None of us around here can believe it, but it appears that somehow, someway, the Phoenix Suns are a physical away from trading Shawn Marion for the aging and expensive Shaquille O'Neal. With our second major trade in less than a week seemingly imminent, it's definitely time for another roundtable.
Miss Gossip: The NBA: Where WTF?! Happens.
Matt Watson: Has the NBA collectively decided a run-and-gun offense can't win it all? First the ridiculousness of Golden State picking up C-Webb (and proclaiming him a starter the rest of the way) and now this. What's next, the Nuggets trading for Zydrunas Ilgauskas?
Ty Keenan: Is this a joke? Seriously? Does Jack McCallum need to re-title the book 24 Seconds or Less? Does D'Antoni have any idea how to deal with this new roster? Why would Sarver agree to pay Shaq this much when he refuses to keep first rounders? I'm really struggling to find any legitimate argument for this one from the Suns' point of view.
Gossip: Maybe he's coming on as a player-coach?
Will Brinson: Now that would be awesome.
Tom Ziller: Honestly, I don't know if I can watch basketball anymore. Do you think Steve Nash already owns a wheelbarrow, or should we purchase one for him?
Gossip: Seriously though, tomorrow we're going to see the premiere of a new T-Mobile commercial and Barkley is going to be on the phone with his Fave Five: Wade, Shaq, Riley, Kerr, and the Miami Herald reporter, and they're all plotting this hilarious practical joke.
Watson: So just how much cap space will Miami have next year? With Shaq ($20 million) gone, Marion ($16.4) most likely opting out, Jason Williams ($8.9), Ricky Davis ($6.8) and Alonzo Mourning ($2.7) expiring, they're suddenly in position to be a free-spender. Toss in a lottery pick like Michael Beasley or Derrick Rose and this team could be contending again next year. Wow.
Ziller: My back-of-the-napkin math suggests Miami will be at around $42 million in payroll, including the high draft pick. That puts them in better position than Memphis or Philadelphia. Plus, they have Dwyane Wade.
Keenan: Can we get a pool going for the first time Shaq vomits during a game? Or, to take another angle, for the first time he stays at one end of the court for five consecutive possessions. Will Marion make the Heat too good to get a Top 3 pick? Even if he doesn't, I think this has to work out extremely well for them. If Marion leaves, they have that cap space Matt mentions; if he stays, they're really just a serviceable big man from being legit again in the East.
Brinson: Yeah I'm not sold that they're completely out of the playoffs this year. They're still bad so they probably won't but being 8-34 and "only" 10 games out of a playoff spot could be worse. Right?
Keenan: Not to backtrack too much, but I don't think Matt's point about the death of running can go untouched. I'm of the opinion that the Suns' magic has been gone for a while, but their mere presence certainly caused more teams to think of running as legitimate path to contender status. Now, I'm not so sure. As a staunch proponent of that kind of basketball, this trade really saddens me.
Brinson: I'm going to take the stupid contrarian point of view here and say the deal isn't that bad for the Suns, in terms of the immediate future (which matters a lot more when you think about the fact that Steve Nash is somehow 34 years old). It doesn't make a lot of sense in terms of how the front office normally behaves, but they dump malcontent Shawn Marion and they get some defense in Shaq. Plus, I think it somehow gives them more lineup flexibility than they had before and Nash/Bell/Hill/Diaw/Amare is nothing to sneeze at. Diaw in particular has been playing much better, but he hasn't been getting minutes so no one has realized it just quite yet. He's going to go off. In the end though, if they fall short of a championship this year, the deal is a failure.
For the Heat, it's like Christmas. Only if the Super Bowl was being played that day. And HoverBoards really existed. They immediately improve their team and dump their most detrimental cap issue in Shaq's 40 large over two years. Again, taking the "smart" angle here, but at 10 games out, I'm not calling off the 2008 playoffs just quite yet (and will boast outlandishly if they make it). But let's say they keep not being good and Marion doesn't work out. No harm, no foul as he opts out and they lure one (or more?) stud free agents to South Beach. Where I here things are fun and Dwyane Wade is already a decent starting piece.
