Shaq for Marion deal in the works?

[El Duderino]

I don't think this will work out how the Suns want mainly just because father time and Shaq's lack of keeping himself in shape has caught up to him. He was a freak of nature not only because he was so huge, he moved so well for being such a big man. Now he's nearly 36 and out of shape, he can't move nearly as well, tires much faster, and his injured all the time. Plus, the Suns will miss all the things Marion does for them and he's durable as hell. Marion rarely ever misses a game and he' able to play tons of minutes.

With that said, i do question if the Suns could get out of the West with such a small front line. Winning multiple playoff series with a frontcourt of Marion/Amare is a tough tough task and Nash is no longer a young man.

I never thought Favre could play so well at age 38, maybe just maybe Shaq will make some effort to get in better shape by the time the playoffs start. I still highly doubt Shaq can hold up physically and play enough minutes to get the Suns out of the West, but i also doubt the Suns could have won the West with a Marion/Amare frontcourt. My guess is Kerr felt the same way and he decided to roll the dice and hope somehow that Shaq's body can hold up and he'll try to get back in shape.

Shaq will also love having Nash feeding him off dribble penetration, gonna be a dunk fest between him and Amare.

[NeedsMoreCheese]

http://www.realgm.com/boards/viewtopic. ... sc&start=0

The first 5 or so pages of that thread are pretty damn funny.

[MilBucksBackOnTop06]

I find it interesting that GM Steve Kerr is changing the philosophical bent on this team realizing that gimmicks will not get it done.

Remember Kerr played for the Spurs and Bulls who were tough teams who knew how to play half court playoff basketball first.

His teams always defended and were tough minded and physical and not fragile and up and down like the Suns playground style is now.

Surely that clashes with Mike D'Antoni. I am one to think there is a big time rift and split between Kerr and D'Antoni and Kerr might let him go
at the end of the year or Mike might flat out resign.

D'Antoni loves the up and down style. I see Mike ending up in a place like Miami or even Atlanta soon and kerr bringing in a Larry Brown or a Scott Skiles to Pheonix...you watch and see.

I think there is a huge disagreement on how things are gonna get done in Pheonix if they get Shaq who I doubt will pass his physical tommorrow anyways.

D'Antoni might be a good selection for the Bucks' as well as Knicks very soon is my guess. Kerr does not play around...Mark my words.

I could be wrong, but when is the last time you have known me to be?
Just a hunch...my friends just a hunch.

The Shaq move is too radical a move to make to not have some serious underlinging ramifications. It bears watching...

[Mags FTW]

I think this is a reactionary move by Kerr to the Suns' home loss to the Parker-less Spurs last week. He probably doesn't think they can beat them in a 7 game series, and maybe the Lakers as well. He feels he just has to do something and hopes he catches lightning in a bottle.

[MilBucksBackOnTop06]

Marion & Wade can win a few more games for the Heat, good for us and our draft position. But yeah, I'd like to see Shaq attempt to run up and down the court with the suns twice.

Steve Kerry is a former Spurs guard...and Bull.

HE IS NOT GONNA RUN aimlessly up and down the court I don't care how good Nash is or what D'Antoni says! You need to have a balance of the half court and opportunistic fastbreak...and win in the trenches.

The playoffs are a lock but winning when you get there is another story with a team with a two year window before Portland and the Lakers and Hornets, Warriors dominants the West

I assure you they have a rift no one is talking about. In fact, didn't they give Kerr D'Antoni's GM job when Colangelo left for Toronto?

That is the point he was trying to make when he took over last year. He wanted to unload Marion then...but D'Antoni was not gonna let him.

Now I think D'Antoni might be gone as well. When they brought in Grant Hill and Brian Skinner, that told you right there what Kerr was about!

Kerr knows what will beat the Spurs. D'Antoni knows what will entertain the fans.

But what entertains the fans will not win titles, hence that is why Kerr stood by and watched Nash get knocked on his rump by Horry.

Shaq would slow them down and require them to space more and make the Suns a better matchup for the Nuggets, Spurs, Jazz, and now the Lakers and perhaps Blazers...

Amare can now move over to his natural PF position with his improved jumper and ability to move off the ball and create havoc, swarm and block shots...

You got Grant locking up the perimeter with Raja Bell and Shaq manning the middle with Nash and Barbosa' outside shooting!

WHAT MORE IS THERE TO HAVE!? That is a legitmate title team right there more so if they kept an unhappy contract walk year Shawn Marion.

Shawn would perhaps comprimise the team with his hidden agenda as all walk year guys do! I would love to see Marion and DWade together as well.

I told you all they should have never split up Caron Butler, DWade and lamar Odom in the weak East. Yes they won a title but I knew it would head south fast once Shaq get a tad more seasoned...

And now look... It is a great trade for both teams!

