Jermaine O'Neal News

Atlanta provides a potential rivalry in the making
"The Heat-Hawks playoff series last season was arguably the most difficult first-round series to watch last spring. Despite the series going seven games, none of the games was particularly compelling, and play from both teams was uneven. That's why calling the Hawks a rival just yet is a bit premature in the eyes of Heat coach Erik Spoelstra. The two teams face each other Wednesday night in a battle that's more about a close division race -- the Hawks, Heat and Magic are all battling for an early lead in the Southeast -- than it does with playoff revenge. ``I mean, any time you play somebody in the playoffs, obviously everything gets heightened, and it went seven games,'' Spoelstra said. ..."
Miami Heat center Jermaine O'Neal misses game with left hip bruise
"The pain from Thursday's loss to LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers lingers for the Heat. Miami center Jermaine O'Neal missed Saturday's game against New Jersey with a left hip bruise he sustained during a collision with James midway through Thursday's 111-104 loss to the Cavaliers. O'Neal finished the game and had 15 points, nine rebounds and two blocks in 33 minutes. He received extensive treatment the past two days to help ease the inflammation, and he was held out of Saturday's shootaround. Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said two hours before the game that O'Neal had a ``50-50'' chance to play. Reserve Joel Anthony started at center against the Nets. Spoelstra said O'Neal had made ..."
Jermaine O'Neal vows to play through broken nose
"Dwyane Wade, Jermaine O'Neal and Daequan Cook all missed Monday's practice as the Miami Heat prepared for Tuesday night's lone visit of the season by Steve Nash and the Phoenix Suns. Wade did not even make it to the session, instead tied up in a courtroom in a matter related to a failed business interest. O'Neal watched from the side, a day after breaking his nose late in Sunday's 95-87 victory over the Bulls. And Cook was held out with the same shoulder ailment that forced him to skip the Chicago game. In addition, guard Chris Quinn, who had been out since the start of training camp with a sprained ankle, went through the entire session and has been deemed healthy enough to return. The ..."
Heat's Jermaine O'Neal making Dwyane Wade proud
"It might be difficult to find anyone more thrilled with the way Heat center Jermaine O'Neal has started the season -- outside of O'Neal himself -- than guard Dwyane Wade. For one, Wade has benefited from the solid low-post presence O'Neal has provided during Miami's 2-0 start entering Sunday's home game against the Chicago Bulls. But Wade also can sympathize with what O'Neal is going through after pushing through a vigorous offseason training program to recover from debilitating knee injuries. Wade went through a similar grueling process with the same trainer in Chicago two summers ago. Wade wouldn't go as far as to say he recommended noted trainer Tim Grover to O'Neal. But Wade did attend ..."
O'Neal playing with a spring in his step
"Erik Spoelstra's argument was mostly halfhearted, as he challenged the second-quarter technical foul Jermaine O'Neal was assessed for following a dunk with a chin-up on the rim. In fact, it could be argued that the second-year Miami Heat coach savored the moment in Friday night's victory in Indiana almost as much as the 14th-year center did. "If he's jumping that high," Spoelstra said, "I'll take anything." To say O'Neal has shown a spring in his step in the Heat's 2-0 start would be understatement. His consecutive games of 22 points and 12 rebounds represent the first time in the franchise's 22 seasons a player has opened with back-to-back 20-10 performances. For a player who averaged 13 ..."
Heat ends long skid in Indiana behind Wade, O'Neal
"The last time the Heat departed Indiana with a regular-season victory, second-year forward Michael Beasley was 12 years old. His vivid memory from 2001? ``I just graduated from sixth grade and was going to the seventh,'' Beasley said Friday. ``Thanks for bringing back bad memories. I got my bike stolen that year. Dang, it's been that long since we won here?'' Not anymore. Beasley was among the assailants this time. Miami built a 17-point lead in the second half to swipe a 96-83 victory from the Pacers and end a 14-game regular-season losing streak at Indiana. The man who was responsible for delivering Miami much of its misery during that stretch was also the one led it out of the Hoosier ..."
