Interesting scenario...and for Orlando a great scenario! But I dont see it happening because the Lakers can get more than the #1 pick + fillers for Shaq. I do feel however that the Lakers will committ to Kobe before Shaq. The Lakers owner loves Kobe and sees him as the future of the franchise. I VERY MUCH expect Kobe back next year. I expect Shaq back as well next year but Shaq can opt out of his contract after next season so who knows where he will be then. I still feel the Houston Rockets are in play here for T-Mac but there are a lot of bridges to cross before that becomes a reality. The Rockets management (Les,CD, JVG) really have to put a hard sell to the Magic on Francis, Mobley, Cato and hope that McGrady sees the light down the road about a Yao/McGrady duo. It really is up to McGrady here. If he wants to come here I feel it can become a reality. But it is up to the Rockets to sell this team on him. This is one time where Les has to open up the wallet. If it means taking on Hill's contract then you do it. If you arent going to open up your wallet for a top 5 NBA player...then when ARE you going to open it up? Why even bother?
While I’m sure that the rumors of Shaq wanting to play with Mcgrady and the Lakers considering trading him are true. I just think for them to actually end up trading him seems so farfetched from ever happening. I don't think the Lakers have the balls to do it. If they were to trade Shaq right after he just carried them to a 4th championship, the fans of LA would throw a riot. If they traded Shaq because Kobe didn’t want him there and wouldn’t re-sign with Shaq on the team, Kobe would become the most hated man in LA. I don’t see Kobe sticking around if he’s not loved by the fans. It is still not even a sure thing that Kobe will win his court case and even be able to re-sign. Surely the Lakers must realize that by making this trade, they are basically swapping teams with the Orlando Magic. The only difference being the Lakers are in the Western Conference.
LA will keep it's championship team. They won't be the Bulls. Kobe will stay, Shaq will stay. Phil might go, but big deal. Orlando needs to keep it's # 1 pick and resign TMac to the big money. Simple as that. Oak and Tmac is enough in the east. Buy out Hill, fill in with some good FA's next season. They should try to move Gooden/Howard for better guards, though. Those guys are expendable. They should be able to do that. Big for small can get something done. If Tmac were playing with the Barry boys and Okafor he'd be a lot happier. They'd get him the ball and knock down the kick out. They could use a center, too. Tmac's not going to SA, same as Jason Kidd. They just can't make a deal. I don't see it.
Heck, if L.A is going to dump Shaq. We can offer a better deal than Magic. SF+anybody else on our roster, except Yao, to match the deal. Imagine Shaq and Yao play together.
The deal which could make the greatest sense to Orlando? SF + TE for TMac + JuHo. The cap friendliness of that + getting star treatment in return could be very enticing. But what would it do the Rox budget?
I didn't say that what I heard was YAO going to LA. I am just saying that LA will probably go for YAO when his FA period comes up. Looking down the road, the team they might build will include YAO. The gist of the rumor is still Shaq for the Number 1 and whatever. The Byron Scott signing was just my opinion from what I heard OUTSIDE of this rumor that was running around talk radio. He signed with the Hornets. But what does that have to do with Buss thinking down the line he will have a diminished Shaq who is hurt all the time now when he could have the number 1 big man in the draft coming of an NCAA title where he dominated?
I believe that, if Hill opts out the following year, they actually will have capspace to pursure an FA after this season, giving them a chance to add another piece to the Francis/Okafor nucleus.
Emeka Okafor at his best will never be as dominant as Shaq is even when injured 25 games a season. He just doesn't have the size. That said, any team in the league would be happy to have Okafor on their squad. In either case, any trade of this nature that does go down is beneficial to the Rocks. Shaq gets out of the West and Kobe proves he can't carry a team by himself. Orlando might be pretty good at that point with TMac plus Shaq, but then you have to believe their role players can do what L.A.'s have done over the years. IMO, Derek Fisher has been just as important to L.A. as Shaq/Kobe (just like Mario and Kenny Smith came through in the clutch for us back in the day).
I could see from a basketball perspective why the Lakers MIGHT consider trading Shaq for Okafor, but you have to admit that the fans in LA would be mighty upset if the Lakers blew up their team after just winning a championship. This could really be disastrous like it's been in Chicago.
same thing i was thinkin. Orlando would get shafted in that deal. Tmac and orlando best options seems like houston.
I see this as a great move by LA if they have the balls to do so. Shaq is getting older and older and less dominant by the year. That is the primary reason Kobe is rumored to want to leave or threatening to leave, because Shaq's extension will carry him three more years at the cost of 75% of the salary cap. Therefore unless they can have more Payton/Malone next to nothing for starters signings, they are lost. I think Kobe understands this and is pressuring them. They know Kobe is the future, and Shaq is already declining significantly. Orlando, though they might not want to pay Shaq his price, would do so in order to keep McGrady around. If they don't pay shaq they lose him PLUS McGrady. Hopefully this falls apart and we can make a run at McGrady, but this deal blows ours away. If it falls apart I still think that a Francis + TE or Cato for a McGrady and Howard is the best option. If its teetering, throw in Cuttino, we have Jackson/McGrady that can both play the 2 anyway. A magic lineup of Francis Lue Cuttino Stevenson Gooden Garrity Okafor Cato would be quite strong in the east, especially with how Francis/Cat play against the east and Cato would be a beast over there. A cato/Okafor frontcourt would be the best defensive/shotblocking combo in the east. The rockets would look like this: PG Free Agent (BBarry) and we still have the T.E. SG: McGrady Jackson Piatkowski SF: Jackson Nachbar McGrady PF: Howard Taylor Weatherspoon C : Yao Howard (charles jones!! j/j ) Thats the best deal for both teams. I would rather not give up Cuttino but he does become rather redundant w/ McGrady. Though the PG slot will be bare, pass first points with good range are not that difficult to pick up and whoever it will be would not have THAT much ball handling responsibilities with guys like McGrady and Jackson and even Yao handling the flow of the offense. A Damon Jones/Shammond Williams could fill the slot fine.
