WHY PHOENIX TRADED FOR SHAQ

I must be in the minority here... seeing why Phoenix did it. Most of the guys are happy and I'm happier being in the minority. Shaquille O'neal is a bona fide superstar. He has either gone to the Finals or won a championship for every city he's played for. His Free Throws are still ugly and of course, he'll be 36 in March. But make no mistake, the West just got Wilder. What's next? I bet Jason Kidd goes to Dallas for a bag of Peanuts eh? This has got to be the most star-studded trading season in the NBA - ever!....

In a sense this does make sesne, but they lose a lot of hussle from marion as well as someone that can create his own shot when barbosa or nash are having an off night..he's quick off his feet and plays hard (well atleast he does against the lakers..and few other games i've watched).. And although shaq will indeed strengthen their lowpost..it forces their offense to slow down... and it also creates the opportunity for the oh so very well known hack-a-crap..i mean shaq. could he still become an allstar? probably... but in the shape he's in.. i doub't he'll be as big of an impact as marion would on the heat..hell not even a bigger impact than ariza did for us.. Shaq doesn't have the legs in him to take over for a quarter or 2 like he did a few years back. and get a team back in it.. but instead he'll increase their opponents leads.. by missing freethrows... Nothing against shaq. but it might be time for him to consider retiring..or being a coach.

I personally feel that Phx did this because the Lakers made a pretty bold move for Gasol which gives us great size, they have to counter that because Phoenix was just too small and Amare is not a center. It will be curious to see how they use Shaq offensively, especially since he still has to be doubled most of the time.

I understand your points Warren, but I have to disagree with them slightly. I don't see how Shaq will add to the Suns style of offense. Shaq is too slow to keep up with the run and gun. With Shaq coming to town, Amare will move to the four - how does that benefit Amare or the team? Amare is strictly a back to the basket, dunk the ball type of player. I don't see how those two can coexist down low.

While Shaq has brought every team he's played to the finals at least once, I don't think you can continue to count on that statistic. There is a time when the well becomes dry.

Janglesjr, I thought of those same points, and that's why I really think they did that to match up with other teams, specifically the Lakers. Shaq's contract acceptance by Phoenix makes no sense, plus he's pretty injury prone right now. Shaq shouldn't be that much of a problem on the defensive end since he gets intto foul trouble because of his slow rotation, plus use him on screen and rolls and someone will be open.

True gemfow, I definitely see some positives to this deal. One they obviously get rid of the ill will on the team between Amare and Marion. Shaq comes in and is probably viewed as somewhat of a hero - he becomes a big, defensive player down low that can now try to stop Bynum and Gasol. This most definitely serves well for Shaq as he loves the attention.

With all that is available out there, I'm not sure why they're going after Shaq, a guy that is getting paid $20mil/year. I only think this hurts Amare over the next three years while Shaq is on the team. I guess Shaq still has to pass a physical for this to go down, and that, nowadays, is a big deal for Shaq.

If it goes down, I'm happy. I think this is horrible for Phoenix and I will love to see the face of D'Antoni/Nash/Amare and now Shaq when Kobe the Show beat them in the playoffs.

It's not horrible for the Suns.

Potentially, he's a championship piece to the Phoenix puzzle.

The Suns will play a much slower offense, and as a result will be able to conserve more energy.

and look at the big picture...

If he retires early like it's been rumored, it will save the Suns A LOT of money.

This is an act of desperation by the Suns. Shaq will miss most of the Suns quick strike offence because it will be over by the time he gets down the floor. So they will be playing 4 on 5 most of the time. Oh, I forgot, Shaq can not even play right now, he's injured, again, and is facing surgury as we speak. Bad hip, and he will need to have some "stuff" removed. This is the beginning of the end for the aging Suns, who just got 50 years older. Advantage, Lakers.

cba007 - you think that the Suns are going to retool their entire offense? They've been playing this way for at least the past four years. I don't see them changing to a different style of play. Technically they only run a four-man fast break....

who will guard odom now ? i was just thinking

Marion was and is the biggest Laker killer on the Suns roster ... with that awkward shot he always has behind the three point line... now that his gone the Lakers are the faster team and its one less shooter too worry about.... Shaq is done he doesnt require the double teams anymore... and its kinda funny watching Shaq play lately... he resembles the guy the Lakers traded him for....caugh caugh ...Brian oh my knees Grant....lol..except for the dred locks ofcourse

If we play like this:

Fisher

Kobe

Lamar

Gasol

Bynum

I guess it will be Hill, since he is there SF.