Wade, O'Neal help Heat end drought in Indy
"It wasn't exactly the Indy 500. But the Miami Heat's 17 consecutive losses at Conseco Fieldhouse certainly felt like triple-digit misery. Now? Now there is a one-game winning streak in Indiana, with Friday's 96-83 victory over the Indiana Pacers. "It was gratifying," coach Erik Spoelstra said. "To have this feeling here hasn't happened very often for us." After 14 consecutive regular-season losses in Conseco, with three more in the playoffs, the Heat finds itself with its first 2-0 start to a season since it went 4-0 to open 2004-05. Both victim and former victimizer contributed for the Heat. Guard Dwyane Wade, who had lost all 11 of his previous Conseco visits, led the Heat with 32 ..."
Miami Heat center Jermaine O'Neal flashes old form
"Jermaine O'Neal resembled the early decade vintage version for much of Wednesday night, the way he soared for rebounds, shook free for dunks and left the Knicks dizzy with nifty spin moves and jump hooks. ``I'm not going to say by any means that I've arrived because it's only one game,'' the Heat center said Thursday. ``[But] I felt good.'' With his impressive display in the season opener, O'Neal rekindled memories of the player who was named an All-Star six times with the Indiana Pacers. On Friday night, he hopes for an encore when he returns to Indianapolis -- where the Heat has experienced nothing but misery for seven years. (O'Neal inflicted a fair share of that misery.) The Heat has ..."
Jermaine O'Neal confident he can get all the way back
"Heat center Jermaine O'Neal has always talked the talk, but in the last five years a myriad of injuries haven't allowed him to walk the walk like he used to. But despite playing without knee pain or swelling for the first time in years after undergoing a grueling, eight-week workout regimen with renowned Chicago-based fitness guru Tim Grover, O'Neal has still been slowed by nagging injuries such as foot, groin and shoulder tweaks, limiting his minutes and production (averaging 8.3 points, three rebounds in nearly 22 minutes) in appearing in three of the five exhibition games. That said, O'Neal, who turned 31 last Tuesday, is confident he will not only be ready for the season-opener against ..."
Jermaine O'Neal Out With Bruised Bone On Ankle
"Jermaine O'Neal immediately made sure to quell the concerns. "Not the knees," the Heat center before Wednesday night's 90-86 preseason loss to the Orlando Magic at Amway Arena, "it's not the knees." But it was a game played in the injury absence of O'Neal, and considering the 14th-season veteran's history, that's always a concern. "I'll be back at practice ready to go on Friday," O'Neal said, with the Heat expected to be given Thursday off, before beginning preparations for Sunday's home exhibition opener against the Spurs. "I have no doubt in my mind that I'll be ready to rock and roll at a high level come Sunday." O'Neal has been limited since being kicked in the left foot during the ..."
Summer of sweat gives center new lease on life
"The pain is gone. Also vanished is the portable ice machine. It was a device Jermaine O'Neal carried with him everywhere the past three years for times when his long-troublesome knees would swell up to the size of a grapefruit. And stashed away, too, is the fiberglass knee brace, one that has been as much a part of his work attire as the jerseys, shorts and headbands. O'Neal, the Heat's starting center, survived the first week of training camp without any of that baggage that used to weigh him down. Having emerged from an offseason in which O'Neal sought to regain all of the elements that made him one of the most dominant post players in the league, the 14-year veteran would much rather ..."
Miami Heat center Jermaine O'Neal hoping for comeback season
"Heat center Jermaine O'Neal won't be accompanied by his "best friend" when the team opens training camp Tuesday at AmericanAirlines Arena. Consider that a good thing. It turns out O'Neal's "best friend" is a portable ice machine. It was his constant companion for three years because O'Neal's injured left knee would swell so much and so often he needed a constant source of ice to treat the ailment. That shouldn't be the case this season, his 14th in the NBA. "I'm 100 percent (healthy)," O'Neal said at Monday's Media Day. "The knee isn't giving me any problems." If that's true it could be a comeback season for O'Neal, who will earn $23 million this year, the final year of his contract. And ..."
