Jermaine O’Neal wants to be a Laker.

J.O. tallied 19.4 points, 9.6 rebounds and 2.6 blocks per game last season as the Indiana Pacers missed the playoffs for just the second time in the last two decades.  (image courtesy of espn.com)

This is all fine and good, really.  O’Neal hasn’t delivered on his championship promises in Indianapolis, and despite the fact that he’s a really nice guy who’s great for the community, this overall lack of success here has to be grating on him.  An opportunity to play in a situation where he didn’t have to be the Alpha Dog, like with Kobe in L.A., would probably do him a world of good.  The Lakers have several pieces that the Pacers have been rumored to be interested in (Andrew Bynum, Luke Walton, etc.), so a deal there wouldn’t be entirely unlikely, considering the potential suitors.  Granted, the Pacers would have to eat a dog contract or two to make the dollars line up, but there are worse situations to be in when your team is rebuilding.  So I can see why O’Neal wants to go to L.A., and why the Pacers would like to send him there.

Of course, this would be a lot easier to do if he kept these thoughts to himself.  All J.O. did by making his heart’s desire known was take away any leverage the Pacers may have had in dealing him and getting, say, fifty cents on the dollar value-wise.  Painting the picture of the team’s President as a failed snake-oil salesman didn’t help anything, either.

So, Pacers fans, get ready to welcome Kwame Brown, Vlad Radmanovic and their bloated contracts to Indy, or the say hello again to the all-new, all-whinier-and-sulkier J.O. when a deal doesn’t get done, then say goodbye to him when his contract’s up after the season.  I’d feel worse for him, but he’s done it to himself.

Coming soon to Conseco Fieldhouse?  (image courtesy of, believe it or not, kwamebrown.org!  Hot crackers, the man’s getting posterized on his own website!!)