From Pacers.com
The big decision is looming but Jermaine O’Neal isn’t yet thinking about — or at least discussing publicly — whether he will opt out of the final two seasons of his contract to become a free agent this summer.
After a particularly frustrating season in which he missed 40 games due to a troublesome left knee injury and never really found a comfort level on coach Jim O’Brien’s up-tempo offensive scheme, O’Neal is first concerned with continuing to rebuild his health and ultimately his reputation as a predominant player.
“I just missed 40-something games, and I’m not concerned about any going off and trying to get another contract somewhere else or whatever,” O’Neal said after the Pacers beat the Knicks 132-123 to wrap up the 2007-08 season. “I’m concerned about my well-being and playing basketball. Basketball’s my life.
“I’m not going to fool you guys. I’m not going to say I’m happy about where I’m at. You can have all the money in the world but if your job isn’t going right then you’re not happy, and I had 2½ months to just really mental check. It’s just like reality to me, watching and seeing some of the things, some of my ability kind of slow down probably because of the knee injury, and one thing I was really positive about was that every doctor that I saw this past year said that I can get back and that’s one thing that I wanted to hear.”
The Pacers were 18-22 on Jan. 17 when recurring pain in the left knee diagnosed as a bone bruise sent O’Neal to the inactive list for what turned out to be a 33-game absence. While he was out, the team slipped to 30-43 and out of the playoff bracket in the East. Though the Pacers went 6-3 after his return on March 31, it wasn’t enough to prevent a second consecutive non-playoff season.
Though it was painful to sit out more than two months, O’Neal believes it will work out for the best in the long run. Not only did he regain his health, but the desire to re-establish himself. He averaged 13.6 points and 6.7 rebounds, the worst season overall of his eight with the Pacers.
“I got that hunger back,” he said. “I think sometimes you have to fail at a certain level to really recognize what you need to do and where you’re at in your career and I’m at a crossroads in my career. There’s a lot of people that seem to think I can get back and a lot of people who seem to think that I can’t get back, but I’m not really into trying to answer their questions. I’m into answering the questions for myself because as a competitor I don’t want to be looked at amongst my peers at the level that he should be.
“I’m going into my prime, and that’s what I want to be. I want to be dominant again and to really give myself a chance at being dominant again I have to really roll my sleeves up. It’s the first summer that I don’t have to rehab for two months. I’m very excited about that, but as far as this team has to go obviously it’s me and where I’m at, and I’m pretty sure the team’s going to take a look at me, the physical part of me, come June, July, August and see where I’m at, and I’m fully aware of that.”
If O’Neal does not opt out in advance of June 30, the Pacers must choose either to keep him in a redefined role or pursue a trade to open the door for Danny Granger and Mike Dunleavy to become the team leaders. If O’Neal does opt out, voiding two seasons valued at a reported $44 million, the team would have instant salary cap space — but team President Larry Bird doesn’t expect the latter.
“Business-wise, I don’t think he’ll opt out,” Bird said. “But you never know… I’m sure he’ll look at all of his options. We’ll look at all of ours. Throughout the summer, we’ll probably be talking to some teams and seeing what kind of interest they have in him. He hasn’t told us if he wants to stay here or if he wants to go somewhere else but there comes a time in any player’s basketball career that you want to try to do what’s best for yourself and for your team.”
O’Neal is fully aware of the possibilities. He spent quite a bit of time last summer defusing trade rumors involving the Pacers and Lakers that took flight when he attended a charity all-star game in Los Angeles and talked wistfully of what it would be like to play with good friend Kobe Bryant.
To O’Neal, the decision isn’t his alone but rather a joint venture. At age 29, with 12 seasons behind, O’Neal wants to see what Bird has in mind for the Indiana roster. If the Pacers undertake something of a rebuilding project, he would be less inclined to stay. If they believe things can be around more quickly, O’Neal might prefer to remain in Indiana.
“I’ve always stated that if this team put themselves in a better position by moving me then that’s what it is, and I feel indebted to this city,” O’Neal said. “I feel indebted to (co-owner) Herb Simon … I know you guys (media representatives) are ready to start rolling up again, getting the talk shows ready to start rolling again about where I’m going to end up and I think I could very well be back here. It just totally depends on what the organization wants to do and the direction that they want to go in.”
