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

Marion has been 19/9/2 type of player before Nash traded to the Suns. Like Amare, what benefit Marion the most playing with Nash will be their FG%. Without Nash, Amare will still be 22/9 but his FG% will be around 45%-48%. Same goes with Marion, playing with Wade, he still scores 20ponts but will be at a lower FG%!

Although Kobe and Amare are the 2 players i hated the most, i hope the trade will go through then Lakers and Suns will meet in conference semi-finals!

 

Suns were going to lose Marion anyways...when healthy Shaq has been decent this season. The Pau and Shaq trades spell trouble for the Rox. Somehow they have to keep progressing. I don't expect any trades on the Rockets end anytime soon.

 

the existing 150+ reply thread that announced this an hour ago not good enough?

 

It's definitely interesting. Replace one of the fastest with one of the slowest(Shaq is not slow, but he is lazy and 35). Defensively, they probably will defend post better, but Marion was the quickest runner of that team. If he leaks out, it's over. I always thought we had no answer for him, and he hurt us a lot. Shaq in the middle will take up so much space. How about Amare. Is he going to play the post or face up 15 foot spreading the floor. Shaq is not leaving the post. If Shaq at high post, pack the paint, as simple as that. Nash has much less room to penetrate while Shaq operates in the middle. Nash's penetration needs people to spread the floor so he can kick out. Sahq is a poor fit in that Scheme. But a lineup

Nash
Bell
Hill
Amare
Shaq

is very interesting.

 

The Suns have had the best record in the west for 2 of the past 3 seasons. 3 out of 4 if you want to count this year so far. What does that mean? Absolutely NOTHING because they have No championship. Not even a trip to the finals. It's because they have no half court game and or presence in the middle. Shaq changes all that.

 

You're right. Internal growth is the only way. No one will come out to rescue us.

 

I can see Phoenix's rationale for doing it, but here's my litmus test...As a Rockets fan, would I rather us face Phoenix with Marion or with Shaq? My answer, and it's not close, is Shaq. Marion created so many problems matchup-wise with his length and ability to shoot from long range, he was just a perfect piece in that system. Shaq is the anti-Suns in terms of his play; my friend put a positive spin on it saying that now the Suns will be more "balanced" and "able to execute both in transition and on the set plays as well", but Marion was sort of their glue-guy, their Battier as in best defender, he ran the floor better than anyone his size, and I would much rather deal with a lumbering divorce-settling 36yr old Shaquille the Blob O'Neal than the run-n-gun Suns (RIP c. when this trade goes down).

 

Think for instance if the Heat instead of Shaq they traded D Wade for Steve Nash and Amare Stoudamire to pair with Shaq. Would that be a team you'd want to face?

From the surface the trade of Otis Thorpe for Clyde Drexler a year after the 1st championship didnt seem the most logical team fit (though you do that trade every time based on worth). But it ended up paying dividends.

 

Richardson, Wallace, Marion, that would have been insane.

 

wow if this trade does indeed goes through pending physicals.

i guess now we can cross the suns out as one of the teams we should fear. i think more than nash, marion hurts us more than anything. he can guard tmac pretty well (now they have NOBODY to guard tmac b/c marion's length can make tmac work harder for his points). marion usually is hard to guard for us b/c he plays PF and our PF isn't as quick or athletic as him.

now u put in shaq??? though if motivated, he can def. challenge yao for the most part (like he did in the first meeting), they are a completely different team in half-court.

i'm sorry nash's greatness will be diminished a whole lot if they go to a half-court system. he's just not the same player.

 

[ESPN] Shaq to Phoenix? Can the Rockets keep up?

Oh my gosh ...

First the Lakers, now Phoenix? CWebb to Golden State, perhaps Kidd to Dallas? Can the Rockets keep up in the WEST without making improvements before the trading deadline?

I like how the Rockets are improving, but I don't see the Rockets getting past the Suns in the playoffs with a healthy Shaq.

