J. O'neal to sign with DAL, DEN, or BOS (espn)

[ssspence]

I'd far prefer O'Neal to Brad Miller.

Let's say the Cs:

1) Re-sign Ray and Tony;

2) Use part of the MLE on JO, and part on guy like Ime Udoka;

3) Use Sheed's contract to trade for Mike Miller in a S&T -- he could be paid about 8mil this way.

What Cs fan wouldn't be satisfied with this?

[Jon]

I think people underrate J.O.  He had a pretty good season last year, and for a portion of the MLE, I think he'd be a steal.

I agree.  In a perfect world we'd get him for the minimum, but we're talking about a guy who has fallen off from being the perennial All Star he was, but certainly not a bum.  More importantly, when Kendrick comes back, all Jermaine O'Neal has to do is replace (and hopefully better) what Rasheed did for us.  

We could certainly do a lot worse.  

[2short]

Jermaine Oneal? Is this a joke? We re-signed Pierce to contend and now were talking about signing guys like Jermaine Oneal and Antoine Wright?

I agree (TP) ... I think he's a thug and a major under-achiever. Please say it isn't so.

I agree, if he's the best available then so be it...but god i hope he isn't.  He got shut down by perk and I'm pretty sure he pouted the whole series in playoffs.
Only good thing is doc and crew have worked wonders with bad attitudes in the past.  If marbury didn't upset the apple cart I doubt anyone coaches or players will let ONeal.

[Bahku]

Please not here.

TP

[KGs Knee]

I'd far prefer O'Neal to Brad Miller.

Let's say the Cs:

1) Re-sign Ray and Tony;

2) Use part of the MLE on JO, and part on guy like Ime Udoka;

3) Use Sheed's contract to trade for Mike Miller in a S&T -- he could be paid about 8mil this way.

What Cs fan wouldn't be satisfied with this?

I Wouldn't!

I could see maybe signing Jermaine O'Neal for the veteran minimum, but not for any part of the MLE.  And I just don't understand the fascination with Mike Miller so many people on this board have.  He has put up some ok stats throughout his career, but he just doesn't seem to have a winners mentality.  I flat out just think Mike Miller is a useless player on a team trying to compete for a championship.

[wasi]

I agree with Hobbs on this one, the numbers don't lie and his are good. His defense alone is good enough for me and he has a nice jumper. He did choke in the playoffs but they put a lot of pressure on him to be a star in the series. I think he's best when he just plays freely which he can with the Celtics.

I'll take him for half the MLE and see who else I can get for the other. I also find his comments encouraging when he was saying he wants to win a championship. I think he's found the proper motivation and I think he's a good fit and a steal at this price.

[Evantime34]

I'd far prefer O'Neal to Brad Miller.

Let's say the Cs:

1) Re-sign Ray and Tony;

2) Use part of the MLE on JO, and part on guy like Ime Udoka;

3) Use Sheed's contract to trade for Mike Miller in a S&T -- he could be paid about 8mil this way.

What Cs fan wouldn't be satisfied with this?

I'm a fan although I think Udoka could be had for the Vet Min. How about we Sign JO and Shaq splitting the MLE? With the rest of your moves?

[Jon]

I still don't get why some people are so picky.  We lost our center to retirement and our starting center for at least half the year.  All we have is the MLE and Rasheed's trade exception and people are turning up their noses at the prospect of a 31-year-old 6-time NBA All Star center who put up 13-7-1 on an NBA playoff team last year? 

I agree that in a perfect world we'd get him for the minimum or somehow convince New York to give us David Lee (while asking David Stern to kindly bend the rules of the CBA), but we're hardly in a position to be picky. 

And as I noted earlier, when Kendrick comes back, all he'll have to do is replace what Rasheed gave us.  And he might be able to do even better than that. 

[Brendan]

People also don't understand how bad Perk's offensive game is... its stagnant. You put a JO or Shaq or similarly skilled low post player in there for the same touches, and the guy may have a TS% of 75.