Erik Spoelstra: Big improvements in store for Miami Heat
"The notion that other teams passed the Heat this summer? Coach Erik Spoelstra said he doesn't believe it. ``I'm fully expecting major improvements,'' he said. ``We're getting an All-Star center [Jermaine O'Neal] who's healthy. We add James Jones, who we didn't have'' for much of last season. He said Mario Chalmers improved tremendously and ``you'll see a different Michael Beasley. His skill level is so much more advanced than what it was.'' With training camp opening next week, Spoelstra spoke about the cast around Dwyane Wade: • On O'Neal, 30, previously slowed by knee problems: ``He's as healthy as he's ever been. We rewound the clock and brought him back to 26. He spent seven weeks with ..."
Miami Heat's Jermaine O'Neal Back On Center Stage
"Two nights ago, he discovered his purpose with the Heat -- a shot-blocking, rebounding, low-post scoring option who has still got something left in the tank. With Miami holding a 2-1 series lead against Atlanta entering Game 4 on Monday night at AmericanAirlines Arena, O'Neal looks to continue the breakout play he has delivered the past two games. ''It just took some time,'' said O'Neal, who hopes to help guide Miami into the second round to face Cleveland. ``But I'm doing my job.'' O'Neal has averaged 20.5 points, eight rebounds, 3.5 blocks, and two assists on 57-percent shooting in two wins. Of all of the things that have gone well for the Heat -- the off-the-charts three-point ..."
Miami Heat's Jermaine O'Neal becomes X-factor
"He's positively crucial to the Heat making a deeper-than-expected run into these NBA playoffs, yet Jermaine O'Neal can't wait until the offseason. It would sound disconcerting to hear that from a 6-11 player whom the Heat acquired in February for the purpose of providing offensive balance and a defensive presence, particularly at this time of the year. It would sound that way if you didn't know just how meaningful an entire, surgery-free offseason could mean to O'Neal's career. Don't mistake that for disinterest in the present. O'Neal has never gotten past a conference finals in 10 previous postseasons, so he would just assume this playoff run go well into June for the Heat. But he can't ..."
Heat's Jermaine O'Neal sits vs. Grizzlies
"Miami Heat center Jermaine O'Neal sat out Monday night's home game against the Memphis Grizzlies in an attempt to rest a bruised right hip that has been nagging him for at least the past four games. O'Neal said the injury shouldn't keep him out for more than one game. The Heat have a day off before back-to-back road games against Indiana and Chicago on Wednesday and Thursday. Center Jamaal Magloire started for O'Neal. ''It's precautionary only because of the road trip [coming up],'' O'Neal said. ``It's affecting the way I move a little bit right now, so I just want to try and rest it. If I played [Monday], I'd have no time to calm it down.'' Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said O'Neal was ..."
Heat's Jermaine O'Neal out against Grizzlies
"Miami Heat center Jermaine O'Neal was held out of Monday night's game against the Memphis Grizzlies at AmericanAirlines Arena due to a bruised right hip. Coach Erik Spoelstra said O'Neal was injured last week while unsuccessfully attempting to draw a charge against Boston Celtics forward Paul Pierce. "It's definitely just one game," said O'Neal, who vowed to be back in the starting lineup for Wednesday night's road game against the Indiana Pacers. "I'm just trying to calm it down. "We're not worried about it at all." O'Neal said Sunday's game against the Detroit Pistons at the Palace of Auburn Hills was the first time the ailment significantly limited his mobility. He closed that game with ..."
