Seeking to improve its rebounding and interior defence, Toronto traded T. J. Ford, Radoslav Nesterović, Maceo Baston, and the draft rights to Roy Hibbert to the Indiana Pacers in return for six-time NBA All-Star Jermaine O'Neal and the draft rights to Nathan Jawai [REF].
On 3 December 2008, with the Raptors posting an 8-9 record 17 games into the season, Raptors' head coach Sam Mitchell was fired and replaced by longtime assistant Jay Triano on an interim basis [REF].