Shaq/Stoudamire/Skinner
Stoudamire/Diaw
Hill/Diaw
Bell/Barbosa
Nash/Barbosa

<a href="http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=3232862">Sources: Suns a 'yes' away from acquiring Shaq for Marion</a>

By Marc Stein
ESPN.com

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

Sources told ESPN.com on Tuesday night that the Miami Heat have already agreed to send O'Neal to the Suns in exchange for All-Star forward Shawn Marion and out-of-favor guard Marcus Banks. Miami is simply waiting for Phoenix management to complete a medical examination of O'Neal and formally accept what would rank as one of 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."

ESPN The Magazine's Ric Bucher reported Tuesday night on SportsCenter that O'Neal is scheduled to arrive in Phoenix on Wednesday to undergo a physical. A source close to Marion told ESPN.com early Wednesday that the Suns have informed the 29-year-old that the deal will go through, with the forward eager now to move on after playing with the Suns for his whole career.

The Arizona Republic also reported that a deal could be imminent and that O'Neal had contacted some Suns players Tuesday night. The Suns pushed back their shootaround, originally scheduled for 9:45 a.m. MT to 4:45 p.m., shortly before Phoenix plays New Orleans.

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 told ESPN.com 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.

Hollinger: Why Shaq?

The Suns have the best record in the West with their current roster. So why do they want to blow up the team, John Hollinger writes. Story

• Broussard: Crazy deal Insider

Making a move for O'Neal appears on the surface to make little basketball or financial sense for the Suns. O'Neal's 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 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 nearly two years, 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 for the Suns to reach their full potential.

Those in-house doubts about this group's ability to break through and win the first championship in team history have only grown this season, sources say, even though Phoenix currently holds the best record in the West at 34-14.

But owner Robert Sarver and team president Steve Kerr, according to sources with knowledge of the Suns' thinking, have ruled out trading Stoudemire, despite season-long speculation suggesting that his defensive deficiencies would ultimately lead to his exit before Marion's. Sarver and Kerr have deemed Stoudemire too valuable to part with, given that he's only 25 and continues to play at an All-Star level after three surgeries, ranking as perhaps the NBA's most successful comeback patient from the dreaded microfracture knee procedure.

Marion asked to be traded before the season but has rarely mentioned that declaration since, with many Suns insiders believing that he went public with that request mostly as a protest response to being mentioned in trade rumors for years. If he leaves now, it's likely more because Phoenix believes a) that Boris Diaw can assume some of Marion's old duties, b) that Stoudemire will relish playing alongside Shaq as a power forward as opposed to masquerading as a center and c) that team chemistry will improve immediately with this change.

Acquiring O'Neal would also address the size issues Phoenix has faced since two-time MVP Steve Nash was reacquired as a free agent in the summer of 2004 to orchestrate coach Mike D'Antoni's free-wheeling system.

The Suns are said to be confident that Nash can find a way to get Shaq involved offensively. And it's undeniably true that the West is still filled with plenty of big men for Shaq to match up with. Just to name five: San Antonio's Tim Duncan, Houston's Yao Ming, New Orleans' Tyson Chandler, Portland's Greg Oden (next season) and Andrew Bynum of the Los Angeles Lakers.

Of course, O'Neal turns 36 in March and has been plagued by a persistent hip problem that has cost him 14 games this season. He refused to speak with Miami reporters after Tuesday's practice, while Riley insisted that O'Neal would soon undergo an MRI after missing the Heat's past six games.

And when he has been healthy, O'Neal is averaging a career-worst 14.2 points and 7.8 rebounds, while the Heat's demise has deepened after they followed their historic comeback from 2-0 down against Dallas in the 2006 NBA Finals by absorbing a first-round sweep by Chicago last season.

So if the deal does go through as widely expected now, Phoenix would be banking on the idea that O'Neal will be rejuvenated health-wise and reinvigorated mentally by the prospect of fresh start, after a half-season in which his remaining effectiveness and durability have been doubted louder than ever.

Miami's motivation, meanwhile, is clear. The Heat's need to revamp their entire roster around Dwyane Wade grows more apparent by the day in what ranks as an unprecedented collapse for a championship team that didn't lose its star players. Marion has the ability to opt out of his contract at season's end if he's willing to forfeit next season's $17.2 million salary, potentially giving the Heat substantial salary-cap space as early as this summer.

