I dont know. This is still the same team that won 67 games minus Devin Harris. And if they got Shaq, they'd have that low post presence that they've been missing so long.
no, it isn't. That team didn't have Jason Kidd slowing down the pace, nor did it have Josh Howard on the downswing he's been on since then. Plus it had Avery screaming at them, which was apparently a good thing. Also, Stackhouse was younger and a very key contributor
I hope you are joking about Dampier. Aren't you saying the same thing as lastmanstanding did, if you read his post again?
I hope your being sarcastic lol. The question is who is going to swing first. Shaq and Dampier can't stand one another. Dampier said he was the best center in the West when Shaq was in L.A.
sign with the Rockets for veteran minimum to backup Yao. Man, Shaq wants Cuban's cash. Kidd+Dirk+Shaq = Big Three Dinosaurs
I think the only thing that really hurts this from a 1-to-1 trade perspective is that Phoenix (Starver) probably doesn't want anything to do with Dampier's ridiculous contract. Shaq's final year $20M for Dampier's two years and $23M total, plus the additional money to make it work (at least Stackhouse's expiring $7M). All of a sudden this is a big money loser for Starver, even before you consider deflated ticket and merchandise sales. Howard + Stackhouse ($17M expiring) make sense from a salary dump perspective, but not even Dallas' ~ #20 draft pick would quiet the fans ticked off from a move that did nothing to get the Suns out of mediocrity hell. And it'd probably triple dog dare Nash to finally quit on the franchise. But we'll see - Phoenix has made so many mind-numbingly horrible trades for cost-cutting purposes that I wouldn't be surprised anymore. Pretending it did go through, I'd see this working out better for Dallas than the Shaq experiment did in Phoenix. Amare excelled when he played center with Marion at PF, because teams couldn't put their 4 on him (and Marion pulled those 4s away from the rim) and very few had a 5 that could stay in front of him when he slashed to the rim. Shaq completely reversed that, clogging the lane, allowing teams to put a quicker forward on Amare and have a 5 planted near the hole with Shaq to occasionally help. Dirk is a guy that greatly prefers to stay outside of the lane and will happily shot jumpers all game. Dirk pulls double team help away from the basket, making it much harder to effectively double Shaq. Kidd's no longer able to play at the tempo Nash pushes, which helps. Terry's another shooter that would benefit from a true low post threat. I don't think Dallas could contend for much with Shaq, at best they'd make a run for first round homecourt.
Shaq's got history in San Antonio, and would very much like to return to Texas. He pushed to go to Dallas back when his time in LA ended. He's also not dumb, and would like to be in a state-income-tax-free area. The real reason he's saying Dallas is: SA has Duncan, and he remains slightly peeved at the Spurs ever since Admiral "dissed" him back in high school*. Houston has Yao. If you're a burly center that wants to play in Texas, your options are limited. Shaq's talking up his best ticket in. Evan * teenage Shaq and some other local high school players were getting autographs from Robinson, only Shaq was insulted that Robinson wasn't wowed to be in his presence. Shaq than took it out on him their entire time in the league together, including the most vicious All Star dunk I've ever seen when Shaq literally put Robinson on his back in San Antonio, and stood over him glaring.
Shaq would make Dallas a contender. A legit center is something Dirk needs in the worst way. If Cuban would bring in Shaq, exceed the luxury and bring in an MLE swingman, and Carlisle can get things together, they could do some damage.
How about Shaq for Howard/Stackhouse then sign Marion this offseason to the MLE (assuming he's willing to play for a discount) and just plug in whoever next to Terry in the backcourt. That's a pretty scary "win now" squad that surrounds Dirk with quality defenders and rebounders. Dallas would instantly be one of the better defensive rebounding teams in the league.
