[Miami Herald] Shaq-Marion Deal In Works (UPDATE: Done Deal)

If kerr really does this, he deserves to be axed on the spot. Shaq is injury prone, can't play big minutes anymore, and will bog down their offense. Then add on his contract.

Marion can fetch you a better fit or keep the guy who is a great fit in a run/gun style.

 

Which even highlights the more why this trade is bad for Phoenix. They get a better post defender at the expense of losing a great all around defender. Overall defensive minus. They lose team speed. They lose their best fast breaker. Kurt Thomas used to be able to space the floor for them -- when defenders would cheat off of him to help on the Nash/Amare PnR, he could punish them by draining that 18-foot jumper. Shaq has zero range outside of 8 feet. He has no choice but to clog up the paint or be a non-factor on offense. There goes your go-to half court play, gone. No more Marion to space the floor for you. Three point shooting gets impacted. So maybe you want to run vanilla post-up iso plays for Shaq instead. Yay, now they have a mediocre post up scorer.

This is such a bad idea. I hope they do it, so they can fall out of the playoff chase and we have one less team to worry about in the WC.

 

What I meant was the Suns were better off keeping Thomas and Marion (dont start talking luxury tax, this is about wins) than they are with Shaq... Seemed pretty obvious to me.

 

Git er done Kerr!

 

there is a new sheriff in town, steve kerr and he wants defense.

shaq vs yao revitalized in the west

President of Basketball Operations and General Manager

 

Looks like it may be a done deal.

http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=3232862

Tuesday, February 5, 2008
Sources: Suns a 'yes' away from acquiring Shaq for Marion
By Marc Stein
ESPN.com

The seemingly improbable pairing of an aging Shaquille O'Neal and the run-and-gun Phoenix Suns is a "yes" from the Suns away from happening, according to NBA front-office sources.

Sources told ESPN.com on Tuesday night that the Miami Heat are poised to send O'Neal to the Suns in exchange for All-Star forward Shawn Marion and out-of-favor guard Marcus Banks. Miami is just waiting for Phoenix management to either accept or reject what would rank as one of the most unexpected trades in league history.

"It looks like it's going to happen," said one source close to the situation. "We should know for sure by tomorrow."

Another sign that the deal is imminent: ESPN The Magazine's Ric Bucher reported Tuesday night on SportsCenter that O'Neal is scheduled to travel to Phoenix on Wednesday, presumably to take a physical.

The Miami Herald first reported on its Web site Tuesday night that the Heat have informed O'Neal that they are shopping him and that talks with the Suns were serious.

That apparently surprised O'Neal, but also pleased him. Sources say that the 35-year-old -- in the midst of his least productive season and with the Heat cratering from a championship in 2006 to a 9-37 record less than two years later -- is eager to leave Miami and his deteriorating relationship with Heat coach Pat Riley. The Associated Press, furthermore, quoted an O'Neal associate Tuesday night as saying, "Shaq thinks something will happen."

As for Marion, Bucher reports that the 29-year-old is in favor of the proposed deal and quotes a source close to Marion as saying there's a "good" chance that the trade would happen.

Making a move for O'Neal appears on the surface to make little basketball or financial sense for the Suns. His arrival in Phoenix would undoubtedly prompt widespread skepticism about his ability to keep up in the Suns' high-octane system. The two years and $40 million remaining on O'Neal's contract after this season also clashes with the Suns' recent pattern of trading away players (such as Kurt Thomas) and draft picks in an attempt to reduce payroll and eventually drag themselves away from the NBA luxury-tax line of $67.875 million.

The Suns, though, have been plagued by well-chronicled concerns about their chemistry for well over a year, generally focusing on the occasional dissatisfaction voiced behind the scenes by either Marion or Amare Stoudemire. In the locker room as well as the front office, sources say, there are factions that have believed for some time that one of them would eventually have to be traded.

Going through with the deal, then, would suggest that the Suns believe that they can immediately improve their chemistry with this change. The Suns would also be banking on the idea that the trade would give them the injection of size they've lacked since Steve Nash was reacquired as a free agent to play for coach Mike D'Antoni. Phoenix would also hope to rejuvenate O'Neal after a season in which his effectiveness and durability have been doubted louder than ever.

