The Toronto Raptors officially announced their acquisition of six-time all-star Jermaine O'Neal in a multi-player deal with the Indiana Pacers on Wednesday July 9th, 2008. The Raptors acquired the oft-injured but talented frontcourt star in exchange for point guard T.J. Ford, centre Rasho Nesterovic and reserve Maceo Baston. The teams also swapped the rights to picks from this year's draft with Georgetown centre Roy Hibbert, the 17th overall pick, heading to Indiana, and Australian big man Nathan Jawai, the 41st selection, coming back to Toronto.
The NBA teams agreed to the deal in principle before last month's draft but it couldn't be officially announced until the league lifted its moratorium on player movement Wednesday.
"When I got the call from my agent about coming here, it was like a rebirth," O'Neal said. "Sometimes you lose that love, and sometimes you need something else to get that fire back in you. And knowing what kind of organization and fan base the Toronto Raptors have, it was like a whole new life."A six-time All-Star, O'Neal averaged 18.6 points and 9.6 rebounds over eight seasons with Indiana. He'll pair with two-time All-Star Chris Bosh to give the Raptors one of the league's best inside tandems.
"My message to the other players is they better get down and run if they want some shots," coach Sam Mitchell added. "Because when we come down and set up, the ball is going into Jermaine and Chris, and we're going to play from there."
When asked whose team this would be, O'Neal replied "This is Chris' team, I'm here to help him lead. He's been a centerpiece for quite some time and he's a hell of a talent. I'm not into whose team this is, I'm into success. I've been through some rough times over the past four years and to get this opportunity, it makes you want to do whatever is necessary for this team to be successful."
Check out this interview with Jermaine O'Neal
Welcome Jermaine !
JJ Freddy - Writer
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