<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">Now things get interesting. With just a few days left in the regular season and the contenders separating themselves from the pretenders, people want to start yapping. Players, coaches, agents and NBA executives are starting to vent. There?s talk of several teams being dismantled this summer and several superstar players perhaps being available for the right combination of current players, draft picks and cap relief. It all adds up to a deliciously maddening summer for people like us, who have to keep up with all this stuff for work or enjoy monitoring the speculation as a guilty pleasure (anyone for spending their free time doing charity work or searching for world peace? I didn?t think so.). The most intriguing thing I?ve read or heard so far is that Indiana All-Star big man Jermaine O?Neal might be available this summer. I know people have talked about Kevin Garnett, Allen Iverson and of course just about every player on the Knicks? roster being available. But O?Neal is the guy that could really be the linchpin for a summer free for all if the Pacers are serious about moving him. In my estimation O?Neal, like Garnett and Iverson, is too valuable to move because there is absolutely no way to receive adequate compensation in return. He?s still a young guy that can elevate a team trying to get to the next level, a team like maybe the Hawks. In addition to that, O?Neal is from Columbia, S.C., tremendously familiar with Atlanta and the kind of engaging and personality that can help energize a fan base. Imagine for a minute a team built around the inside presence of O?Neal and the perimeter mastery of Joe Johnson. Wicked, huh? OK, imagine a team built around KG and Joe Johnson or a backcourt with AI and Joe Johnson. You get my point. Now I know I?ve championed subtle tweaks to this team for months now, but at the same time I don?t think the potential of a major acquisition can be ignored. The price will be high and the risk great. But the potential rewards could mean an end to the Hawks? seven-year postseason swoon.</div> Source