Suns coach Mike D'Antoni said on his weekly radio show on Sports 620 KTAR in Phoenix on Tuesday night that the story caught him by surprise.

"The trade deadline's coming up so I'm sure there's talk all over the place," he said. "In our day and age now, you make one of those phone calls or answer a phone call everybody in the world knows about it. Other than normal business, I don't know anything that's going on."

Asked if any deal was close, D'Antoni said "No, no, no."

O'Neal has missed Miami's last six games with a sore left hip and did not speak to reporters after Tuesday's practice. Riley said earlier Tuesday that O'Neal will undergo an MRI.

''We just want to back it up and see, after two weeks, what it shows,'' Riley said.

O'Neal helped Miami overturn a 2-0 deficit against Dallas in the 2006 NBA Finals but is averaging a career-low 14.2 points and 7.8 rebounds in 32 games this season.

Bucher reported on ESPN2's "NBA Coast to Coast" last week that the Heat were indeed shopping O'Neal, but Riley issued a strong denial in response.

"I'm done talking about rumors and reports," Riley said. "But, no, there's no truth to that."

Said O'Neal last Friday: "[Riley] hasn't spoken to me. He hasn't talked about it. I've been in the league 15 years. I've seen it all, been through it all. I've just got to sit back."

Marion asked to be traded before the season began but has generally avoided talk of the subject since then. He is set to make $17 million next season, the final year of his contract, but can opt out of the deal after this season and become a free agent.

Suns owner Robert Sarver insisted two weeks ago that none of the Suns' core players would be traded this season.

Senior writer Marc Stein covers the NBA for ESPN.com. Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.

 

http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/news;_y...cB?slug=jy-shaqdeal020508&prov=yhoo&type=lgns

it's a done deal assuming shaq passes the physical.

 

It's a moot point since Thomas is long gone. I won't argue the fact that if this trade goes down that the Suns would probably have more wins in the regular season. However, I wouldn't bet against a healthy motivated Shaq to take the suns to the championship and win it all.

 

Tired of their team?? Sheesh.

I love the Rockets, but I would be more than happy to be a fan of a team like the Suns. They are contenders every year. They might have beaten the Spurs last year if not for Horry's shot to Nash.

Phoenix should feel what its like not to be able to get out of the first round.

 

What I'm wondering is if the Phoenix Suns are in that dire need of a defensive post player (albeit a very expensive one), why don't they try to trade for Ben Wallace?

Amare + Marcus Banks for Wallace + Gordon

You get your defender in Wallace and you also get some firepower you can use off the bench or even as a starter. Granted, I KNOW Wallace doesn't bring the fear of opponents on the offensive side, but this kind of deal would bring in a player who doesn't demand the ball on offense (who would still give you that defense and rebounding you sorely needed) and a player that can score in bunches with Barbosa.

I think, if this trade goes through, the Suns will soon realize that trading away your best rebounder and your only post defender is going to hurt...a lot.

 

I see your point. I always thought Shaq had some game in him (Favre). But if he puts up the performance he did last time in the finals (Mavs/Heat) I am not sure thats better than Marion. I brought up Kurt Thomas because I feel like Kerr has made some bad choices thus far. Although I suppose the luxury tax played into that.

 

It's official. Pending physical. Shaq is a Sun now.

 

Source?

 

I hope it goes through. Change is good. Another Lakers vs Suns matchup in the playoffs? Nice. Watching Yao dominate Shaq 4 times a year instead of just twice? Nicer. Making sure the Spurs don't repeat? Possibly the nicest.

 

This has a Celtics feel about it, ie trades met with criticism but created success.

 

If they wanted an injury prone star whose career is coming to an end they should have traded for McGrady......I would have taken Marion, gladly.

On a side note, this is going to go down as one of the dumbest moves ever…….

pending a physical.

 

How does Yahoo get so many stories quick? Do they jump the gun or what? How can they outdo ESPN?

 

SHAQ HAS BEEN TRADED TO THE SUNS PENDING A PHYSICAL, WOW WHAT A SHOCK

http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/news;_y...YF?slug=jy-shaqdeal020508&prov=yhoo&type=lgns

 

http://sports.yahoo.com/

 

I agree, it is nice.

One less mismatch for Yao in the west. He has a aging, slow, fat traditional center to match up with.

Nice move for Suns.