Jermaine O'Neal

The trade was finalized on July 9, 2008.<br /><br /> The personal accomplishments don't matter. I understand what I need to do for this team to be successful and sometimes they're not going to need me to score.<br /><br /> O'Neal was given jersey #6 for the Raptors since his number with the Pacers (#7) was already owned by Andrea Bargnani. While he was expected to combine with Toronto's three-time All-Star Chris Bosh to form a strong frontcourt and provide greater rebounding and interior defense for the Raptors, O'Neal's arrival was dwarfed by the Elton Brand signing pulled off by division rivals Philadelphia. O'Neal wasted no time in imposing his style on his new team: in the season opener at Philadelphia, he pointed to hecklers in the home crowd after making a dunk; in the team's second game, Toronto's center blocked a dunk from Golden State's Brandan Wright and thereafter waved a finger, as though to say "Don't come back here again." Even so, it took O'Neal some time to find his offensive game: he reached the 20-point mark just twice in his first 23 games, before notching three straight thereafter. By the All-Star break, injuries had ruled the big man out for almost a quarter of Toronto's games, while Bargnani regained his starting spot with a streak of solid performances. This, coupled with the Raptors entering the break placed 14th in the conference and 13 games under .500, Toronto General Manager Bryan Colangelo looked to move O'Neal to bring in a wing player and free up the salary space. Read Less