O'Neal makes a difference
"It was only six points: Two baskets, two free throws. But for Jermaine O'Neal, it was a start. For the first time since arriving a month ago, the veteran center mattered in a fourth quarter, mattered at the finish. For the Heat, that made Wednesday's 107-99 victory over the Celtics significant. Plan B just might take some of the pressure off Dwyane Wade, after all. "It's very important to have that ability to go down in the post and him make not only the jump shot, but also go to the basket," Wade said. Before the victory over the Celtics, O'Neal had not scored more than four points in the fourth quarter of any of his previous 11 Heat appearances. And these were no accidental points. They ..."
Jermaine O'Neal taking patient approach with Miami Heat
"When Jermaine O'Neal arrived in a trade from the Toronto Raptors, his goal was to have an immediate impact on the court as big as his hefty contract. A month into his stint with the Heat, O'Neal is simply hoping not to get short-changed in the offense. O'Neal has had to temper his expectations some in his first few weeks since the Feb. 13 trade. O'Neal remains the anchor of Miami's reloaded frontcourt. But he has not been the go-to option in the lane as often as he initially expected. O'Neal hasn't complained. Instead, he's taking a patient approach. A breakthrough of sorts came in Saturday's loss at Cleveland, where O'Neal scored 19 points, making 7 of 10 shots. He hopes to build on that ..."
Miami Heat center Jermaine O'Neal allowed to wear headband
"Miami Heat president Pat Riley struck one of the season's biggest trade deadline deals by acquiring Jermaine O'Neal. But Riley had to make a subsequent move to keep O'Neal happy once the seven-time All-Star center arrived. After he initially balked at O'Neal's request to wear a headband, Riley made a rare exception and lifted the restriction. O'Neal, who has worn a headband the past three games, confirmed Tuesday that Riley budged -- with strings attached. ''I can't tell you,'' O'Neal said when asked to disclose details after Tuesday's practice. ``But we made an agreement on things I need to do to keep the headband. I plan on keeping the headband. I don't want people to think Coach Riley ..."
Heat's Jermaine O'Neal promises results are coming
"Jermaine O'Neal spoke calmly but purposefully as he sat at his locker after Sunday's 122-99 loss at Orlando. It's been an admittedly difficult season for the Heat's newly acquired, 30-year-old center. During the summer he was traded from Indiana to Toronto to blend with All-Star big man Chris Bosh as a formidable frontcourt. It didn't work. Now O'Neal finds himself in another challenging situation after being traded from Toronto to Miami. "You don't get traded 52 games into the season and not expect it to be difficult," the six-time All-Star said. "But as a player, if you think it's too difficult a task, you tell your agent, or you tell whatever team you need to tell that you can't make ..."
Miami Heat's Jermaine O'Neal Rebuilding Image, Years After Brawl in Detroit
"Lawyers. Arbitrators. League officials. Media. Fans. Jermaine O'Neal had a lot of explaining to do, to all sorts of people, and none of it was pleasant. "But the toughest part for me was to explain it to my daughter," he says. He hadn't brought himself to tell Asjia what had happened on Nov. 19, 2004, or why, in the days that followed, he was home watching games in progress rather than reviewing games on tape. But a sharp 5-year-old doesn't take long to figure it out, especially when her friends are fans of her father, and that father had recently participated in the ugliest brawl in NBA history. "Dad, somebody told me you were suspended for punching somebody."Her information was accurate, ..."
Miami Heat center Jermaine O'Neal bounces back after painful eye injury
"Heat center Jermaine O'Neal hopes his second appearance with his new team is far less painful than his first. O'Neal said Friday that he continues to feel soreness near his eye and nose from a blow he took from Minnesota forward Mike Miller that briefly knocked him out of the game in Wednesday's loss. But O'Neal practiced Friday and is expected to make his second start with the Heat in Saturday's home game against the Philadelphia 76ers. O'Neal was attempting to draw a charge on Miller in the lane when the two collided. O'Neal returned after he was taken to the locker room. ''It was pretty sore,'' O'Neal said. ``It was one of those situations where when you take charges, you have to accept ..."