For discussion sake, let's assume this is legitimate. If I was LA, and knowing that I'll either lose Kobe or Shaq, I'd choose Kobe too. This makes a lot of sense. So, how would you move Shaq? Shaq would probably have to go along with whatever deal you came up with. But, you KNOW that once all the other teams out there knew that he was available, there would be a plethora of offers that would flood into LA. Since Orlando has the #1 pick, that certainly gives them a leg up on others. But, having to take Hill's contract makes things a bit tough. Of course, who else has the cap filler they'd need? And, wouldn't it be funny if Hill recovered from his injury, and became a force in LA? And, of course, remember both teams can offer their MLE to someone after the trade ... After deducting the 15%, LA wouldn't have to take back as many players as GATER's example. But, if I was LA, I would try to pick whatever I could from Orlando's lineup, not just for filler. Here's what I'd ask for: I'd offer Shaq/Cook for #1/Hill/Gooden/Stephenson/Hunter/DeClerq/2005 pick/2007 pick If I'm Orlando, I'd do everything I could not to have to let go of Stephenson, so I'm not so thin at SF, but I wouldn't let that get in the way of the deal going through. I'd have to split the MLE into 3 or 4 signings to add depth. I'd bet some would be willing to sign fairly cheap, just to be on a winner, like Payton and Malone did. If Orlando took Ha-Seung Jin with their second round pick to get tutored by the master, that would leave Orlando with: Shaq/Rooks/Ha-Seung Jin Howard/Pachula/FA Garrity/FA/FA TMac/FA Lue/Gaines If I'm LA, I don't take Okafor at #1. I would trade down, package a few guys for a better center, and with the #4 pick, I'd take Livingston as my future PG. Then LA would have DeClerq/Hunter/Sampson Malone/Gooden/Walton Fox/Stephenson/Hill Bryant/Rush/George Payton/Fisher/Livingston LA all of a sudden has depth. Of course, Malone and Payton would be gone the next year, but with some strong young guys (Gooden, Walton, Stephenson, Rush, and Livingston) to build a great team with Kobe, and some extra draft picks. They'd also have their new 4.5 mil TE and MLE to play with when Malone and Payton leave. Orlando now has NO depth, and is mortgaging everything for another 2 or 3 years to ride Shaq and TMac, but they could probably win the East, if Shaq and TMac stay away from injury. That's a big IF, with Shaq on the backside of his career. But, if you're choosing whether to lose TMac or not, and get Shaq, you have to do it, if you're Orlando.
Shaq is easy to hate with his huge ego, I'm superman, I'm unstopable, everyone else is just a bum. No you're just an oversized freak who would be squashed like a bug if someon like charles Barkley was 7'2 350 in his prime of course.
Degree of dificulty will be higher yeah but it's still very very possible. The climate is extremely right. You guys are just scared.
Chuck was not 7'2" 350 in his prime (he may be 350 NOW). No one else is (who has game). Shaq's dominance starts with his dominating personality.
Look man, no team is gonna want Shaq when they find out they can't resign him because he wants to go somewheres else. Sure teams can offer more than Orlando, but if Shaq doesn't want them, they won't waste their time. They won't commit to Shaq for one year and gut their team. That would be stupid. So, what is the other choice, they have to give him his extension at 75% of the salary cap. Are they gonna win anything that way?????? Absolutely not. If you don't think Shaq holds the keys on this deal, you don't know what you are talking about. Shaq is the only one that can say that he will play for less than what he can get. Here's the other factors in favor of it happening. LA doesn't want him back at a max extension. They are smart. They know they can't win with him continuing to decline and chewing up the cap. So, they know they have to go with Kobe. So, Shaq is trade bait, and diminishing returns too. If LA can indeed dump him anywhere and get anything of value in return for him, they will do it, because they don't want to lose him for nothing and he doesn't want to take less than the max. The only hope for Shaq to remain in LA is for Shaq and Kobe to agree to stay together. That's it. DOES ANYBODY SEE THAT HAPPENING? All right then. Where is Shaq gonna go? He is gonna go where he wants to go. He has all the leverage.
Shaq and Yao --- two nukes. Shaq can backup Yao when he feels that his toe is acting up. Seriously, Yao can play PF, and he likes to do that. It'll be his paradise if he doesnt need to bang and shooting fade away jumper all night long. Man, 2 centers are far easier to use than 2 other positions.