It remains to be seen if the Heat want Marion more for the financial flexibility or because they see him as a long-term complement to Wade. It also remains to be seen how much Phoenix will miss Marion's athleticism and versatility, since his ability to guard all five positions and tireless running made him a one-of-a-kind fit alongside Nash in D'Antoni's system.

Sarver said earlier this month that Marion was one of the Suns' cornerstone players who "flat-out was not getting traded," but that changed once Miami started shopping O'Neal. Although Riley later denied it, Bucher reported on ESPN2's "NBA Coast to Coast" last week that Miami had been begun to gauge trade interest in the hulking center with four championship rings from his time with the Lakers and Heat.

Although attempts to reach officials from both teams proved unsuccessful, D'Antoni did acknowledge the possibility of O'Neal's arrival on his weekly radio show Tuesday night, saying: "It would mean a lot. [But] that's a big question that's got to be thought over and pondered."

Marc Stein is the senior NBA writer for ESPN.com. To e-mail him, click here. Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.

<a href="http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/news;_ylt=AokqInQghLqZq53Wd4gilkY5nYcB?slug=jy-shaqdeal020508&prov=yhoo&type=lgns">Suns, Heat agree to Shaq trade</a>

 

And the Lakers.

The Suns have been trying to win for years with their run and gun style and it has yet to bear fruit.
Although financially perplexing, the Shaq deal gives them flexibility in their offense, especially in the playoffs where halfcourt execution is at a premium.
With Shaq, assuming he's healthy, they are better equiped to match up with the length of San Antonio, L.A., and Dallas.

And, as stated earlier, contrary to popular belief, you can still run with a 'not so quick' big man.

 

Here is the working link...

http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/news;_ylt=AtkLJshGregOQZH2NFuqPRk5nYcB?slug=jy-shaqdeal020508&prov=yhoo&type=lgns

 

The Rockets have to get past the 1st round to face the Suns....check that...they might face the Suns this year in the 1st round if they end up with like the 7th or 8th seed.

Anyhow, the Suns probably were not thinking about the Rockets when they made this move...more like they were thinking about the Spurs.

Remember that game 6 last year...in the half court the Spurs were allowing Nash to penetrate past the bucket, without giving up the layup but without giving up the cuts...so Nash would constantly go in and then back out and the shot clock would be down. The Spurs basically shut down most of the Suns half court offense down the stretch. Shaq gives the Suns a half court go to option when other things aren't working....but giving up Marion hurts a lot. They really hope Diaw can step up.

 

positives for the rockets on this trade:

1) no more fronting from the suns b/c shaq often plays yao straight up (but then shaq is ALWAYS motivated when he plays yao and usually cancels or outplays him )

2) most importantly, they have NOBODY who can check tmac now. marion gave him fits b/c of his length and athleticism. now all they can do is put raja bell but he has never shown he can check tmac

3) now we match up EXTREMELY well with them. nash will still be a problem, but not that big of a problem b/c they'll run less (though they will still run). yao won't have to guard amare.

4) now we can switch it up and go small on them with tmac, battier, bonzi, scola, landry and their perimeter guys won't be able to match up with ours

now i want to face the suns in the first round

 

Exactly. That style of basketball wouldn't have won them anything. People talk about how they could've traded Marion for Gasol; yeh, I can see that but either Steve Kerr was just slow or they felt that Gasol was not really the interior presence they needed. Gasol is a softie and not much of a defender. The Suns probably wanted someone who can intimidate the other team. I'm not saying Shaq is a great defensive player at this age, but he's more of a presence underneath than Gasol is.

 

it is time for Rox to do something
impossible is nothing

 

Well lets get us a lightning quick guard with passing skills and a great shooting touch. You know any of those types around? Shoot, if San Antonio can get Mighty Mouse, then why can't we get someone? Like say...Monta Ellis?

 

bad move for the suns.

marion made that team fast. shaq-amare-hill-bell-nash = not a particularly fast team with 2 post players and a perimeter guy who can't spread the floor (hill).

interesting.

 

This is a significant move, but as a Rockets fan, it doesn't scare me a lot.