Jermaine O'Neal has painful debut as Miami Heat fall to Minnesota
"The Jermaine O'Neal era got off to a rocky start. Twenty-two minutes into his Heat debut, he took a charge from Minnesota forward Mike Miller and left the game with a bloody nose and blurry vision. O'Neal returned late in the fourth quarter, but the Heat's comeback fell short and the Timberwolves won 111-104 in front of an announced crowd of 17,525 at AmericanAirlines Arena. With 29 games remaining, Miami will have to quickly find chemistry with its revamped lineup. The Heat showed flashes of how it could thrive with O'Neal in the post, but got torched defensively. ''It was just a terrible loss,'' Dwyane Wade said. The Heat was outrebounded 49-24 and allowed the Timberwolves to hit 14 of ..."
Jermaine O'Neal's Miami Heat debut a night to forget
"Jermaine O'Neal's South Florida welcome included an elbow to the right eye from Mike Miller and enough Minnesota Timberwolves 3-pointers to leave the Miami Heat feeling dazed. What began as a triumphant arrival for O'Neal, with an early 11-point Heat lead, turned into a defenseless showing and a 111-104 loss Wednesday night at AmericanAirlines Arena. "It's a terrible loss," Dwyane Wade said after his game-high 37 points and 12 assists weren't enough to rescue the Heat. The new-look Heat, at least in O'Neal's debut, proved incapable of rebounding from its early blown lead, or rebounding at all, for that matter. Despite gaining much-needed size with the addition of O'Neal in last week's ..."
Eastern Conference rivals take notice of Heat after Jermaine O'Neal acquisition
"Atlanta Hawks guard Joe Johnson didn't necessarily sprain his neck looking over his shoulder during Saturday's practice for the Eastern Conference All-Star team. But Johnson was among several players and coaches who were a bit more aware of Dwyane Wade's presence in the room a day after the Heat (28-24) improved its roster Friday by acquiring center Jermaine O'Neal. Suddenly, a Heat team that lingered in mediocrity through the first half of the season now lurks as a potential threat to teams ahead of it in the conference standings. ''That move they made, it definitely makes them a contender,'' said Johnson, whose Hawks sit three games ahead of the Heat in fourth place. ``It's another team ..."
Marion more than a hired gun for Raptors
"Shawn Marion's worth goes well beyond that of a "rental player" obtained by the Raptors so they can go out and make significant NBA moves this summer. In finalizing a much-anticipated deal that sent Jermaine O'Neal, Jamario Moon and a conditional first-round draft pick to the Miami Heat for Marion, guard Marcus Banks and cash, Raptors president and GM Bryan Colangelo said Marion provides a much-needed boost to the roster. "Shawn is a piece that should be given an opportunity to fit in with the team," Colangelo said in a conference call last night. "He's not necessarily a rental player. That's not necessarily the case.""
Trade has major upside
"Got a big man in Jermaine O'Neal. Kept the future star of Michael Beasley. Pointed the salary cap toward the all-important summer of 2010. What's not to like for the Heat's today and tomorrow? It even got elastic Jamario Moon and a No. 1 draft pick out of Toronto, for whatever they're worth. And it's worth seeing exactly what they are. Patiently, logically, resourcefully, Heat President Pat Riley waited to make the deal a source said was on the table for six weeks until nothing better was coming and O'Neal's knee looked fine in extended play. This was the best of the rumored deals. Toronto primarily gets the expiring contract of Shawn Marion, whose reward for Thursday's winning basket was ..."
Marion Trade a Sign Teams Are Ready to Shed Payroll
"In a signal that blockbuster trades they made in the last year have not worked out, the Miami Heat and the Toronto Raptors engineered another one Friday, swapping frontcourt players with sterling résumés who have occasionally underwhelmed this season. The Heat agreed to send Shawn Marion to the Raptors for Jermaine O'Neal, forward Jamario Moon and a lottery-protected first-round draft pick. The Raptors also received the reserve point guard Marcus Banks. The trade reunites Marion with Raptors General Manager Bryan Colangelo, who watched Marion blossom as a player when both were with the Phoenix Suns. The Suns' new regime, under General Manager Steve Kerr, dealt Marion to Miami last season ..."
