O’Neal Looks For A Rebirth In Toronto
The past few years for Jermaine O’Neal have felt like a nightmare which he hasn’t been able to wake himself up from. After playing in the Eastern Conference Finals with Indiana during the 2003-04 season, things slowly began to crumble for O’Neal in Indiana. Between the now infamous fight in Detroit, enduring knee issues for the past three seasons and having teammates constantly in trouble with the law, things in Indiana deteriorated to the point where the face of the franchise was dealt to Toronto this summer.
It’s because of how the past four years have unfolded that the six-time All-Star is excited to be in Toronto and the chance for a fresh start.
“For me personally, it’s kind of like a new life,” a giddy O’Neal told the media Wednesday afternoon when asked about his thoughts on being traded to Toronto. “Obviously you guys know what myself, my team and Indiana went through the past few years. It’s probably been one of the worst situations any pro team has been through and there are a lot more pains behind the scenes that kind of wore you down. It wore me down a bit mentally and I started to not really enjoy playing as much as I used to love to play the game. When I got the call from my agent and he told me about the possibility of coming here it was like a rebirth.
“It was an emotional time for me because I felt like I had a new chance at life. When you get that feeling you can really view things differently.”
While O’Neal may be excited about arriving in Toronto, not all Raptors fans share this same excitement. Some fans have O’Neal’s career on the verge of being over after a lack luster season in 2007-08 where he averaged 13.6 points and 6.7 rebounds while being limited to 42 games due to issues with his knee. However, what those fans fail to realize is there was a reason for O’Neal shutting things down and not playing out the season and it wasn’t due to him pouting like his critics want you to believe.
“I tore [my meniscus] two and a half years ago,” a solemn O‘Neal admitted to the media when asked about his knee. “I tore it slightly and then ended up tearing it a little bit more because I continued to play on it. It was a meniscus tear and I didn’t want to have the surgery because I wanted to continue to play with the team and be out there for the team.”
Why would a player try to gut it out through a serious knee injury when his reputation and next contract is at stake? Because O’Neal knew the Indiana Pacers franchise needed him on the court and he felt guilty not helping out however he could. Even if that meant playing on one leg he wanted to suit up and help the franchise maintain their status as one of the elite teams in the Eastern Conference.
“Obviously the team was going through such a tough time with a lot of off the court situations, so with me not being in there I knew it would be a really effected team. It compromised the health of my knee a little bit. I played on it for a year and a half and decided I need to have surgery because it was gradually getting worse. I started missing a week here, a week there, so I thought it was in the best interest of my career to have the surgery.”
O’Neal elected to have surgery to clean things up last summer. While the surgery was a success, he rushed back to the court last fall because Indiana had a new coach in place and he wanted to ensure he would have a strong grasp on the new offensive sets the team would be running.
He quickly realized this was the wrong choice as he was forced to play on one leg. When the realization hit early in the season that he wouldn’t be able to endure the rigors of an 82 game schedule or play at the level he was used to, O’Neal decided to shut things down to ensure that his knee would return to full strength for the 2008-09 season.
“I made a career move when I decided to sit out the 43 straight games. I went out and got independent doctors and some of the best knee specialists in the country and they really all came to the conclusion that I needed to sit out, start rehabbing and calm the knee down. If I wanted to be healthy going into next season, and not only next season but being healthy going into the summer, I had to make that initial move.”
Now O’Neal finds himself healthy for the first time in over three years and in a new city with a fresh outlook on life. Between soaking in the love from fans while shopping with his wife at Yorkville Shopping Centre, having dinner with Jose Calderon and falling in love with his point guard’s swagger to working out with Andrea Bargnani in Las Vegas this summer, O’Neal now finds himself in Toronto feeling oddly at home.
“Today is the day I close the chapter of my time in Indiana. This is a new life for me and I have full trust in myself that I’m going to do the things necessary to get back to the level of being one of the best players in the league. It may not equal up to numbers, I don’t know what the numbers might be, but to me it’s all about this team and doing anything necessary to get this team to a championship level.”
Time will tell if Toronto is a legit championship contender next season, but for now O’Neal is content knowing he has a fresh start and a chance for a rebirth of his NBA career.
Photo Credit: Icon Sports Media
This article was written by:
Ryan McNeill - who has written 207 posts on Hoops Addict.
Ryan McNeill is the editor for Hoops Addict and has appeared on NBA XL and WSRQ 1220. Ryan has covered the NBA with media credentials since the 2007 season.
Comments
By rashad on July 10th, 2008 at 9:01 am
Its amazing to me that this guy has been in the league for 12 years, and he’s still not 30. I’m rooting for him, although I am worried that he and Bosh are the same guy.
By Brendan de Haan on July 10th, 2008 at 9:22 am
If they are the same guy then that is terrific for Toronto. Who would not want another 20 and 9 every game from your front court ?
By Ryan McNeill on July 10th, 2008 at 9:24 am
Rashad - At first glance they look similar because they are both 6′10″ and 20/10 guys but Bosh is more finess and can step out and hit the 15 foot jumper while O’Neal is the post presence and the “muscle” of the two. I think as long as JO can stay healthy there will be no problems with this tandem working out for Toronto.
By Paul on July 10th, 2008 at 11:29 am
I don’t know too many other teams in the league that have 2 all-star caliber post players and can offensively produce like they can. O’neal’s knee is still an issue though, and that 13 points a game can’t be ignored.
By Roc on August 6th, 2008 at 10:07 am
I’m an Oneal Skeptic and will wait to see what happens, in the earlier part of the season. I’ve heard this same thing from Oneal only to be let down time-n-time again. Rehab is mental as well as physical and I’m not sure that he has the strength, to mentally bring it to the table every night anymore.
However I would love to eat crow on this and he continue from where he left off in 03/04.
By PistonsGirl4Life on August 26th, 2008 at 3:33 am
As a Piston’s fan (and therefore someone who sees A LOT of JO each season) who happens to live in Toronto I think this is probably a great move for the Raptors. JO isn’t a 20/10 player anymore but he’s still got serious game and makes a legit second option in the front court. When you consider that Calderon is more a facilitator and that Toronto’s other attempts to obtain secondary scoring have failed miserably this move makes perfect sense.
JO doesn’t have to be the same player he was 6 years ago for this to be a great move for Toronto. All he has to do is be better than The #1 Overall Draft Pick Who Shall Not be named by enough to make up for the 1 game out of four where TJ Ford was an asset and not a huge distraction.
That won’t be hard.
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