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Last updated on Wednesday, June 25, 2008
(INDIANAPOLIS, IN) - Indiana Pacers President Larry Bird says he is trying to make a deal for another first-round pick as the NBA Draft looms on Thursday.
Bird met with the media Tuesday, declining to address a rumored deal that would send six-time all-star Jermaine O'Neal to Toronto for point guard TJ Ford, center Rasho Nesterovic and the Raptor's first-round pick - number 17 overall.
Toronto would have to throw in another player to make that deal work salary cap-wise. O'Neal has two years remaining on his current contract which will cost Indiana $21.3 million dollars this year and just under $23 million next season.
The Pacers own the eleventh and 41st picks and Bird says while the Pacers need a point guard and a big man, he will take the best player available when it is time to pick.
Bird feels that this is a deep draft and that depth will give him several options as far as trading up, trading down or exchanging a current pacer player for a pick.
Bird says he is looking for a players who will make an immediate impact and that every Pacer player except Danny Granger and Mike Dunleavy are available in trades.
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