Raptors trade O'Neal, Moon to Miami
"The deal is done and the Jermaine O'Neal era with the Raptors — short and not too sweet — is over. The Raptors have dealt the veteran centre along with Jamario Moon to the Miami Heat for Shawn Marion and Marcus Banks, a deal that gives Toronto some financial flexibility this summer and one they hope injects some defence, rebounding and athleticism to a team free-falling through the NBA Eastern Conference standings. Toronto is also sending a conditional draft pick to the Heat and getting cash considerations in return, according to league sources."
Miami Heat trades Shawn Marion, acquires Jermaine O'Neal from Raptors
"The Miami Heat has agreed to trade forward Shawn Marion and point guard Marcus Banks to Toronto for center Jermaine O'Neal and small forward Jamario Moon, an agent for one of the players said Friday. The deal is contingent on all the players passing physicals. ''The Heat gave us a heads-up that the deal is going down,'' said Michael Higgins, agent for Banks. The long-rumored deal will give the Heat a center, filling one of its biggest weaknesses. O'Neal's contract runs through next season and will pay him $23 million in 2009-10. Marion, earning $18.4 million this season, has a contract expiring after this season, and the Heat had not made any recent attempt to re-sign him."
Raptors acquire Marion from Heat
"The Toronto Raptors have agreed to send Jermaine O'Neal and Jamario Moon to the Miami Heat in exchange for Shawn Marion and Marcus Banks, league sources told ESPN The Magazine's Ric Bucher. The deal is pending league approval, according to league sources."
O'Neal still on trade block with deadline closing
"Bryan Colangelo arrived in his old stomping grounds a marked man, someone who'll be very popular with his fellow NBA general managers during this weekend's all-star festivities in Phoenix. The Raptors' president has made no secret of the fact he's dissatisfied with some aspects of his team's play and, with the NBA trade deadline less than a week away, the normal chatter he has with rival general managers will take on a far more serious tone. Colangelo will most likely seek out whoever is in Phoenix representing the Miami Heat to discuss the still-alive talks involving Jermaine O'Neal and Shawn Marion."
O'Neal's days as a Raptor may be at an end
"For all intents and purposes, Jermaine O'Neal played his final game as a Raptor last night. After all, there is no purpose in keeping O'Neal around in Raptorland any longer. The team's intent, ever since word leaked a month ago today out of South Beach that O'Neal was being shopped around, was to find a suitable suitor for the veteran. O'Neal is a good guy who has been placed in a bad situation, a natural power forward who has been asked to play centre. There is always a chance O'Neal will survive next Thursday's trade deadline, but those chances appear to be slim and none, or roughly the same odds of the Raptors seeing the post-season. With so much work to be done in remaking these ..."
O'Neal stays focused
"Jermaine O'Neal doesn't know what the future has in store. More than any Raptor, O'Neal understands the business of basketball. That is why O'Neal's focus remains on the present. Whenever he hears criticism or talk of some impending trade, O'Neal remembers the skeptics when he decided to skip college and enter the NBA in 1996 straight out of high school. "There were scouts who thought I wouldn't last three years,'' O'Neal said. "I've never been a player who was given anything. I've had to earn everything and I'll make my way back." O'Neal had his finest moment as a Raptor against the Sacramento Kings, tonight's opponent, on the road on Boxing Day when he poured in a game-high 36 ..."
O'Neal tries to stay positive
"This is not what Jermaine O'Neal signed up for - a seven-game losing streak and a playoff spot a distant mirage on the horizon. When the big centre rolled into his first training camp with the Toronto Raptors after being traded from the Indiana Pacers, his preferred point of reference was the Pacers' magical 2003-04 season when they won 61 games and he was a serious Most Valuable Player candidate. He saw the 2008-09 Raptors in the same light. After all: he was playing for them, and he was healthy. This team has all the ingredients," O'Neal said on the eve of training camp, "to be a very good team and be on top of the NBA standings at the end of the year." That goal is long gone, even with ..."
