i’m not willing to believe it as of now. I thought Kerr was smart.

What will the Suns do with Shaq?! On the other hand, if they trade Banks to the Heat, we’ll not only have the Minnesotta Celtics, but also the Miami Celtic Misfits. ;D

This will quite possibly be the worst trade ever if it happens. Unless Shaq can step into a time machine and be 5 years younger, and regain the mobility and athleticism that he’s lost, this deal just shouldn’t happen. And to give up an all-star like Marion for him—a guy who is possibly the most overlooked star in the league? Ridiculous.

I can’t help but think that this is just a knee-jerk reaction to the Lakers’ newfound size and length in the middle. But waiting on Shaq to slowly shuffle his way back and forth on the court is going to slow down their game…and ruin their identity as a team full of midsized athletes who play up-and-down basketball.

Well…. Nash would get Shaq the ball early and often.

Guys, there is more to the story. Kerr has to know that Marion is going to decline his player option which will then force Kerr to accept a sign-n-trade or lose the valuable salary slot. By making this trade not only does he maintain the salary slot but dumps Marcus Banks’ contract in the process AND as Jeff says…..it’s so crazy that is just may work!

I’ve never felt the Suns were a threat in the playoffs with their style and maybe Shaq has enough in the tank to be motivated for one final playoff run. The worst case is that they don’t lose Marion for nothing….they maintain the slot for future trade flexibility.

That’s very insightful, HRB! It was clear that Phoenix was about as happy with Marcus Banks running the point as…well, as the Celtics were. And if Marion was going to decline his option anyway? It’s all slowly revealing itself.

This, if true, is a good trade for both teams. Both teams get players who probably won’t help. The main beneficiary of all this is Mark Blount who will probably be the starter for Miami. And I thought Phoenix was trying to dump salary by dealing Marion. Anyway I don’t think it affects us.

i agree with BeeBeard that the west is reacting to the lakers trade. this possible trade just tells you how dangerous la is going to be.

I love it! Shaq might be the (big) round peg in the square hole for Phoenix, and since I am not a Suns fan that works for me.

For those of you who have read :07 Seconds or Less by Jack McCallum, it is not that shocking to see Marion being dealt for less than his athletic/basketball par value. Though he is not a T.O. caliber locker room cancer, he certainly has his fair share of personality deficiencies. It would seem to me that the combination of Marion’s contract situation, personality and the Lakers’ moves as of late all form some sort of logic as to why Phoenix is going to make this deal. The Lakers will have a huge lineup when they get Bynum back.

Still don’t entirely think this deal makes sense (I think they could get more for Marion, but then again, what do I know), so I am intrigued as to how this will play out.

HRB said:
  Guys, there is more to the story. Kerr has to know that Marion is going to decline his player option which will then force Kerr to accept a sign-n-trade or lose the valuable salary slot. By making this trade not only does he maintain the salary slot but dumps Marcus Banks’ contract in the process AND as Jeff says…..it’s so crazy that is just may work!

I’d go the opposite way. I’d say Kerr is trading Marion because he knows Marion is using his player option and taking 16m of his money that could be used to build a contender. He doesn’t want to pay Marion, not worth the money.

No, Jeff, you’re not the only one.

Jeff said:
  am I the ONLY one that thinks it could work for the Suns? Shaq doesn’t have to run, the rest of the team can get out on the break – all Shaq has to do is rebound and pound the ball into the basket when the other guys stop running – in fact, if they play the same style of ball, he’ll only have to pound the ball half the game anyway – so it actually might work

I don’t think Phoenix can play the same way. They can continue their running game no problem, they’ve already decreased that a fair bit over the last couple of years anywawy. But their whole half court offense has to drasticly change. They can’t run their high pick and roll offense anymore because Shaq can’t do it. Shaq won’t affect their running game though, no team needs 5 guys filling the lanes. 3 is plenty and the Suns have 4. Their running game will be fine.

I wonder what D’Antoni is thinking right now

For reasons that are clear, Shaq doesn’t fit offensively with the Suns. He can’t run anymore. He can’t shoot. He still was groaning about his touches in Miami, and you think he’s going to accept life as the fourth, maybe fifth, option at times? There’s little evidence to suggest Shaq simply will embrace the role of defensive stopper that the Suns so desperately want of him.

