
—Point Guard depth is in question. Roko Ukic is a solid European player but there is question of whether he can run the point and keep the offense fluid when Calderon goes to the bench for rest.
—Depth in general is in question. By trading away two key rotation players, a back up bench warmer in Maceo Baston, and what could have been a rotation center in Hibbert, there is question of the drop off level when the Raptor draws on their bench.
(This problem can be slightly rectified if Kapono and Andrea Bargnani realize their potential somewhat.)
—If the Raptors did not trade for O'Neal and a key player like Ford or Bosh got injured, the team, though not anywhere near competitive as a playoff team, would still be a relevant team with a chance to win "Leastern Conference" games if they kept their focus.
In this case, if Jermaine or Bosh gets injured there is a gaping hole at the forward positions. If Bargnani doesn't show up like he didn't last season, the Raptors are in huge trouble when one of the "Twin Towers" goes down.
The potential starting line up without Bosh would be Jermaine at center, Bargnani (Who proved last year that his post game, rebounding, and defence in general need a HUGE upgrade) at power forward, Kapono or Moon at the three, and Parker and Calderon as the guards.
If O'Neal is injured, Bosh or Bargnani would have to play center and that would cause match up problems as well. Plus, with one of the "Twin Towers" out, the Raptors will be forced to play small ball and become a jump shooting team, which will cause them to lose games to many of the half court teams in the NBA.
11 comments Last one added 11 months ago — Leave a Comment
Paul Dawkins 11 months ago
If Bargnani can contribute consistently, Jermaine and Bosh both stay healthy, and the team as a whole starts heeding coach sam's call for defense...I have no problem saying that they will contend for a conference title. Last year the entire league knew they could score and hit the three relentlessly, but if they can put it all together in 08-09, they can give the pistons n celtics a legitimate challenge.
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nigga llover 11 months ago
gtrue dat
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s w 11 months ago
TJ is a speedy out of control midget scrub who couldnt handle being the second best point guard on the Raptors....good move by the raps...I would have accepted 2 warm gatorades and a ball rack for TJ so any deal is great.
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Trevor Allin 11 months ago
Unreal that people think the Rap's can 'give the pistons n celtics a legitimate challenge'.
Guys....let's not lose control of our emotions here.
The Rap's have won one playoff series in the past 13 years.
The Rap's were embarrassed in the playoffs last year (by a mediocre team at best).
The Rap's are EONS away from doing anything remotely special.
Stop hanging your hat on a guy that hasn't played well since 2003.
I understand the hope & aspirations....but can we all just concede that the mirage is actually just a puddle and not really a lake?
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Paul Dawkins 11 months ago
A puddle and not really a lake? Seems like somebody wouldn't recognize brimming potential even if it struck them over the head. Although there are a lot of "ifs" revolving around them, they can be a match-up nightmare for other teams on any given night. Yeah, they haven't done anything yet but everyone knocked on Boston saying they couldn't win it with 3 stars and a bunch of spare parts. I'm not saying they're gonna win the East or even get to the finals, however, with 2 proven post monsters, an all-star caliber pg, and one of the better field goal%'s in the league, I don't see how you can call it a mirage.
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c s 11 months ago
trevor, i kinda laughed at your post you said the raptors lost to a "mediocre team" the magic mediocre? Maybe you should do your research before you come stuntin they won 52 games last season they were a better team then we were during the 07 year and 08 year it's sad to say but it's true, don't be surprised if the magic win between 55-60 games this season because d howard will be better and then courtney lee has been a monster plus if they trade JJ reddick which they will probably do, they may end up getting something better in return helping there casues
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Trevor Allin 11 months ago
I guess mediocre is very subjective.
Yes, I agree, to a Raptors fan the Magic would appear to be a GREAT team.
Let's look at what they did in 2007/2008;
1. Won a playoff series
2. Went to game 6 in the second round.
3. Won over 50 games in the regular season
I see where you're coming from - these are all things the Raptors could not do (let alone in the past 5 seasons for point number 1 or EVER for point number 2 & 3)…….and then the Magic completed all of this in one year.....UNREAL team might be a better description for them eh?
Or look at them from a different perspective;
1. They got embarrassed by a team in the second round without their all-star point guard for the majority of the series.
2. No one ever considered them to be in the top of the east (if I remember last year when anyone talked about the east it was the Celtics and Pistons, the rest of the playoff teams, and then the worst teams in the league. At any point you could classify a team into one of those three categories…..it was that simple.
What would I call 'the rest of the playoff teams in the East'?
Mediocre.
If you want to ‘keep on laughing’, watch Raptors TV next season.
What a joke:)
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Trevor Allin 11 months ago
And Paul,
Brimming potential was Jermaine O'Neil in 2003, Barn-yard dog in 2006 & Joey Graham in 2005 (great re-signing by the way in the off-season).
Sure I'm being a little sarcastic here - but doesn't the 'if' card ever get a little old?
Do me a favour - when the Raptors win 44 games next year, finish 6th and get knocked out of the first round....please don't say "IF Jermain O'Neil hadn't been injured for 45 games we could have won over 50 games"
PLEASE don't do it...PLEASE....
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garbage-osa ford 11 months ago
hahaha.. great read. I actually agree with trevor. We have been hanging on "what ifs" forever. 2 seasons ago was a pleasant surprise. but when garbo went down, so did the raps. What an idiot he is, but thats a different story. The fact that Joey Graham is still on this team is a joke. the fact that jermain said he lost love for the game of basketball is SCARY. noone is even talking about that. Oh by the way, we have no center. Last time i checked JO was a PF. The only thing i really love about this team is Jose. Jermaine is not the only health risk. I dont remember the last time bosh played 30 games in a row. Go Raps. Get that trophy..
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garbage-osa ford 11 months ago
Also... To the jagoff that thinks the magic are the greatest.......The starting point puard is Jameer Nelson.......Game, Set , Match.
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Captain Fanatic 11 months ago
Raptors should improve with O'neal, who still has a couple of years in him and at 24 million looks good 2 years from now!
TOsports.ca
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