This isn’t Pistons related, but it certainly changes the face of the East: the Raptors and Pacers have “agreed in principle” to swap T.J. Ford for Jermaine O’Neal. The Pacers will also receive Rasho Nesterovic as well as Toronto’s 17th overall pick. If this goes down, the Raps will have a front-line of O’Neal and Chris Bosh, which, assuming both players stay healthy, is downright scary.
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They actually complement each other pretty well too. So, then Bargnani plays the 3. Calderon gets PG all to himself. I have no idea who their 2 is though.
QD: The answer is Anthony Parker (decent 2 in my eyes with the rest of that lineup) if he doesn’t go back to playing overseas. I think that’s a great trade for both teams, really. Toronto had no need for Ford (especially his contract) and Indiana had given up on O’Neal. Both teams had pretty much already moved forward without the player they swapped out and all Toronto really gives up is Rasho. Toronto’s bench is still legitimate (though Primoz at backup C is iffy so they may want to keep Bargnani at backup C/6th man duty and keep Moon starting at 3 with Kapono as 7th/6th man).
Indiana gets a (presumably) long-term answer to their mess at PG. If Ford stays healthy, Indiana swings right back into serious contention for a playoff spot (a low one, mind you) with probable help coming in the form of their #11 and #17 picks. I think you can pretty much cross out D.J. Augustin at 11 with this move. This could be massive for Portland if Augustin falls to them at #13.
Now both teams still need to get a superstar.
/rimshot
Holy Toledo. I can’t believe Larry Bird actually made a decent move. Isn’t this his first in his entire term as Pacers GM? John Hollinger does a great job of breaking this down on ESPN and I completely agree with his analysis - a logical move for both teams.
That said, the Pacers will still be terrible. They’ll be very competitive for the Worst Defensive Team of the Year award.