Do you think Shaq will be content with rebounding and throwing outlets to start fast breaks, never to be rewarded on the offensive end? Alonzo Mourning did it late in his Miami career

A lot of writers right now are writing this. Ignore it. It’s nonsense.

They traded for Shaq. They didn’t trade for a defensive demon. If they wanted that they would have traded for Ben Wallace or Sammy Dalembert. But they choose Shaq. Shaq’s D will be part of it but he’s going to be involved offensively, at least GM Steve Kerr wants Shaq involved offensively. And Shaq involved is Shaq being one of the top options. Nash can score just as much playing off of people, same with Grant Hill and that’s Raja’s game already. So Shaq’s likely the second option behind Amare. Barbosa is going to have to take over the backup point so he’ll be less involved scoring wise also, although still very involved, but he’ll have to let others score more than before.

They didn’t trade for Shaq just so he could be a defensive stopper

Wow. This is probably the worst trade I’ve ever heard of. Just incredibly stupid. I wonder if Kerr (and our esteemed host) has watched Shaq play this year. He is incredibly bad. Nash can’t change that. And they are going to pay him forty million over two years to avoid paying Marion sixteen for one? Wow. Just amazing.

If the idea is to get someone who can stop Duncan, they should try to get back Kurt Thomas or someone like that. Or trade Stoudamire, who is undoubtedly the worst defensive, and overall most overrated, “superstar” in the league, for Rasheed Wallace. Besides, Shaq can’t stop Duncan. Shaq’s never been a defensive player and now he can barely get down the court.

This move is tantamount to announcing the end of the Steve Nash era, and they are not even saving any money in the process. If I were Nash, I’d go on strike, or retire. This is preposterous.

Besides, Shaq can’t stop Duncan. Shaq’s never been a defensive player and now he can barely get down the court.

Shaq has had a lot of success against Tim Duncan in the past. He bothers TD. Whether he still can …. ehh … somewhat would be my best guess. After all he held his own against Yao and Dwight earlier in the year but nightly over 7 games … some nights very good some nights so-so. That’s not bad when Timmy has single handidly killed Phoenix in the past.

Also worth noting Al Jefferson kicked Phoenix’s behind all over the shop in the paint. It’s been a regular thing to see Phoenix get lit up inside. For all their improvement defensively, none of it has come in the form of interior defense. Shaq’s mere presence helps. It would also help to have a head coach who doesn’t order a slow footer 7 footer to take charges instead of blocking shots. Ain’t any player in this league who welcomes physical contact with the Diesel, not even LeBron.

It’s also worth noting that both Amare Stoudemire and Steve Nash have been very agreeable to this deal. Both were very complimentary of adding Shaquille and both sounded desperate to add a defensive presence inside to help them win. Both guys were in favour of this deal. Tells it’s own story really ….

East Valley Tribune has their quotes. Their site won’t load for me right now so I can’t post them but they’re there.

It’s also funny how quickly this happened after Phoenix lost against San Antonio. Kerr clearly didn’t think they could beat them in the future either. He has called Amare playing centre a ‘dis-serivce’ to Amare because of what he’s asked to do defensively.

I think this deal helps Phoenix beat San Antonio but does it make them more vulnerable against the other sides? Shaq’s D is nice when he doesn’t have too much much but what about on Memo Okur? They might have focused too much on beating San Antonio and not enough on whether they’ll still beat the underdogs. Hmmm … maybe.

D’Antoni is the X factor that decides whether this works or not.

It’s also worth noting that both Amare Stoudemire and Steve Nash have been very agreeable to this deal. Both were very complimentary of adding Shaquille and both sounded desperate to add a defensive presence inside to help them win. Both guys were in favour of this deal. Tells it’s own story really ….

East Valley Tribune has their quotes. Their site won’t load for me right now so I can’t post them but they’re there.

It’s also funny how quickly this happened after Phoenix lost against San Antonio. Kerr clearly didn’t think they could beat them in the future either. He has called Amare playing centre a ‘dis-serivce’ to Amare because of what he’s asked to do defensively.

I think this deal helps Phoenix beat San Antonio but does it make them more vulnerable against the other sides? Shaq’s D is nice when he doesn’t have too much much but what about on Memo Okur? They might have focused too much on beating San Antonio and not enough on whether they’ll still beat the underdogs. Hmmm … maybe.

D’Antoni is the X factor that decides whether this works or not.