Warren is remembering the Shaq of 5 years ago. We now have the Shaq who misses more games than he plays. We now have the Shaq whose weight is still astronomincal which takes an even bigger toll on his old body. We now have the Shaq whose numbers have dropped by half. We now have the Shaq who for the first time is no longer an All Star. We now have the Shaq that some feel was going to retire because of all the injuries. We now have the Shaq who had a bad hip. This is different than a Hammy. Once you hips go bad they usually do not get totally better. At least not until the hip replacement.

unfortunately that's not true! Amare can hit the 15-18 footer fadeway without a problem

There WERE reasons that led to this trade.

The Suns have needed a real defensive presence inside for some time now. Hence, Shaq. Seriously, I don't think the Suns would've ever won a singel title as the team was built. Do any of you? YES, Shaq is old, but if you put him in there, he can still rebound and block shots. Also, if the Suns can put some effort to bringing him into the offense, along with everything said, he can be BIG help to them come playoff time!!

In my opinion, Shaq can still commmand a double-team. Not only that, but he's still a very good passer out of the post. Also, he doesn't need to score in order to make an impact, which he still can (without all the scoring).

It's a good gamble. The Suns would not win a Championship as currently constructed. So, why not give Shaq Daddy a shot? There's no other big man out there, so what the hell? I think he is over the hill, but an expensive divorce and a Championship can be heavy motivators. This is an interesting experiment that I know will come up one game short against us in the playoffs on our march to the title.

I understand why the Suns did it. Few years running the small ball, it resulted them nothing. they were bounced off the Finals for three straight years. They ran teams to death in the regular season, but come playoff time, the teams with the interior and inside presence like Tim Duncan always had their way against the Suns.

I believe Steve Kerr did this for two things; to shake things around in the desert and to let go of unhappy and dissatisfied Shawn Marion.

But what I don't understand is this: Why Shaq?

They could've gotten someone better and someone younger to go with their new plans. Is Shaq the answer to their thin frontline? Will he be motivated now that he know he can play again for the chip? Will his health be his freind and not betray him?

It seems that the Shaq-Marion trade figures to have more questions than answers. We can wait for those answers come playoff time.

Janglwsjr I would have to disagree with you on your point about Amare. You said that he is strictly a back to the basket dunker. While that used to be his game when he first came into the league after his injury he came back with an ability to hit the mid range shot when left open. What Phoenix maybe hoping for is that Shaq can draw the defense in while Amare can either utilize his mid range shot. Also Amare can have the double in the post taken off of him as Shaq will be there as a threat to score wide open. So I think in terms of the post it works out.

However that being said this is a bad deal in my opinion as it slows Phoenix down and they are nothing more than a Dallas Mavericks look alike, as they can probably score but they arent't really fast. Phoenix has speed but they aren't really fast. I think this makes them match up better with the Lakers but the Lakers still have the same advantage that they held earlier in the year as the Suns haven't very much depth and so that will really affect them against teams that are either really fast like Golden State or with a lot of depth like Dallas and the Lakers. I think it was a bad trade but I can see the benifits that Phoenix is hoping for; its one of those deals that could make them suprisingly better or it will make them much worse, I'm thinking that this will end up going bad for them though, but I'll have to wait and see.

they traded for him cause they're desperate for a big man so amare can play PF

As other have written here, the Suns could not win a championship with the old roster, and with the Lakers coming on strong, and Nash getting older, they had little choice but to make a move and this was the best one they could do. I think they will not play Shaq all the time, they will use him for match-ups, and he can still be a real force on both D and offense the Suns don’t have now. While the Suns eat his 20 million dollar salary for this year and nexst, after that it is an expiring contract, and by that time if they can’t win it all the Suns will be in rebuilding mode, perfectly poised to drop a ton of cap so they can sign free agents in 2010/ll, notably Lebron who has a player option that year, and so on.

So other than the huge salary jump, the gain the big guy in the middle in match-ups, all his fan base, and at least a chance he can help them win one. They also loose Marion’s play and his distractions as well.

I’ll take this one as a wait-and-see; Shaq can’t come even close to matching DAntoni’s fast paced Suns, and no way he is discarding overall game plan, so Shaq will likely play short minutes when he is needed. Will be interesting to watch how this works for them (or not). I think Not.

I understand that Amare can hit some outside shots when left wide open; but let's be honest he's not going to stick outside like Gasol can and consistently hit the shot. His obvious strength is playing down low, back to the basket and dunking on those trying to guard him.

Shaq does bring something that no one on that team has - championship experience. He'll be able to provide better matchups with other bigs in the west, but those are the only two positives I can see. They're strapped financially now and for at least two more seasons. We'll have to look at their offensive production at the end of the regular season to see how much their production drops with Shaq now in the lineup.

I can't wait until we play this game. I just don't see Shaq as help for them on defense. He might give them Championship experience, but I think he will be exposed by Western Conference big men.