Several ESPN Experts Bash the Shaq Trade on ESPN.com Today

[generic_two]

Those who keep criticizing his contract also need to acknowledge that he chose to take a HUGE pay-cut.

And I think it needs to be acknowledged (namely by you) that even after the pay cut, it remained so astronomical that people are still complaining about it. Think about what they'd be doing if he still made $30 million a year.

[BurningHeart]

For those of you that say that the team would be better off with Marion, how exactly would we have matched up better? Every time Amare covered TD, he fouled him (or got called for one). Shaq actually played very good D on Duncan. Even with Shaq's missed FT's, why did we lose the game? 4 turnovers in the last 2 minutes of game 5, a bunch of mental screw ups in game 1, and our inability to cover Parker. Look at the big picture, guys. We had game 1. We had a big lead in game 2. There were no excuses for game 3. Game 4, we played together and blew them out, and even playing horribly, missing 17 FT's (BTW, Shaq missed 11, there were still 6 other missed ones) we should have won this game. We should be up 3-2 going home for a close out game. It was mental errors, and last time I checked, Shaq didn't commit any of them, nor did his 20 million dollar contract. Nash was a non factor in this series, and Amare put up good numbers, but he didn't produce at the end of games.

Because Duncan isn't the problem. Stopping Parker and Ginobili is.

Those turnovers wouldn't have affected us if we actually took advantage of FREE POINTS and actually MADE the f'n free throws that were given to us Shaq or otherwise.

[The Diesel]

^, Grant Hill did a good job on Parker in one of the games during the regular season.

We really missed his defense in this series. He's a very smart defender.

I know many people are complaining about Shaq's Pick 'n Roll defense and his bad FT shooting, but people should have known that before the trade.

His only two weaknesses his whole career have been his Pick 'n Roll defense and free-throw shooting.

That shouldn't surprise anyone.

[BurningHeart]

Which pisses me off that we still traded for him. Those types of things lose games. We could have found a rebounder elsewhere.

[The Diesel]

Well, everybody should have seen it coming.

[CableKC]

Just my 2 cents.....

Calling the Shaq trade a failure with 1/2 a season is premature. How can anyone not expect some sort of adjustment period when adding a player like Shaq? Not only does adding Shaq to the lineup alters how the offense is run...but his presense impacts the team as a whole.

I would have expected that a major shakeup in the roster would require some adjustment time that is greater then 1/2 a season. I considered the 2nd half of the 2007-2008 season as a "shakedown" period....where Kerr see what works and what doesn't work for 1/2 a season......and then works in the offseason to fix the weaknesses that you see emerge with a team centered around Nash/Amare/Shaq.

Unfortunately, by ( possibly ) firing D'Antoni.....Kerr added another variable to the mix.....getting a new Coach that may have a completely different system to learn and get along with. This only further extends any adjustment period that the team has.

[b-ball forever]

Well, everybody should have seen it coming.

^^Yup, like u said, EVERYBODY shuda seen it coming.
I saw it coming a mile away, too bad only me and a few other peeps saw it coming as soon as the trade got pulled off.

[Nebroc]

It was San Antonio's lucky Game 1 victory and the fact that Grant Hill has been injured the whole series.

Agreed, because I know that if I have Hill- chances are I will go to the second.

[The Diesel]

Like I said, we have nothing to be ashamed about. All 3 games in San Antonio were VERY close games and we did that without our best all-round player and future hall of famer in Grant Hill.

We have nothing to be ashamed about considering they're the defending champs and had home-court advantage.

I'm proud of this team.

[mkot]

And how long have you been a Suns fan?

4 straight years of disappointment wears you down...

[The Diesel]

Hey, I know how frustrating it can be at times. As a Shaq fan, I remember all the years where he kept failing to win a Championship until he finally won one in 2000.

It was a LONG and frustrating wait, but his time came.

Hey, just be optimistic that this team showed great things towards the end of the season and we gave the defending champs a very tough time in the first round. (Despite the 4-1 final series score)

I just hope Mike D isn't fired; I really have great hopes for this team next season.

If Hill goes down again, at-least Boris showed he can be a very effective starter at the SF position.

But if Amare or Nash goes down, we're screwed.

But hey, you can say that about many teams.

If Duncan goes down, the Spurs are nothing.

We just have to hope for good health; this team, when healthy, is as good as anyone in the NBA.

[Nebroc]

Like I said, we have nothing to be ashamed about. All 3 games in San Antonio were VERY close games and we did that without our best all-round player and future hall of famer in Grant Hill.

We have nothing to be ashamed about considering they're the defending champs and had home-court advantage.

I'm proud of this team.

If Grant Hill is really your best all around player you wouldn't of won anyways so don't sweat it bud. Future hall of famer?

[The Diesel]

Grant Hill had a TERRIFIC season before he got hurt at the very end of the regular season.

And yes, he's a terrific all-round player; this guy was well on his way to going down as one of the greatest players of all time before his injuries these last several years.

He was a great scorer, rebounder, and passer in his prime and he still has those skills.