Brett Edwards: At this point, the trade's still in the "imminent" stage, so I'm holding out until it's officially a done deal ... mainly because I'm freaking out. But seriously, who's to say Shaq will actually pass the physical? Either way, this is madness. The possibility of a Suns/Lakers playoff series featuring Shaq versus Kobe for seven games? My head is going to explode. Prediction: If/when this trade does happen, the Suns will play approximately 60% of their offensive possessions 4 on 5 as they wait for Shaq to lumber down the floor.
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
2-06-2008 @ 3:22AM
j. said...
"Does D'Antoni have any idea how to deal with this new roster?"
Doesn't it seem like they're likely to just replace D'Antoni at this point?
I think the Suns should bite the bullet and trade Nash for Kidd now.
Reply
2-06-2008 @ 3:24AM
Miss Gossip said...
I was wondering the same thing about D'Antoni. But ... why why why???
Reply
2-06-2008 @ 5:50AM
Raskolnikov said...
Steve Kerr also slathers chocolate sauce on his foie gras.
Reply
2-06-2008 @ 6:29AM
nickstoli said...
If it were just for this year, or if the next two years were at the veteran's minimum salary, I'd say it's a great trade. But this year and then two more at $20 mil a season? This will go down as one of the big blunders of all time. This would be like a team trading for LaDanian Tomlinson when he's 35.
Reply
2-06-2008 @ 7:35AM
DAS said...
This might motivate Shaq again.
Reply
2-06-2008 @ 10:48AM
frank said...
Like in boxing styles make the fight well the running style of the suns will be a little off for an aging superstar like Shaq you can bank on it .
Reply
2-06-2008 @ 10:52AM
Bob said...
I love it! Phoenix is desperate. They know even with the team they have (and they do have a decent team), they cannot win the West and beat Dallas, San Antonio or the Lakers in a 7 game series. Phoenix is pushing the panic button after what the Lakers pulled off (who now have a better balanced team, now they got rid of the slug-Kwame Brown aka: Benoit Benjamin).
Now, are the Suns going to break up their team to obtain a washed and older Shaq? He can't run with their present offense! Are the Suns willing to change their style of play? Can you imagine Shaq at the free throw line at the closing minutes of the game? I can't see Shaq running the floor with present Suns offense. Bad move on their part!
Reply
2-06-2008 @ 11:03AM
black death said...
besides the heat, the only people that stand to benefit from this trade are the pheonix area custom suit tailors
Reply
2-06-2008 @ 11:24AM
sal cunningham said...
SHAQ IS THE LAZIEST ATHLETE OF ALL TIME!!
Reply
2-06-2008 @ 11:38AM
James said...
Shaq is the laziest athlete of all time. However, when he moved to Miami, he was re-invigorated for 1 or 2 years and he totally lost all motivation after they won the title..This move to the Suns will jump start him, allow him to start fresh, he is a lazy goofball, not a prima donna,,he will adopt to the new system, work hard, be positive and enthusiastic,,will be very interesting
Reply
2-06-2008 @ 11:39AM
Martin said...
The Lakers beat Phoenix twice when Bynum was playing and lost once after Bynum's injury. The Lakers and other teams have success pounding the ball inside against Phoenix. Since the Lakers have added Gasol and Bynum is expected to return before the playoffs, Phoenix knows that they have little chance of beating the Lakers in the playoffs with their present team. Nash isn't getting any younger and Phoenix only has a relatively small window to win a championship with him. Hence, I don't think the trade is a bad one for Phoenix, if Shaq is physically able to play for the rest of this season.
Reply
2-06-2008 @ 11:50AM
Bucky Wunderlick said...
In addition to thinking no way the Suns do this trade after a physical, I can't understand why the Suns would do this? I mean, as a Laker fan I'm happy to see them trade away Marion for an huge cap hit. But I always like Steve Kerr, and this will given as the first reason for his firing!
