By Marc Stein ESPN.com Sometimes you have to make room for two one-on-ones in a single Weekend Dime. This would be one of those times: Jermaine O'Neal granting us a State Of The Pacers address as Indiana inches closer to a Ron Artest trade that will formally end a relationship that O'Neal says "we both know has ended." Stein: It has been three weeks since Ron publicly demanded a trade. Do you and your teammates need a trade to happen soon to really move on? O'Neal: He doesn't practice with us. We don't see him at all. We talked about it when this first came up, but nobody's worried about that. On Ron's behalf, I would hope that they move pretty fast so he can move on and start playing again. I don't wish anything bad for him. At the same time, I know Donnie [Walsh] is the best CEO in sports. He's going to take his time to do the best thing for this franchise. Stein: Artest later rescinded his request and asked the Pacers to keep him. You responded by saying "we can never play together again" and management agreed. Can you elaborate? O'Neal: I like Ron as a person. I care about him as a person. I don't think there's any bad feelings between us, but he understands my position. I went to bat for him [last season] just like I'm going to bat for this team now. We took a vote and every player said they prefer to move on. I've got to back the team and that's something I told him. It's not just me. That's a bridge you cannot cross, when you start talking about playing with other players and playing for other teams. Stein: No Pacer was willing to let him come back and try again one more time? O'Neal: No. Stein: How awkward was it when you finally did speak with Ron after his trade request? O'Neal: I've only had one chance to talk to him this whole time, but it wasn't awkward. We sat down for at least three, four hours. At first I thought, "We've been through all this and you haven't called me or anything?" But that meeting wasn't anything to do with basketball [or reconciling]. I wanted to try to understand what was bothering him. He had some issues that he never really addressed. That's the big problem with Ron. He has issues and he doesn't tell anybody what his issues are, and then he [eventually] gets so frustrated that he does things and says things that he regrets after. Stein: First he said he's frustrated with his role and coach Rick Carlisle's system and wants to be traded so he can leave all his baggage behind. Now he says he wants to stay. Do you think, deep down, that he really never wanted to be traded? O'Neal: I really don't think so. I don't think it was even really [frustration with] his role. Every player is going to be talked about in trades. That doesn't mean they're going to trade you, but I think he heard that the Pacers might have been talking about trading him. I don't know if they were or not, but he took it a little personal and he ended up saying something and really overdoing it. I don't think he realized how deep he was putting himself in it until he did it. Coming off last year, it wasn't the best thing to do. The city didn't take to it too well, obviously, and the organization didn't take to it very well, and definitely the players didn't take to it very well. Especially coming off a season where the city and organization and your teammates totally backed you. Stein: Do you feel now like all that support went to waste? O'Neal: I went through a lot personally but I don't regret any of that. That's what I do -- my loyalty is for the guys that are here. Stein: There have been rumblings that Indiana explored trading you to Toronto for Chris Bosh in the off-season. Why hasn't that unsettled you more? O'Neal: You should only worry about what you can control. If I am [traded], I am. But you'd have to be an absolute fool to feel that you're untouchable. Look at Shaq, the most dominant player ever. Moved. My thing is that I want to get better every single day and lead the Pacers to a championship. That's my focus. If there comes a time where the Pacers feel they can get something younger or better for me, I've got to go with it and try to make another team better. Stein: What happens to the Pacers now? O'Neal: We feel like we can hold the fort. We feel like we can still make things happen, still be very competitive, still compete for a championship. I know the rest of the world doesn't see it that way, but we're going to give ourselves a chance every single night with our team defense. People forget that we took Detroit to Game 6 [last spring] with almost no team. We almost won 50 games in spite of everything that happened, and I think Rick should have been Coach of the Year for that. We want to prove again we can win without Ron. http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/dailydime?pa...e-051230-060101
