I’ve been writing that Shaq post for a couple hours now. And literally as I soon as I finally clicked publish….
‘BREAKING NEWS’ flashes on the bottom of my SportsCenter session.
It was hockey highlights so I tuned out and missed the text. They went back to the ‘Bottom Line’ ticker like it was nothing.
I waited…and waited…and finally it flashed back again.
‘Sources tell ESPN that Heat agree to trade C Shaquille O’Neal to Suns for F Shawn Marion and G Marcus Banks. O’Neal will travel to Phoenix on Wednesday for physical to complete trade’
Shock.
Awe.
Take the surprise of Pau getting traded to the Lakers and multiply it by infinity. Just like we’ve been talking about Kidd getting traded, I thought this Shaq thing was all talk.
I was all wrong.
No reaction, I wouldn’t be able to make a phone call if I tried.
This is insanity.
Shaquille O’Neal has been traded twice in his career. And he is now going to the Phoenix Suns.
I can’t believe it. No one could have seen this coming. In a matter of hours the rumor broke and could end up being confirmed.
Someone make sense of all of this for I admit I am completely unable too right now.
UPDATE: Somewhat gathered my thoughts.
Domino effect out West. Phoenix saw the Lakers make a big-time move. And not just any big-time move but a move that made them a major threat on the inside. The inside has always been Phoenix’s major weakness. My speculation is that Phoenix knew their current team wouldn’t be able to beat the Lakers. There’s no way they could handle Gasol AND Bynum on the inside. Shaq will give them a defensive presence on the inside. And I’m guessing that’s the gamble the Suns are willing to take. Phoenix is figuring that they can gamble on Shaq providing a solid defensive presence inside. My guess is that they believe that their offense is nearly teflon and Shaq can fit in. I mean if it could work with Jake Voskuhl, Steven Hunter, Kurt Thomas and Tim Thomas…basic logic states it should work with one of the best big men to ever grace the game. Phoenix will look to make Shaq the legit post presence and let Amare go by and demolish all the 4 men from the outside. Shaq’s “hurt” and clearly not playing for Miami right now. He had absolutely no motivation to even begin thinking about coming back. We can all speculate but no one knows exactly how much he has in the tank. And no one knows just how much of his heart has been in Miami this year. Coup brought up an interesting point to me a second ago, saying that Shaq isn’t that much better on D than Amare. Yes and no. I’d venture to guess a bigger difference is that in Phoenix, Shaq won’t be forced to have to run around and chase people on pick and rolls. I’m guessing they’ll have him stand and be the “enforcer” while everyone else runs around.
After seeing the trade finally go down and continuing to think about it…I think it’s a good deal for the Suns. And I mean that in more ways than one. Obviously it is a major league risk but one that I believe they had to make if they want to win the championship. It was the definition of a forced move. The Lakers made a move to finally move out of the first round and absolutely forced their hand. Phoenix fired right back. Shaq/Amare vs. Pau/Bynum. Who do you take? Exactly. The timing remains extremely odd but in the long run…let’s think here. You dump Shawn Marion, his attitude, his jealousy and his whining. Not only that but you get compensated for it instead of simply watching him opt out. You no longer have to pay or play Marcus Banks. He’s never played a major role for the Suns. You have Shaq, who at his worst is going to give you 15 and 8. Nobody knows what the ceiling is at this point. Over the next couple of days a lot of people are going to talk about how the Suns are going to have to change their style of play because Shaq is there. Phoenix is not going to become a half-court team just because Shaq is there. But it will help their ability to play a half-court game so much more. So now in those tight games against San Antonio when they control the tempo..Phoenix can dump it to Shaq. Defense has never been their staple but Shaq’s presence should put less stress on Amare who could not guard Michelle Marciniak in the post right now. Phoenix can make Shaq work. Look at Grant Hill: everyone thought he was completely over the hill until this year where he reminded everyone of just how good he is. And let us not forget that Shaq will be playing with a tremendous PG. Remember how good Shaq was with Penny?
Coup also points out the cap room the Suns will have down the road when Nash and Shaq’s contracts run out.
This may be the best Western Conference since 90-91 when 6 teams have 50+ wins (Portland, Lakers, Suns, Spurs, Jazz, Rockets). It more than likely won’t…but the potential is off the charts. There is no way that anyone could predict a team to win the championship right now. None. It’s too crazy…and I’m loving every second of it.
And remember this. Shaq has taken every superstar he’s been paired with to the Finals. Shaq & Penny conquered the Bulls. Didn’t win the title but got to dance. Shaq & Kobe ran the league for a while. Shaq & D-Wade got a ring. Can Shaq lift Steve Nash and take him to the Finals? History says yes but only time will tell…
The scary part? Not one bit of this will matter if Shaq fails his physical tomorrow.