The risks are:

1. He's injury probe (only expect 70 games)
2. His best qualities depend on him to want to execute (hustling after boards, playing D, taking the ball to the hoop) - and he's often been a bit 'soft' in his desire.

The question is surrounded by Pierce, Ray Allen, KG - can he bring his hard hat every day. I'm going to think yes - because he won't need a ton of touches to get points, since he'll get a lot of points. But worse case scenario he's a pretty good defending long body off the bench, and he can play with any of the other bigs I expect in the rotation at playoff time.

If the choice is JO at 2-3 million (1/3 - 1/2 of the MLE) or Shaq/B. Miller at full MLE, I'd go JO. Having some extra money in the MLE pot could be the key to grabbing a guy that frees up late off season or mid season. I also think there is a pretty good chance to pickup a backup wing with Sheed's contract.

[birdwatcher]

I'd rather have O'Neal than Shaq or Miller. I can't believe I'm saying that! But who/how do we replace Ray? That's the tough one.

[Jon]

I agree with everything Brendan said.  Plus, think about what was expected of him last year.  Miami basically wanted him to be the #2 scorer.  With us, there'd be times when he's on the court when he'd be the fifth option.  And he'd be pretty darn good. 

And to birdwatcher, how do we replace Ray? 

With Ray. 

[Evantime34]

And to birdwatcher, how do we replace Ray? 

With Ray. 

I like your style tp

[Smartacus]

Last year the man was asked to be the 3 option for a mediocre playoff team, behind D Wade and Beasley who spent the whole series being shut down by KG, and asked to do this with Kendrick Perkins and Rasheed Wallace in his face.

In Boston he would have a load off his shoulders being the fifth option  on offense and would have KG's help on Defense. Also I know this may be blasphemous to say but in some ways, mainly offensively, he is better than Perk being that he is faster and .

The Center well is dry and JO is too good at this point ot pass up.

[greg683x]

I agree (TP) ... I think he's a thug and a major under-achiever. Please say it isn't so.

a thug?  What exactly has Jermaine O'neal done to be labeled as a thug?  I understand he punched an overweight Detriot fan once, but the way I see it, and I may be in the minority here, but that fan ran out onto the court and initiated a confrontation and he got what he deserved (what Artest and Jackson did is a different matter).  Is the guy lazy?  Possibly.  Is he a arrogant prick?  He certainly appears to be sometimes.  Is he a crybaby?  Ive seen him whine a lot on the court.  I just hate the way the word thug gets thrown around so much to describe people.  Has Jermaine O'neal robbed anybody?  shot anybody?  been caught with a gun?  To my knowledge he hasnt.  If he has, then feel free to correct me.  The only thing he's guilty of in the Palace Brawl if you ask me, is using poor judgement.  I've used poor judgement before and that certainly doesnt make me a thug.  I dont know what to think of having Jermaine O'neal on this team, Ive never been a huge fan of him, but I think there could be worse people we could bring aboard.

He did that as a ball hog on a mediocre team that lacked any other semi-competent big man. At this point, I would rather pay Shaq or Brad Miller. At least Shaq can draw fouls and grab boards, and Miller can stretch the floor. Jermaine is very injury prone, he may not hold up long enough for Perkins to get back.

Wade took twice as many shots as O'Neal.  Beasley took 3 more shots a game than O'Neal and shot a lower percentage.  O'Neal only took two more shots a game than Udonis Haslem.  Yeah, what a huge ball hog.

I do agree about the injury prone part.  But I'd definitely go with Jermaine over Brad Miller.  Not over Shaq though.

[Brendan]

Wade took twice as many shots as O'Neal.  Beasley took 3 more shots a game than O'Neal and shot a lower percentage.  O'Neal only took two more shots a game than Udonis Haslem.  Yeah, what a huge ball hog.

I do agree about the injury prone part.  But I'd definitely go with Jermaine over Brad Miller.  Not over Shaq though.

Let's say its Shaq at full MLE or JO at 50% MLE, then what?

I think keeping the extra cash available for someone who might become available might make be worth more than Shaq - JO in perf.