O'Neal ready to prove himself in Miami ... or elsewhere

There was a time not long ago when Jermaine O'Neal spent All-Star Weekend playing in the big game instead of playing the waiting game.

That was the stretch, from 2002-07 with the Indiana Pacers, when he was picked for the East roster and his value was as a vital part of the hoopla rather than as an expensive expiring contract.

Now, as the clock ticks closer to Thursday's trade deadline, the 31-year-old center's hopes are less about being an All-Star again than returning to a core role in Miami or wherever his next stop may be.

With Heat president Pat Riley reportedly an aggressive player in the market ahead of the deadline, O'Neal's $23 million contract that runs out at the end of the season makes him either a burden or a topic of interest in discussions.

"You deal with it," O'Neal said. "When you come into the season expecting to do certain things, especially when you're finally healthy, and it doesn't happen the way you want it happen, you have to stay under control and stay patient. You tell yourself that if it doesn't work out in this situation, at least other people around the league can see that you're healthy and can play and make a difference."

When O'Neal was shipped from Toronto to Miami before the trade deadline last season, the hope was that he could give the Heat a solid interior presence and an inside-out option to go with Dwyane Wade's transcendent perimeter game.

But with O'Neal in the middle, the Heat were bounced from the first round of the playoffs and are again swimming in mediocrity this season at 27-27.

There have been times when O'Neal has played aggressively and been a force. And times when he's simply blended into the woodwork and filled space running the floor.

"Obviously when I was brought here it was going to be to try to get things established with an inside-outside game," O'Neal said. "But basically, we're now a pick-and-roll team which is a dynamic in the NBA these days. A lot of teams are trying to do that and move the ball a little bit more.

"I tend to struggle in that kind of offense, because my comfort zone is in the low post. I'm able to score in the low post and make plays. But coach (Erik) Spoelstra has been really communicating with me and trying to find a way to assert that low post game with the pick and rolls. I know how important that is to this team. So you've got to stay professional, try to prepare yourself and when you get an opportunity look to score."

O'Neal has shown some frustration. He'll play passively and then complain when he doesn't get enough offensive chances.

"What comes first -- the chicken or the egg?" Spoelstra asked. "Is the ball just finding players and then they're making open shots? Or are you making the right play to get open and the ball finds you and the game is easier for everybody?"

O'Neal admits that he's often at a philosophical standoff with Spoelstra, yet says the lines of communication have remained open.

"That's one thing that myself and coach Spoelstra do. We talk a lot," O'Neal said. "Sometimes we don't see eye-to-eye. But you have to be businesslike and agree to meet each other halfway, not only for myself, but also for him as the coach of the team."

The emergence of second-year forward Michael Beasley -- whose name has also come up in trade talks -- has brought another offensive force down into the low post and it's affected O'Neal's game.

"So it's tough," he said. "There's D-Wade and Beasley and myself ... we're all guys that need the ball. There's only so many plays you can call for everybody. Some nights Beasley's going to have it going and you have to find ways to get it to him. In those times, we have me just standing out there and I'm a rhythm guy. It's proven that if you break down my stats, when I get touches per minute, I score at high rate."

In the past dozen games, O'Neal's numbers have risen to 16 points and 8.3 rebounds per night. Yet the Heat's are just 6-6 in that stretch, the kind of clip that might make it difficult to hang onto a playoff spot.

What's more, none of that does much to convince the free-agent-to-be Wade that Miami is close to returning to contender status. Riley has focused much of his effort into clearing out salary cap space to enable Miami to be a big player in the free-agent market this summer. But he could choose to start the reclamation project this week if he could reel in Amar'e Stoudemire from Phoenix.

Either way, it doesn't figure that O'Neal is in Miami's plans.

"I've tried to put my ego aside, do what's best for the team and tried to fit in as best as possible," he said. "But as I've said, if given an opportunity to score, I will score. I can score against anybody.

"It's frustrating. The biggest thing I've always told myself, especially at this point in my career, is to never listen to sports talk shows, never read the articles in the papers. Because it's never as good as it seems and it's never as bad as it seems.

"Since I came to Miami, I've always thought things could work out here. But if it doesn't, I know I can play and I can score. And I think other people around the league know that, too."

Source: NBA.com