This week, a trade the Indiana Pacers made with the Toronto Raptors before the 2008 draft becomes official, ending the Jermaine O'Neal era. In exchange for O'Neal, the Pacers are getting several new faces, a couple of expiring contracts, and the fresh start they've needed since the first punch was thrown at the Palace of Auburn Hills.
A lot has been written about the O'Neal trade since it was announced, especially about point guard T.J. Ford. You may have gotten the impression that he's injury prone, since he's been carried off the court on a stretcher not once but twice in his young NBA career. You might think he has an attitude problem that forced the Raptors to ship him out just to restore harmony to the locker room.
Speaking as a Toronto Raptors fan living in Indianapolis, I think my team made a mistake trading T.J. Ford. Here's what Pacer fans can expect from their new point guard:
He's lightning fast. Ford can get across the court in the time it takes some players to recognize play has even started. He has a talent for finding the open man and exploiting the other teams' defenses, and he rarely turns the ball over. He can make his own shot and can take over a game. Ford isn't the greatest shooter in the league, but he is better than his opponents give him credit for and he has absolutely no fear. When the game is on the line, T.J. will take the big shot. I've seen him singlehandedly win games in the fourth quarter on several occasions. As for the injuries, although he's missed significant periods of time due to two separate injuries, in both cases he came back just as fast, focused and fearless as before.
So why, you're asking, would Toronto part with a quick, talented, young point guard with a reasonable contract? Two words: Jose Calderon.
Formerly Toronto's back up point guard, Jose took over the starting job when T.J. went out with an injury in December of 2007. Calderon did an excellent job as starting point guard. Maybe too good. All of a sudden, people were questioning who deserved the starting spot more. Was Jose too good to be coming off the bench? How long would he be willing to back up T.J.? Jose's contract was up at the end of the season, would he leave Toronto to start elsewhere?
When T.J. returned from injury, he volunteered to come off the bench until he got back into game shape. It seemed like a good idea, but Ford wasn't suited to playing a back up role. He tried to do too much, forcing shots, not sharing the ball. The worst part was to the fans he seemed to be sulking, not really trying. In Toronto sports there is no greater sin than not giving 110% -- just ask Vince Carter.
The Raptors went into free fall, in danger of dropping out of the playoff race. Jose went to the coaching staff and said he'd return to the bench if it would help the team. And if there's one thing Toronto fans love, it's a hard working player who puts aside his ego for the good of the team. In the minds of many people, Jose Calderon was the selfless, team-first hero, while T.J. Ford was the spoiled, ego-driven villain.
I'm not saying T.J. couldn't have handled himself better during his return from injury. I remember screaming a the television during one game where he took something like 15 consecutive shots, almost none of which went in. But I also don't think ego is such a bad quality to have in your players. Frankly, I'd rather have a guy on my team that believes he can beat the buzzer to make the game winning three pointer than one who looks for the open guy to tie the score.
By the time Toronto was eliminated in the first round of the playoffs, the writing was on the wall: T.J. was done as a Raptor. He spent crucial minutes in the fourth quarters of the playoffs nailed to the bench. Toronto informed Ford they planned to trade him in the off season. Eventually, after discussions with several teams, a deal was reached with Indiana.
T.J. Ford has had a couple of bad injuries in his career, but he's come back from both of them strong. He may be one bad hit from early retirement, but which NBA player isn't? As for his attitude problems, I think they were a unique combination of circumstances unlikely to repeat themselves in his new home.
Toronto's loss is Indiana's gain. I think Pacer fans are going to be really happy with that T.J. Ford brings to the team in the 2008-09 season.
