T.J. Ford

Pacers coach Jim O'Brien is not enamored by Ford and would love to have him off the team. Unfortunately for the coach, Ford did not accept the team's buyout offer and will be rostered for the 2010-11 season. The acquisition of Darren Collison means O'Brien won't have to give Ford too many minutes. Prior to Collison, the team was considering other point guard options, even though Ford was the best option. Now that the starter is set and Ford's going nowhere, O'Brien may be more inclined to give him 15 minutes a night, spelling Collison. At some juncture, Ford could be sent packing in a trade.

An offseason trade moved Ford from a job-sharing situation in Toronto to a full-time starting role in Indiana. The Pacers seemed an excellent fit for Ford; coach Jim O’Brien – a Rick Pitino disciple – favors a fast-paced attack, and Ford, when healthy, is one of the fastest players in the game. Unfortunately, things didn’t go exactly as planned. Ford hit a new career-high scoring average with 14.9 points per game, but simultaneously set a new career-low in assists (5.3) and periodically lost his starting job to journeyman Jarrett Jack. But it may be unfair to blame Ford exclusively for the Pacers’ struggles on the offensive end. Indiana was hit hard by injuries last season, losing key players like Mike Dunleavy Jr., Danny Granger, Troy Murphy and others for extended stretches. If the Pacers’ overall health improves, Ford’s numbers should as well. Of course, health is always an issue with Ford, whose injury history is one of the more dramatic – and terrifying – in the NBA. Ford has a condition called spinal stenosis that makes him vulnerable to severe injury. He missed the entire 2004-05 season with a spinal injury, and lost significant portions of two other seasons.

For the second time in his five-year career, Ford was sidelined by a spinal injury in 2007-08. Though not as severe as the spinal-cord injury that cost him more than a year of NBA time in 2004-05, the spinal stenosis injury of last season limited him to 51 games for the Raptors. Given good health, his move from the Raptors to the Pacers should boost Ford’s value. He no longer has to share the position with Jose Calderon and enters training camp as the starter. Ford is a very good ball handler and one of the quickest players in the league, which should come in handy in coach Jim O’Brien’s wide-open, hurry-up offense. The Pacers were fourth in the league in FGA/game (85.3), so there will be lots of opportunities for assists. He’s not much of an outside shooter, but the Pacers are loaded with guys that can hit from the perimeter. With that kind of spacing, Ford will find his scoring chances on drives.

Many observers thought that Bryan Colangelo’s first major trade as Raptors GM was a huge mistake, as impressive rookie Charlie Villanueva was sent to the Bucks for Ford. The deal proved to be a steal for Toronto, however, as Villanueva battled injuries in Milwaukee while Ford thrived in the Raptors’ Suns-styled offense. One of the fastest players in the league, Ford is still learning how to use his speed to maximum effect on the court, but Ford still finished sixth in the NBA in assists (7.9 per game) last season while setting career highs with 14.0 points per game and, more importantly, 75 games played. With Calderon available to spell him liberally Ford doesn’t need to pace himself, a big reason why he was able to have a career year despite playing over five minutes less per game than he had the season before with the Bucks. As the back injury that cost him the ’04-’05 season fades in his rearview mirror Ford seems poised to develop into one of the league’s best point guard options.

If you trade a second-year power forward like Charlie Villanueva straight up for a 6-1 point guard with a terrifying injury history… you’d better be sure that point guard is the goods. Apparently Bryan Colangelo is sure, because he made T.J. Ford a centerpiece of his roster. On paper, Ford is a nice fit. He’s in the conversation with Tony Parker and Allen Iverson for the “quickest guard in the league” title, and has the pass-first mentality that should help him adapt to the Phoenix Suns/Euroleague-style offense being installed for Toronto. Steve Nash has done pretty well in a similar offense, as you may remember. But that’s the best-case scenario… don’t forget that Ford also has a spinal condition that almost knocked him out of the league not very long ago, and proceed with at least some caution.

Two years ago, Ford burst on the scene as a lightning-quick distributor and scorer, dishing out 6.5 assists per game as a rookie before a spinal injury sidelined him. He missed the end of that season and all of the 2004-05 campaign, but has recently been cleared to return to play. Assuming he’s healthy, he could be a bigger addition for the Bucks than number one overall pick Andrew Bogut.

If Ford recovers fully from his offseason back surgery, he could rank several places higher than this, as he showed great potential as a playmaker last season, putting up 6.5 apg. Ford shot just 38 percent last season, but could improve on that with experience. Watch the preseason news to see how Ford is recovering; if he's doing well, stash him on your bench and see how he does.

Ford will get a good deal of playing time at the point for the Bucks, who traded away Sam Cassell and lost Gary Payton to free agency. Ford is a smaller guard with quickness, but has not shown a very good shooting touch in college. Look for him to be more of a playmaker and less of a scorer during his first season in the NBA.