Pacers' J. O'Neal: 'We're a Very Average Team'

If you haven't been following the Pacers this season, let me quickly break it down for: They win a game. They lose a game. They win a few games. They lose a few more. Then they win again. Then they lose. But then they-- look, they're inconsistent, OK? They're ridiculously inconsistent and the up-and-down rollercoaster ride is really starting to make Jermaine O'Neal sick. From the Indy Star:

"We're a very average team right now," O'Neal said. "We're going to be average until we decide as players that we want to win and do the right things we're supposed to do to win. If we don't do it, we're going to mingle around .500, get in the playoffs and then be out."

Want to hear the funny/sad part about that quote? O'Neal's right. In fact, if the Pacers don't finish the season with 40-to-45 wins, land the 6th or 7th seed in the playoffs, and then lose their first round match-up to either a Cleveland or a Detroit or a Chicago ... I'll shave my hair. (And let me tell you, I have an ugly shaped head.) But no, it's true: that's exactly how the Pacers season will unfold. They'll probably lose in six, too.

But forget about the Pacers mediocrity for a second -- which was really just O'Neal venting following a tough loss to the Mavs anyways. It's JO's next couple of quotes that really hold the heavy:

"If I can't take this team to another level, I truthfully believe we should go our separate ways at the end of the season," said O'Neal, who added his first choice is to remain with the Pacers. "I'm saying in general, the bottom line is you play to win. If we don't have a system set to win a championship, if we don't have the crew to win a championship, then what are we doing?

"I'm getting to the point, I'm in my 11th year, I don't want to play 82 games and then exit to watch somebody else pop champagne. . . . I'm tired of that. I want to compete for a championship. If we can't do it, that's a whole (different) story."

Uh-oh, sounds like someone's getting a case of the old championship-shot itch. So should Pacers be worried? Pacers Insider Mike Wells says, yes and no.

While Wells doesn't necessarily think the Pacers will try and trade JO before the deadline, he does see a possible move come this summer. Why? Because:

O'Neal can opt out of his contract at the end of the 2007-08 season. If he does that, the Pacers could lose their best player without getting anything in return.