Reply
2-06-2008 @ 12:26PM
JeMarcus said...
Let's see: Shaq has won (4) rings, been to the NBA finals with (3) different teams, has won (3) finals MVPS, is one of only (3) players in NBA history to score over 5,000 career playoff points, is on the verge of passing the great JOHN HAVLECHECK in career points, averaged 20 or more points for (14) consecutive years, was named to the allstar team (14) consecutive years, a league MVP (should have been at least 3 times if not for the bias of the Media), named to the top 50 players of all time, and in recent years SACRIFICED HIS SCORING FOR THE WELL BEING OF THE TEAM (ala Wilt Chamberlain), and the most important point of all, WILL OWN ANDREW BYNUM AND PREVENT LAKER DOMINANCE IN THE MIDDLE OVER THE SUNS!!!!!! Anyone who does not think that this is a good trade should have their head examined. If anyone out there bothered to watch a Heat game, they would know that Shaq's numbers are down in large part because Reilly refuses to run offensive plays for him, and he is only taking 6-8 shots per game, with a field goal percentage of over 50% (third best in the league). Reilly even admitted to the media that he is responsible for Shaq's declining numbers as he has not been able to figure out how to get him involved in the offense. REILLY, HERE IS A CLUE: GET DWAYNE WADE TO PASS THE BALL AND SHAQ WOULD NOT BE IN THE POSITION HE IS TO GET TRADED. If the trade happens, all you pathetic Shaq bashers will be eating crow as Phoenix will win the NBA championship!!! Go Suns!!!
Reply
2-06-2008 @ 3:13PM
israel said...
Are you kidding? U just descibed the Shaq from the past. This is now and he is done. What about a retirement speech?
Reply
2-06-2008 @ 3:37PM
frank said...
The debate is not about Shaq been a great player like he was it is about NOW and what he has to offer in professional sports you have to sense when the book should be close and Shaq is ignoring such warnings so if that is the case let give him one final hurrah for his own amusement , good luck then and enjoy it where it last.
Reply
2-06-2008 @ 7:02PM
ANGEL RC said...
GUYS, WHAT IS GOING TO HAPPEN WITH THE RUNNING GAME?
Reply
2-06-2008 @ 8:04PM
John in d.c. said...
Hey, fellas. Kareen was over 40 and contributing to the Showtime Lakers. Shaq, while not Kareem, is among the league all-time 50. Great players, even in decline, help great teams, even if they don't necessarily fit their playing style. I say this is a go-for-broke, let's-win-this-thing-this-year move by Phoenix. Great GMs ALWAYS get their teams at least near the title (Atlanta Braves, New England Patriots, L.A. Lakers); merely good GMs take their best shot and hope for the best. This is one of those.
Reply
2-06-2008 @ 8:35PM
john dixon said...
I think Shaq will help Phownix. They are not winning the championship anyway. Shaq will pep up once he get with a team that has gunners around him. All he has to do now is rebound, put a big body on the oposing centers and laugh all the way to the bank. 'RIGHT ON SHAQ'
Reply
2-06-2008 @ 9:58PM
Matt said...
Let's put aside all the fan hype and just look at the facts that no one can dispute. He cannot jump, he cannot run, he cannot shoot, he can not defend, he cannot freethrow, and he cannot play more than 20 miutes a game,,,, so what can he do? he can definitly slow down a running team and ruin their continuity! Ya great move!!
Reply
2-06-2008 @ 10:51PM
AZJONES said...
Are you kidding. The Suns are leading their division. Why the desperation? Shaq is injured and old and expensive. Shawn Marion is one of the most versitile playes in the league. He runs the floor well, is a rebounding magician and plays good defense. He finds ways to score outside inside and mid range. Don't forget that Marcus Banks can give the aging Nash a little rest here and there. The Suns are also a fun team to watch and isn't what they sell entertainment? I don't get it!
Reply