Originally posted by Chad Ford
O'Neal
Expect target No. 1 to be Indiana's Jermaine O'Neal. O'Neal, who plans to visit San Antonio and possibly Dallas this week, will likely add Miami to his free-agent visit list, a source close to O'Neal told Insider.
The Pacers have remained confident throughout the free-agent process that O'Neal would ultimately return to Indiana. They're thinking, in large part, was based on the fact that they believed that O'Neal didn't want to play in the power forward-laden West and play second fiddle to Tim Duncan.
But if a prime job in the East opened up? O'Neal would join a team that has a nice combination of young talent and veterans. In Miami, he'd still have the role he desperately wants to keep -- the go-to guy on his team. Combine that with O'Neal's long standing desire to return to the south where he grew up (he's from South Carolina) -- and Pacers GM Donnie Walsh can start sweating a little. No scratch that. A lot.