Heat and Raptors exchange medical records
"A deal that would send Jermaine O'Neal to Miami and Shawn Marion to Toronto is progressing. According to a league sources, the two teams have exchanged medical records, usually a precursor to a deal. The Knicks had talked to Miami about a Marion-for-Eddy Curry deal, but Curry has appeared in only one game this season due to a knee injury."
Dealing O'Neal could prevent Raptor implosion
"Among the scarce evidence of Jermaine O'Neal's presence at the Air Canada Centre yesterday, other than a club report that he was receiving treatment for his sore right knee and probable for today's game in Atlanta, was the Louis Vuitton satchel beside his locker. The bag was packed. On a day when the headlines suggested that O'Neal's days in Toronto could soon be at their end – that a deal to send O'Neal to Miami for Shawn Marion and Marcus Banks is the Raptors' wish, pending Miami president Pat Riley's command – it was a fitting image. The proposed trade, if it happens as reported, would be more patchwork than masterwork. Then again, Bryan Colangelo, the Raptors president and GM, has ..."
Riley downplays trade rumor
"Heat President Pat Riley, in his first public comments about a potential trade for Toronto's Jermaine O'Neal, cautioned that the deal is not imminent. While not denying interest in O'Neal, Riley said in a team statement released Sunday that reports about the potential trade were premature. "It's typical this time of the year in the NBA that people put the cart before the horse," Riley said. "Whoever is saying that is putting the cart before the horse." The Heat is considering sending forward Shawn Marion and guard Marcus Banks to the Raptors for O'Neal. But Riley is concerned about O'Neal's immediate availability after he recently missed nine games with a sore knee. O'Neal, 30, played 17 ..."
Heat discussing trade of Shawn Marion for Jermaine O'Neal
"The Heat is discussing a trade that would send Shawn Marion and Marcus Banks to Toronto for forward/center Jermaine O'Neal but the deal is on hold as the Heat continues to monitor O'Neal's health. Toronto President Bryan Colangelo would like to complete the deal soon. However, it may not happen until closer to the Feb. 19 trade deadline due to Heat president Pat Riley's concerns about O'Neal's immediate readiness with the Heat in contention for a playoff berth. O'Neal recently returned after a nine-game absence due to a knee injury. O'Neal, though injured often during his 13-year career, would fill the Heat's glaring need for a low-post scorer. With $45 million due over the next two ..."
O'Neal not worried by swirling trade rumours
"Raptor Jermaine O'Neal understands that he continues to be the subject of informed trade speculation, largely because the 16-24 Raptors need a change and O'Neal's contract, which expires after next season when he'll earn $24 million, is one of Toronto's few marketable assets. O'Neal said he'll deal with an in-season move even if he fears its impact on his family. He said he bought his 9-year-old daughter, Asjia, a Blackberry and a cellphone so she can keep in touch with faraway friends."
Bargnani deserves to be starter, O'Neal says
"It's possible Jermaine O'Neal will play tonight in his homecoming game in Indiana, where the Raptors centre played the previous eight seasons. But his return from a two-week-plus absence with a bruised right knee, whether it happens tonight or later, will not coincide with a debate about who should be in the team's starting five – at least not immediately. With Andrea Bargnani averaging 22.3 points and 7.1 rebounds as a starter during O'Neal's nine-game absence, the Italian's roll will not be rocked. Jay Triano, the Raptors interim head coach, said O'Neal volunteered to come off the bench to begin."
This old dog hates new tricks
"Even if Jermaine O'Neal, the Raptors centre plagued by the bum knees, returns to action tonight in Indiana, he'll have missed 12 of the first 40 games of the season, a full 30 per cent of the action, to injury. And considering he'd missed 37 per cent of his team's games in the previous four seasons, who'd have seen it coming? Fans could blame Bryan Colangelo, the Raptors GM, for acquiring an ailment-prone 30-year-old and expecting a fairy-tale ending. They could blame the fickle fates. Or they could blame O'Neal's biceps – albeit not without reading on."