[MilBucksBackOnTop06]

this makes no sense.

It makes absolute glorious sense for both teams my friend...

IT IS A MASTERFUL TRADE...now that I step back and look at it. Like I said before...Kerr knows what wins in playoffs. The half court wins with great spacing ball movement and outside shooting and free throws.

In the West friends, it is all about seizing the opportunity and grabbing it when your window is open.

The Suns lets face it, after the Gasol trade to the Lakers they had to do something. Even Brand will return for the Clippers.

You have a Greg Oden next year along with a Aldridge in Portland with Roy, next year...That is a dynasty. I love that squad...to death. Them are my boys...right there.

And even Melo and AI in Denver to say nothing of the Jazz, Mavericks and Warriors you had be in position to make your move.

The Suns need a drastic facelift. Many teams can run with them now. Nash can't keep up with Paul, Deron, Roy, and Baron for more then 1 series...

The Suns can be beat in the first round from a red hot shooting Kings or Blazers or Jazz or Hornets and Warriors team. They need an equalizer who will get calls and get it done with their head and heart and their experience...

Enter Grant Hill and Shaquille O'Neal and Nash baby! Then bring in glue guys Raja and Boris and who needs Marion and Banks!? Skinner and Barbosa...

This makes perfect sense! For both teams...Marion will resign with Heat.
I guarantee you Riley will lock him up next to Wade for a fact in South Beach...

Marion would be a fool to not want to go there...Warm weather, and a great coach and player to run with along with Dequan Cook...and a high pick perhaps and a prime free agent destination for many players...with Shaq off the books.

Get outta here...a slam dunk for Miami! My question is what took Riley so long to make this deal a longtime ago!?

[GrandAdmiralDan]

I think this is a reactionary move by Kerr to the Suns' home loss to the Parker-less Spurs last week. He probably doesn't think they can beat them in a 7 game series, and maybe the Lakers as well. He feels he just has to do something and hopes he catches lightning in a bottle.

From everything I have heard tonight, you are exactly correct with that assessment. Nicely done.

Very shocking.

[BucksRuleAll22]

Looks like its a done deal. I didn't think Shaq had any value with his contract, and eveyrthing, and to beable to get Marion is a steal for the Heat. There so lucky. Heat will have no big men at all but I bet they will end up drafting Beasly in the draft I could see that happening.

Also I have no clue how the fastest up and down team in the NBA wants Shaq. I always thought Gaza would be great with the Suns. Think they would go after someone other then Shaq.

Its obvious the Suns are not good enough to win the finals, and there willing to take a chance to win. Theres only 4 teams in the NBA that have a shot at winning the finals and thats the Celtics, Pistons, Lakers, Spurs. A handful of bubble teams in the West like the Suns, Mavs, Hornetts, Warriors, Jazz. The Lakers were a bubble team till they got Gasol.

[Mags FTW]

-= original quote snipped =-
From everything I have heard tonight, you are exactly correct with that assessment. Nicely done.

Very shocking.

Shocking I was right, or shocking that the trade is happening?

Or a little from column A and a litle from column B?

[GrandAdmiralDan]

-= original quote snipped =-



I don't know for sure, I'm sure GAD could clear it up if he reads this but if Marion opts out they could have a ton of cap space (again I don't know what their salary situation is) and go after someone like Elton Brand over the summer.

Yeah, in that case the Heat would be looking at $17 mil plus of cap space this offseason based on a rough (by my standards, anyway) look at their payroll. That only accounts for 6 players though, so if they blow all/most of that on one player, they will have to deal with being real thin depth wise for at least a year until they can reload the following offseason with the MLE and BAE.

And if Marion decides to play out his current contract instead, the Heat can simply delay that by one year basically if they just go with a one year holding pattern strategy and just give out one year contracts to fill out their roster.

I like this deal for the Heat because of the flexibility it gives them. They can choose/try to keep Marion and pair him with Wade going forward, or they can try and pair Wade with someone even more appealing than Marion perhaps.

[NeedsMoreCheese]

-= original quote snipped =-



Yeah, in that case the Heat would be looking at $17 mil plus of cap space this offseason based on a rough (by my standards, anyway) look at their payroll. That only accounts for 6 players though, so if they blow all/most of that on one player, they will have to deal with being real thin depth wise for at least a year until they can reload the following offseason with the MLE and BAE.

And if Marion decides to play out his current contract instead, the Heat can simply delay that by one year basically if they just go with a one year holding pattern strategy and just give out one year contracts to fill out their roster.

I like this deal for the Heat because of the flexibility it gives them. They can choose/try to keep Marion and pair him with Wade going forward, or they can try and pair Wade with someone even more appealing than Marion perhaps.

Im guessing the guy Riley tried to get as a FA before (though he was restricted then), Elton Brand. Of course since Brand is in the same situation as Marion contract wise it would require both of them to do the same thing (either stay another year or leave after this one).

