GRADE: A
The Raptors fill their biggest weakness with the acquisition of Jermaine O'Neal, who provides interior offense, toughness, rebounding and shot blocking. Now provided he's healthy, it gives Bosh some much needed support, and a frontourt that will keep defenders honest. TJ Ford was out the door, and J.O. is night and day compared to the since departed Rasho Nesterovic, Maceo Baston was never a factor, and while we lose the #17 pick, we're already a much improved squad.
O'Neal has a lot to prove, he claims he's healthy, and he wasn't getting along with Larry Bird, he needed a change of scenery, and is out to show that he's still the 20 and 10 player we remember. The Raptors get a player that can make a significant impact right away, as opposed to whatever talent we would have picked up at #17, and we gave up very little to get it, (plus, we move Bargnanni back to the bench). With the 41st pick, we nabbed Nathan Jawali, a young big bodied Aussie, (6'10", 280 lbs), with good footwork, not expected to come in right away, but will definitely contribute.
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