I think Boston did a nice move getting Watson versus losing Walker for nada, he is a solid player and will bring stability. Memphis just gets toasted in the deal all the way around (losing Posey, Watson, Williams for Jones and Banks?). I think Walker is 6th man, and if they resign Damon Jones (I would) Jason Williams is the 7th man (taking Dooling's role). That would be quite an offensive punch off the bench with Walker and Williams, but I think Jones more consistent shooting around Wade and Shaq make him a better starter than JW for that team. Also, Doleac might be part of the trade, but Wayne Simien could earn PT too.
Man, I don't care about his petty beef with Kobe, I hated to see him win with the Lakers and will hate to see him win with the Heat. The deal looks like the real deal according to realgm which has been correct more times than not this offseason. It's a steal! The worst thing about it is that the Heat still have their MLE to play with, it's like the NBA is trying to GIVE them next years championship. I mean with that team you can replace Shaq with Yao and that's a championship. Replace him with Amare or Ben Wallace and you'd get a championship, give them Big Z and they get a ring! The only thing that I'm holding on to is that he already had equally talented teams with the Lakers and he was swept, because Kobe was 19. Now, Wade is as great as Kobe, but Shaq is no where near as great as he used to be, we'll see what happens in June I guess.
I actually like Shaq. I just don't think he is as good as Dream...but every award/title he gets is another thing for the national writers who don't know jack to harp on.
Everybody talks about how Miami got a steal in this trade (which they did) but the real winner is Boston. Waston is an upgrade over Banks for what they need (steady play, ball handling, ball control) and getting Dorrel Wright for a free-agent they didn't really want?!?!..... Nice move. Thats a ton of young talent with guys like Pierce, LaFrentz, Watson, Davis who will keep them competitive while the youngsters (Green, Wright, Allen, West, Jefferson) get ready to play. Danny Ainge is doing a pretty good job with what he has.
Yeah, I got snookered into believing that stupid-ass RealGM report. No major loss though. Watson is like Banks, only a better shooter. He'd have been a nice addition, but Dorrell Wright is a complete bust - and on the Celtics he wouldn't have filled a need. As for the actual trade, I think the C's also get a second-round pick or two. Borchardt is a good pickup, but I hope to god Woods never plays a game with them. Who knows, maybe that Spanish kid will pan out.
Wow, what a bold move by the Heat. I'm guessing they will almost surely be in luxuary-tax land once Wade gets his extension. You gotta respect the Heat ownership for doing whatever it takes to win a title. It will be interesting to see how Stan Van Gundy deals with Williams and Walker, two guys who don't play defense and are known for taking bad shots.
Am I reading this right? It sure seems to me like the Heat are getting 3 legit players in exchange for one has-been. This makes no sense.
Miami: Antoine Walker, Jason Williams, James Posey, Andre Emmett Boston: Qyntel Woods, Albert Miralles, Rasual Butler, $1.9 million TE, Curtis Borchardt Memphis: Eddie Jones, Raul Lopez Jazz: Greg Ostertag Hornets: Kirk Snyder
wow the Heat sound stacked for next season.. if Shaq can stay healthy next year's finals could be a showdown between the Houston Rockets & Miami Heat wow the drama. Yao vs. Shaq Stro vs. AWalker Tmac vs. Posey DWade vs. DWes JWill vs. BSura interesting. J
J-will and D-wade would be one fun back court to watch. But seriously, adding Antoine Walker and Posey?!?! Thanks to Memphis and Boston the Heat got every piece of the puzzle gift wrapped to them. The Heat were a fully healthy Wade away from being Eastern Conference Champs and arguably champs period. As much as people hate on Walker IMO he definitley puts the Heat over the top being the reliable 3rd offensive option. Posey is going to be the stopper, neutralizer, equalizer, what have you against other teams 3's. And if J-will pans out thats just icing on the cake.
Butler is headed to New Orleans, the TE is ~$5.5 mill, and the C's get two second-round picks. I'm not thrilled, but financial flexibility, expiring contracts and picks are better than nothing.
like Icehouse said, we don't need shaq getting any more rings on Dream. has anybody ever played on such talented teams relative to their era outside of maybe russell? i mean back in the day, people played with lots of talent, but there were so few teams everyone did. shaq just bounces from great SG and supporting cast to great SG and supporting cast. now, jerry west has apparently decided that of all the teams he wants to dump salary to, it's gotta be the team shaq is on. so lemme get this straight. brian grant and eddie jones had two of the most horrendous contracts in the nba. they have now been traded for shaquille o'neal, antoine walker, jason williams, and james posey. are they just trying to give shaq a ring? look at miami's bench out of this. walker, zo, jones or williams, butler. damn. and that's on top of a stacked starting lineup with no weak players with haslem, williams, posey, and then shaq and wade. my God. what's even worse is the only team that can stop them has another guy i don't want to one up Dream, the spurs with tim duncan. i mean we may as well put both teams in the finals right now. all we can hope is posey keeps sucking, walker is a malcontent, shaq declines a little bit faster than he has been, jwill's lack of a shot keeps him from fitting in that well, and zo declines significantly. but all of that seems like a lot to hope for. how the hell have the shaq traded for shaq, jwill, posey, and toine with bascially odom and 2 horrible contracts. and now they still have their mle. amazing, it's like people want them to win. hopefully shaq loses and everyone sees he's not as great as they think he is.
If it's Rox/Heat in the Finals then I think we can take them. The pick and roll would eat them alive.
No, he's not as good as Dream, can you imagine what would have happened to the NBA if Dream got to play with the guys Shaq has played with? It's not fair man, I don't want to make former Rockets look bad, but Hakeem would of felt like the most blessed man in the universe to have the opportunity to play with such talented ball players. David Stern would have sent someone to break Hakeem's knees to keep him from beating MJ in the finals over and over again. Shaq? Well, when he loses it's never ever his fault, his teammates were never good enough. Whatever. Now he has a team that wins at least 50 WITHOUT him! I hope he's on his 20th whopper as I type...
