I expect the weighty contract of the weighty one with a weighty desire to have a weighty extension guaranteed to knock many would be (lightweight) bidders out. There still will be some heavyweight bidding for the Man of Steal(ing $$$ -- @ 37, that is).
Cuban is the one owner that does not care about the money. If big extension is what Shaq needs to get it done then Cuban may be the only owner that would do it with out blinking.
Shaq will NOT be traded. Shaq will agree to play for Rudy. TMac's best chance of playing with the diesel is most likely going to be in LA. And oh btw, if LA were to trade Shaq to Dallas, Dirk would/must certainly be heading to LA in return. But all of that is a mute point - Shaq ain't going nowhere.
There is no way any team would trade Dirk for a soon to be over the hill Shaq. Shaq would have to be the missing link to a teams Championship with in the next couple of seasons because he is entering his geriatric years.
Crash, you make some Valid Points, but i just get the Feeling, evn Cuban has His Limits!. Dirk and Nash are the 2 players that he wont trade anyone for, even for Shaq!
You're scarin' me, dude! You make that deal sound so logical. I'm in the "Rudy gets Shaq and Kobe to play next Fall in LA" camp, myself. So that would keep Shaq in LA and TMac in Houston. But you're freakin' me out.
That supports my point. Why should LA do the deal then for Walker or Jamison? LA will not trade Shaq but for speculation sake, they will not empower Dallas (a hated rival) and take their gabbage in return. For what? Lets just squash this nonsence, Shaq is NOT going to Dallas.QED. Sac Kings have as good a chance of landing Shaq as Dallas does.
Cuban would probably try to trade everyone except Dirk for Shaq. Dirk has much more value than Shaq at this point in their careers and Cuban would be an idiot to trade Dirk for him. If Cuban somehow pulls it off to keep Dirk and Nash and to get Shaq, he's a genius...and they would have a GREAT chance to win the title.
From my neutral standpoint as a Bulls fan, I don't think it's that much of a stretch to see Dallas getting this done. Considering a trade seems to have momentum, this would have some benefits for every team(disregarding the salaries for now): LAKERS Nowitzki Jamison MAGIC Nash Josh Howard Walker DALLAS Shaq McGrady Juwan Howard
Cuban's cavalier attitude about trading/acquiring players is what scares me the most as to how this affects Houston's chance at T-mac
How often do you get to win a Championship? If you can win one by trading any player on your team, you do it. As hpscc proposed, a lineup of Shaq/McGrady/Howard, could very well win you a Championship. However, both Shaq & McGrady could force their respective teams to do S&T's that net them less value, by opt'ing out of their contracts next year. I threw out a scenario in another thread where Shaq & McGrady could sign a 3 year deal with a player option after the 1st year, in which they could opt' out & be resigned to max contracts (albeit, a little less than they'll make now). Then, Dallas could offer Orlando & LA some combination of Jamison/Nash/Josh Howard/Marquis Daniels. True, it's not fair value, but it's not garbage either. Superstars with player options, have a lot of power during these kinds of negotiations.
It's certainly a long shot. Does Dallas have the assets? They're the only ones in the league that do. Walker - final yr @ 14.6 Finley - 4 yrs, 14.6 next year Jamison - 4 yrs, 12.6 Nowitzki - 4 yrs, 12.6 _________________________ Abdul-Wahid - 3 yrs, 6.7 Fortson - 3 yrs, 5.9 Bradley - 4 yrs, 4 Najera - 4 yrs, 3.8 Delk - 2 yrs, 3.2 Howard - 4 yrs, 0.8 _________________________ Nash - FA (value ~ 11 million/yr) Daniels - FA (value ~ 3 million/yr) For Shaq, they need to put together $25 million to get within 15% of his salary. For T-Mac, only $12.3 million. The Lakers (Kupchak) seem less concerned about what they recieve in return than Orlando. The Magic want a young foundation to build on; Kupchak has mentioned "cap flexibility" and obviously is going to be looking for players to surround Kobe. Based on that, I'd say Walker to LA (final year) is a given, and Orlando will insist on Dirk and perhaps a couple of young players in return. Biggest keys here are: 1. Orlando needs to recieve an offer as good if not better than the ones already on the table from HOU, IND, and PHO. 2. Steve Nash would have to agree to a S&T if he'd be included, and that's far from a given. 3. I'd be shocked if either team were willing to take on Finley (in particular, his contract). 4. Dallas would have to be willing to give up on their team, and most likely, Dirk. If Dallas truly wants to get McGrady, they'll need to do what no other team seems to have done yet: offer to take Grant Hill's contract. My guess at what could get it done. Dallas sends Nowitzki and either Finley or Howard, Najera, and Fortson to Orl (for McGrady and Hill). Dallas sends Walker, either Jamison or Bradley and Fortson to LA. Also, it is possible that a team under the cap (ATL, UTA, CHA) could get involved and grease the wheels. Evan
I wonder if Cuban doesn't want McGrady to come to Houston? He knows that Yao is the lure here. Cuban, if he got Shaq, could do the same thing; try to lure McGrady to Dallas. Yao is already a thorn in Cuban's side. He knows he's going to be a problem for years to come. Add McGrady, and Cuban's worst fears will come true. I wouldn't doubt that Cuban is trying to prevent a McGrady/Yao team from occurring. Competition by subversion: Microsoft style!
lol, I'd say you're putting way too much thought into this, which you are...but I'm sure that it HAS crossed cuban's mind. however, I don't see dallas willing to trade dirk, and if they aren't willing to trade dirk...they don't get tmac. if they get shaq...but they lose dirk, then they have nothing to trade for tmac compared to us. lastly, I don't see the lakers trading shaq within the western conference. they'd have to be complete freaking idiots. which as much as I hate them / la. they aren't.
