Raptors Trade Jermaine O'Neal and Jamario Moon to the Heat for Shawn Marion and Marcus Banks
What the trade means for the Miami Heat:
Picking up Jermaine O'Neal is a good look for Miami. They've been lacking size all season, and J.O. is a veteran PF who can contribute immediately. However, he's been extremely injury-prone, playing no more than 69 games since the '04-'05 season when he was still with the Pacers. He's missed 14 games thus far this season, but none in the past 3 and a 1/2 weeks. While he certainly doesn't make Miami a real threat to make it all the way to the Eastern Conference Finals, O'Neal, good for close to 14 points, 7 boards, and 2 blocks this year, fills a huge void for the vertically-challenged Heat. Even better for the Heat, should the O'Neal experiment not work out, he'll be coming off the books after next season, just in time for the 2010 Free Agent season.
The Heat also get a young, athletic swingman in Jamario Moon, averaging 7 points, close to 5 boards, and can run the floor and jump out of the gym.
What the trade means for the Toronto Raptors:
Quite simply, the Raptors, one of this season's most disappointing teams, had to throw the towel in on the Bosh-O'Neal experiment. Picking up Shawn Marion, averaging 12 points, and almost 9 boards, is a nice move to shake things up. Most importantly, though, whether Toronto admits it or not, Marion is a great pickup for the financial benefit - they get rid of O'Neal, who's set to make $23 Million next season, in return for Marion who comes off the books at the end of this season.
So here we go with the NBA transactions. I'm sure this is just the first of many we'll see in the next few days.
16 Naismith Hall Of Fame Finalists Named...
Michael Jordan, John Stockton, and David Robinson were among the 16 finalists for the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame announced on Friday.
NBA coaches Don Nelson and Jerry Sloan and Rutgers women's coach C. Vivian Stringer also made the cut from a field of 164 nominees, as did former NBA stars Dennis Johnson, Chris Mullin and Bernard King, and two-time WNBA MVP Cynthia Cooper.
...Other finalists include former Golden State coach Al Attles, who was nominated as a contributor; Bob Hurley Sr., who has more than 900 wins at St. Anthony's High School in New Jersey; Vladimir Kondrashin, who coached the Soviet Union to the 1972 Olympic gold medal, defeating the U.S. in a controversial final; Pereira "Ubiratan" Maciel, a player known as "The King" in his native Brazil; Richie Guerin, a six-time NBA All-Star with the New York Knicks and a former player-coach with the St. Louis and Atlanta Haws; and Johnny "Red" Kerr, a longtime Chicago Bulls commentator who was named NBA Coach of the Year in 1967 after leading the expansion Bulls into the playoffs in their first season.
Via: ESPN
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