Last month I posted about why it would be a great move for the Raptors to pull the trigger on a Jermaine O’Neal for Shawn Marion trade. Today, ESPN is reporting that trade has materialized with Jamario Moon and Marcus Banks as spare parts.

For Miami, this gets them into the second round of the playoffs, in my opinion. JO works way better in their system than the Raptors. The addition of the Moon is considered a steal to some, but he’s a free agent at the end of the year and could come back to Toronto if there’s a need, but he’d have to be a smarter player than he is now.

For the Raptors though, there is a lot of back and forth about whether this trade works out for Toronto. The reality is this season is out of reach and the Raptors are better off getting a lottery pick in this draft class then next year, which by the way was traded to Miami in this deal (lottery=protected however).

One argument I won’t accept is that the Raptors screwed themselves out of next year’s free agency bonanza by giving up JO’s big contract and potentially re-signing Marion or a bunch of filler in this offseason. Bryan Colangelo will have to draft right and sign right, while also saving that caproom for next summer, but Toronto is still in good shape. The reason why is the same guys they would be looking at in the 2010 group to surround Bosh, Calderon and Bargnani remains the same with only a few exceptions. Here’s the breakdown:

Guy’s Colangelo was never going to get in 2010, even if JO came off the books in 2010:

Paul Pierce
LeBron James
Dirk Nowitzki
Yao Ming
Manu Ginobli
Dwyane Wade
Brandon Roy
Amare Stoudemire

Guys Colangelo will be looking this summer, if Marion doesn’t resign:

Marvin Williams
Josh Childress
Ben Gordon
Brandon Bass
Linas Kleiza
Johan Petro
Jamal Crawford (ETO)
Marcus Williams
C.J. Watson
Ron Artest
Trevor Ariza
Lamar Odom
Ramon Sessions
Desmond Mason
Hedo Turkoglu
Ike Diogu
Matt Barnes
Carlos Delfino
Ronnie Price
Carlos Boozer
Paul Milsap
Mehmet Okur

Guys Colangelo could have got in 2010, but are broken or wouldn’t fit long-term anyhow:

Ray Allen
Tracy McGrady
Marcus Camby
Steve Nash
Brad Miller
Peja Stojakavic

Here’s the important one…

Guys Colangelo would be in play for and won’t get now because of this trade:

Joe Johnson
LeMarcus Aldridge
Richard Jefferson
Michael Redd
Kenyon Martin
Josh Howard
T.J. Ford

And the good news…

Guys Colangelo will probably look at in 2010:

Travis Outlaw
Tyson Chandler
Rajon Rondo
Raja Bell
John Salmons
Maurice Evans
Gabe Pruitt
Tony Allen
Thabo Sefolosha
Terence Kinsey
J.J. Barea
Renaldo Balkman
Amir Johnson
Kelenna Azubuike
Carl Landry
Luis Scola
Jordan Farmar
Josh Powell
Rudy Gay
Mike Miller
Rasual Butler
Steve Blake
Roger Mason
Ronnie Brewer
DeShawn Stevenson

So to Raptor fans, there are no guarantees, but this trade certainly isn’t a step backward.