Does Jermaine O'Neal factor into the Pacers future?

Unless you’ve been on sabbatical somewhere remote, you’ve proably been barraged recently with news on Utah Jazz Andrei Kirilenko, Phoenix Sun Shawn Marion and Los Angeles Laker Kobe Bryant, and their varying levels of unhappiness. The Jazz are pulling out all the stops, including bringing in former player Jeff Hornacek as a temporary shooting coach and mentor, to appease Kirilenko and get him to back off his trade demands. The Suns are putting on their best poker face and calling Marion’s bluff with seemingly no intentions of trading the disgruntled star – team leader Steve Nash welcomed Marion back and chalked up his pre-training camp trade demands to summer frustration. And, Kobe and Lakers management seem to be the best of pals, at least for now [see story below].

But the status of another NBA all-star, whose name hasn’t been as ubiquitous recently, seems to be very much up in the air. Earlier this summer, Jermaine O’Neal made some waves in the NBA universe by announcing his love for all things LA, saying that he wouldn’t mind playing alongside Kobe Bryant in a Lakers uniform. A few days later, he backtracked on those comments, blaming a reporter for taking his words out of context. Whether that was the case or not, Jermaine O’Neal’s future with the Indiana Pacers is cloudy at best.

Listening to a recent interview on the radio station Sports Talk 980 in Washington DC with Pacers President of Basketball Operations Larry Bird, it was noticeably clear that Jermaine O’Neal doesn’t figure into the the Pacer’s plans for much longer. When asked about the future of Pacers and how Bird has gone about instilling loyalty and commitment from his players, Larry’s response seemed to make it clear that he doesn’t see O’Neal as a core of the team going forward.

“We’ve got some young players here like Danny Granger and Shawne Williams who are very talented, and I think in the future they’ll take over the team,” Bird said. “Right now they want to be here, they work hard every day and they put in the extra work. I think in the future these young men could step up and be the type of player that we can build something around, be glad of the players they have around them and take this franchise forward.”

Last we checked, Jermaine O’Neal is 29 years old and in the prime of his playing career. Sure, he has had to deal with injuries the last couple of seasons, but had been the face of the franchise since the retirement of one Reggie Miller. Seems odd that JO is left out of the conversation when discussing the future of the Pacers and moving the franchise forward.

Bird continued, later in the interview, with some more comments that indirectly weren’t too kind to his starting power forward/center. “If I could go out and get a big man right now, I would go get him over anybody,” Bird said, when asked about the importance of the post game. “Because, I think that’s the key to winning. You gotta have a guy down in the post where you can pound it inside, get fouls, get the other team into the penalty and keep the pressure on the defense.”

Again, doesn’t Jermaine O’Neal play that post position for the Pacers? The guy has been averaging essentially 20 and 10, with 2 blocks a game since the 2000-2001 season. Doesn’t that count as the post presence that Larry bird is looking for? Maybe Bird was thinking more along the lines of someone like Lakers center Andrew Bynum. Hmm.

Jermaine O'Neal fakes amensia

Indiana Pacers star Jermaine O’Neal backtracked today on comments that he made over the weekend on his desire to play alongside Kobe Bryant for the Los Angeles Lakers. Even his agent, Arn Tellum, felt compelled to step in and unequivocally deny that his client even thought about a move out of Indiana. (I guess Sports Illustrated and ESPN reporters cheated off each other to come up with O’Neal’s quotes on his desire to leave Indianapolis).

There is definitely something happening behind the scenes. Whey would O’Neal’s agent feel compelled to vehemently deny his client’s wishes to be traded, a mere day after O’Neal himself voiced in every which way his desire to play for the Lakers? There are two possibilities 1) O’Neal is hoping to get an extension from the Pacers after his contract expires in 2 years or 2) O’Neal wants out. It certainly isn’t the 1st option, since O’Neal even went as far as to say that even if he isn’t traded this summer or before the deadline, he would probably opt out at the end of this 2007-2008 campaign and seek greener pastures.

The clear analysis then is that O’Neal’s agent is in full damage-control mode and is attempting to keep on-going negotiations under wraps, while at the same time trying his best to protect the Lakers’ interests – because if the feelings of longing between O’Neal and the Lakers is mutual and public, Larry Bird will have no option but to attempt to fleece Lakers GM Kup-cake for all that he is worth. It will be increasingly difficult for Bird and his Lakers counterparts to pull off a fair trade.

So, will the trade happen this summer or even during the season? Only the Lakers, Pacers, O’Neal and his agent know for sure. But, all signs point to a strong possibility.

Jermaine O'Neal loves LA

While Kobe takes a vow of silence the likes of which has not been seen since this guy, Jermaine O’Neal continues to tell everyone who will listen (in this case SI.com) about his dream job, playing Center for your 2007-2008 Los Angeles Lakers. In LA for a charity basketball game O’Neal said:

"I would welcome a trade to the Lakers. Indiana has given me the opportunity to establish myself as a really good player in this league, but they're into rebuilding and going really young, and I'm just not in a position physically to go through another five to six years with a lot of losses and a lot of down time."

Pacer’s GM, the legendary Larry Bird responded quickly, but he said just about nothing. His canned GM response was:

“In response to Jermaine O’Neal’s published comments today regarding a trade, we have stated repeatedly that if we can make our team better through a trade, we will do so. Jermaine has become an All-Star player with the Indiana Pacers and in any discussions regarding him or any of our other players, the expectations for the franchise and our fans is to receive fair market value in return if a trade is to be considered. Jermaine has worked out very hard this summer while rehabilitating his knee after surgery. We believe under Jim O’Brien that our team as a whole and Jermaine as a player can be successful. You never know what will happen, but for now Jermaine is an Indiana Pacer.”

What insight! Not that we were expecting Larry Legend to throw his hands up in frustration, publicly give out his cell phone number for anyone interested and go on Larry King to invite NBA, NBDL, CBA and Euro-League GMs to put in early bids for his highly talented, and oft-injured, forward.

Bottom line on the rumors: They mean nothing unless Mitch Kup-cake stops being a lamb and decides to give some direction to this wayward Lakers roster. The last time I checked the Pacers had Travis Deiner and Jamaal Tinsley at point guard – neither of whom are world beaters by any means. Would the Pacers be interested in a talented and athletic, yet somewhat turnover-prone, rookie point guard with solid potential such as Jarvis Crittenden? We know that they’re already enthralled with the kid from Piscataway, New Jersey. It’s time for Kup-cake to play “let’s make a deal” and come out on the winning end for the first time during his ill-fated tenure as Lakers GM. Time for Kup-cake to exorcise the demons of GM Jerry West and put his stamp on this Lakers team.