Ex-Pacer O'Neal returns, but will injury keep him out?
"Will he play or will he watch? Toronto Raptors forward Jermaine O'Neal's status for tonight's game at Conseco Fieldhouse against his former team remains in limbo. O'Neal, who is averaging 14 points and 7.3 rebounds, has missed the past nine games with a sore right knee. He told Toronto reporters Thursday that tonight's game is no different from any other. "Obviously, it'll be an emotional time if I can play, but it's been absolutely, positively, the last thought in my mind about going back to Indy," O'Neal said. "I had a nice run there, but it's more important what I can do and where I am with the Toronto Raptors." O'Neal spent eight years with the Pacers and was selected for six All-Star ..."
O'Neal/Bargnani decision looming large
"The intriguing question of replacing Andrea Bargnani with Jermaine O'Neal, or playing them together, will be put off a couple of more days, likely including O'Neal's homecoming game at Indiana later this week. Centre O'Neal and point guard Jose Calderon remain on the injured list as the Toronto Raptors prepare for tonight's game against the Chicago Bulls (7 p.m, Air Canada Centre). O'Neal's knee injury is improving, but not to the stage where he could return Friday against the Pacers without some quality practice time. O'Neal came to Toronto in a major deal in the summertime, but has yet to play his old team at Conseco Fieldhouse where he spent eight NBA seasons. "Jermaine is day-to-day ..."
O'Neal and Calderon doubtful vs. Magic
"The Toronto Raptors will likely be without big guns Jermaine O'Neal and Jose Calderon for Sunday's game against the Orlando Magic and possibly for one or both of next week's road contests in Milwaukee and Washington. Calderon went for an MRI on Saturday afternoon to have a hamstring strain checked, but neither he or O'Neal (swollen knee) were active participants in this morning's workout at the Air Canada Centre. Calderon missed two games earlier this season with a hamstring problem. "We have to find out what's wrong and if there is something there (fix it)," Triano said. "The swelling with Jermaine is going down, so that's a good sign." Calderon was staying upbeat after an early season ..."
O'Neal and Calderon doubtful for Magic
"The Toronto Raptors will likely be without big guns Jermaine O’Neal and Jose Calderon for Sunday’s game against the Orlando Magic and possibly for one or both of next week’s road contests in Milwaukee and Washington. Calderon went for an MRI on Saturday afternoon to have a hamstring strain checked, but neither he or O’Neal (swollen knee) were active participants in this morning's workout at the Air Canada Centre. Calderon missed two games earlier this season with a hamstring problem. “We have to find out what’s wrong and if there is something there (fix it),” Triano said. “The swelling with Jermaine is going down, so that’s a good sign.” Calderon was staying upbeat after an early season ..."
Knee keeps O'Neal out
"Raptors centre Jermaine O'Neal was a scratch again last night because of a bruised right knee. "I'm day-to-day," O'Neal said with a shrug before last night when asked if he will play tomorrow here against the Orlando Magic. For coach Jay Triano, no O'Neal meant a huge hole in the shot-blocking department with Yao Ming in town. "Jermaine's been a big clog for us in the inside, but Andrea (Bargnani) guards the post pretty well," Triano said. "He'll have a tough job ahead of him tonight. If they elect to put Yao Ming on (small forward) Jamario Moon the way they did last year, we'll deal with that, but if they put him on Andrea, we'll try to keep him away from the basket.""
O'Neal finding offensive rhythm
"This is where it all began for a teenaged Jermaine O'Neal, the city where he cut his NBA teeth and where he hopes his renaissance continues. Coming off his best game as a Raptor – a 36-point gem in a 107-101 win over the Sacramento Kings on Friday – the veteran centre thinks his offence, the multi-faceted game that makes him so dangerous, will be present more often than not."
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