[Rockmaninoff]

This is a great deal for the Heat. Wade and Marion can be a new 'Jordan and Pippen' if everything works out right. Banks is the kind of big, defensive, scoring point guard that they need next to those two. My guess, is that they will use the space from Williams, Davis, Mourning, Wright, and Parker's expiring deals, to try and get someone like Elton Brand to fortify that Big 3. So, looks like the Heat are done dealing.

Phoenix on the other hand, is going to quickly realize how important Marion was to their team defense. That's a big loss, but the trade does free up minutes for Diaw and they do get the most dominant center of the modern NBA era. It's a good deal for them, but Miami wins this one.

[paulpressey25]

I can't fault Phoenix for doing this.....we saw how bad the Suns frontcourt was when Bogut was scoring at will in that game last month.....

They had no one to match up against Duncan, Pau, Bynum, etc.....

No point in banging your head against the wall and winning 60 games year after year with no shot in the playoffs.....

This is a big gamble, but Steve Nash isn't getting any younger.....I give Kerr a ton of credit for rolling the dice year. I'm also excited to see how Marion does without Nash/Amare/etc. around him.

[whatthe_buck!?]

-Yeah, in that case the Heat would be looking at $17 mil plus of cap space this offseason based on a rough (by my standards, anyway) look at their payroll. That only accounts for 6 players though, so if they blow all/most of that on one player, they will have to deal with being real thin depth wise for at least a year until they can reload the following offseason with the MLE and BAE.

And if Marion decides to play out his current contract instead, the Heat can simply delay that by one year basically if they just go with a one year holding pattern strategy and just give out one year contracts to fill out their roster.

I like this deal for the Heat because of the flexibility it gives them. They can choose/try to keep Marion and pair him with Wade going forward, or they can try and pair Wade with someone even more appealing than Marion perhaps.

I don't think there is much of chance that Marion will opt out of a 17 million dollar payday, not with the scarcity of cap space that teams will have this offseason. It seems to me that Shawn will realize that there won't be enough teams with cap space (and interest in his services) to drive up his offers to a number close enough to 17 million to make it worth his while to opt out. Then again, a certain 31 yr old 5'5'' point guard opted out of a 3 million dollar payday last offseason hoping to get a multiyear contract for as much or more than that per year, so I suppose anything can happen (especially when an NBA player starts to heed the advice of his ego).

[showtimesam]

The heat still have their expirings. Perhaps they'd like to add mo williams or michael redd to their tandem of dwade and marion?

[whatthe_buck!?]

The heat still have their expirings. Perhaps they'd like to add mo williams or michael redd to their tandem of dwade and marion?

Perhaps indeed.

[europa]

It really is shocking. I like the deal a lot for Miami. They're going nowhere but can now pair Wade with a Top 20 talent who doesn't have durability issues like Shaq. And if Marion doesn't pan out, he's gone after next season so you're sitting with cap room and you still have Wade and plenty of incentive for free agents to come to your team.

It's a huge gamble for the Suns. Shaq can still provide solid numbers but he obviously can't be trusted physically and there's the greater question of whether his presence will clog up and/or slow down the high-powered Phoenix offense. It will also be interesting to see how Stoudamire reacts. He's longed to play PF which he now will, but he'll lose touches in the process and that could be an issue with him. But clearly the Suns feel pressure due to the Gasol move to strengthen their frontcourt and also deal with Duncan should they meet the Spurs in the playoffs.

I'm trying to think if any player in NBA history who is generally regarded as one of the Top 10-15 players of all-time has ever been traded twice. I think Shaq would be the only one. Am I missing anybody?

[Garbs_7]

Pretty solid rumours coming out of the Suns/Heat board that Dallas were offering up Josh Howard in a Shaq deal too Would have had to have been a Shaq/Wright for Howard/Dampier type deal I think, but damn, Josh Howard would have to be in the top 5 players the Bucks need/want. He would be perfect at SF, but a trade would never happen.

Im looking at this as a bit of a reaction to the Gasol trade, anyone think Dallas may be the next to react?

[europa]

I think plenty of teams in the West are feeling pressure to make a move after the Lakers fleeced Memphis for Gasol. LA with a healthy Bynum are now a legit contender and possibly even the favorite.

[Rockmaninoff]

Pretty solid rumours coming out of the Suns/Heat board that Dallas were offering up Josh Howard in a Shaq deal too Would have had to have been a Shaq/Wright for Howard/Dampier type deal I think, but damn, Josh Howard would have to be in the top 5 players the Bucks need/want. He would be perfect at SF, but a trade would never happen.

Im looking at this as a bit of a reaction to the Gasol trade, anyone think Dallas may be the next to react?

Yes, for Jermaine O'Neal.