He was a great addition to Phoenix because he's still a good scorer, rebounder, passer, who is a very solid defender and has a great basketball IQ.

He is the best all-round player on the team who had a terrific season and would have gone down as one of the best ever if not for his injuries.

However, when healthy, he's still a very good player.

I think we really missed him in this series; but Boris did a terrific job in these last few games.

In hindsight, Hill WOULD have made a difference if he was 100%

HOWEVER, seeing that he got hurt, we should have started Boris at SF from Game 1 instead of Grant struggling to play through his injury.

Grant is still a really good player and was a terrific addition to the team.

[Nebroc]

You can't get Grant Hill and whine about his health. That's like me move to Seattle and making exuses about the rain. Hill wouldn't have made a difference.

[The Diesel]

He was healthy most of the season until D'Antoni took the risk of playing his starters at the end of the regular season and it backfired when Hill got injured.

And I do think he would have made a difference; he was having a terrific season and is the team's best all round player.

[jaypo]

-= original quote snipped =-



Because Duncan isn't the problem. Stopping Parker and Ginobili is.

Those turnovers wouldn't have affected us if we actually took advantage of FREE POINTS and actually MADE the f'n free throws that were given to us Shaq or otherwise.

Turnovers wouldn't have affected us? We were in the lead and had a chance to add to it. 4 times!!!!!! How did that NOT affect us? Last time I checked, Shaq wasn't guarding Parker and Ginobili. If he leaves Duncan every time Parker of Ginobili torched our guards, Duncan is left wide open. And Amare wasn't smart enough to cover the back door. I watched it happen every time Shaq had to cover for our lack of perimeter defense. I don't care how good your PNR defense is. When your guard gets burned that badly, it leaves your center out to dry. Either he shows hard to cover the guard and leaves the Center open, in which case, the defense should rotate, and Amare prevents the center from cutting to the basket for an easy dunk. Or he doesn't show hard and keeps Parker in front of him, allowing Parker to shoot an uncontested 17ft. jump shot. Shaq's lack of PNR defense isn't what allowed Parker to average over 30 per game on us. It was the team's defense as a whole.

And about Shaq quitting on his team- do you even remember how he hurt his hip? He was already playing with a deep thigh bruise. His team had less than 10 wins. Wade wasn't doing squat but turning the ball over. Shaq had no shooters to spread the defense, so he was taking on 2 to 3 defenders at all times. He chased a ball down, dove out of bounds and crashed into the scorers table going for a loose ball. So injuring yourself while diving for a ball on a team with less than 10 wins is quitting on your team? Then you fuss about his comments towards Pat "the snake"Riley? Blame Shaq for pushing SVG out the door? Well, doesn't it seem funny that when the Heat were mediocre, Pat was no where around, but they get Shaq and start winning, and SVG needs more time with his family? You don't think Pat had anything to do with that? This is the same Pat Riley that gave himself an "F" for the way he ran his team and now claims that he didn't give the team his all this year. But it was Shaq that quit? You homers crack me up.

Bottom line- without our proven difference maker on D against the Spurs (Hill), we should still be up 3-2 and playing at home tonight. We should have won game 1 and lost a double OT thriller in which our mental mistakes cost us. Game 5-we had the game, but turned the ball over 4 times when it counted (and 2 bullspit tripping calls). All of this with a hurt Grant Hill, no Shawn Marion, and what some call a fat, out of shape, over the hill quitter as your center. Had Shaq been on the team since the season started, the team would have been 10 times better. The defense would have an identity, and Nash wouldn't be out of sorts because of the offensive sets.

[HeatInOhio]

-= original quote snipped =-
Blame Shaq for pushing SVG out the door? Well, doesn't it seem funny that when the Heat were mediocre, Pat was no where around, but they get Shaq and start winning, and SVG needs more time with his family? You don't think Pat had anything to do with that? This is the same Pat Riley that gave himself an "F" for the way he ran his team and now claims that he didn't give the team his all this year. But it was Shaq that quit? You homers crack me up. .

No I don't believe Pat had anything to do w/ Stan's quitting. To do this day Stan denies Riley pressured him into stepping down in any way.

http://slamonline.com/online/2008/04/di ... t-of-town/

"When Shaquille O

[jaypo]

Oh, so now giving someone a nickname is the same as pushing him out the door? I know it's tempting to believe everything the media prints, but the media also printed a bunch of speculation about Pat being the one that orchestrated SVG's exit. So which is accurate? Because the very reliable media had each one as the reason. And to think that Pat had nothing to do with Stan leaving is very naive. Pat picked the right opportunity to step back in to fortify his legacy. Didn't he step down and put SVG in place when things weren't so good, and then when Shaq gets there and DWade emerges as a top player in the league, he steps back in and leads them to a title? That sounds more likely than Shaq pushing him out. The only thing I ever heard of Shaq not getting along with SVG was the statement above, and that didn't come out until after Shaq was traded. Most of the negativity I've seen towards Shaq is sour grapes. The same critics were all over his jock when he was helping you guys to a title!!

[Nebroc]

He was healthy most of the season until D'Antoni took the risk of playing his starters at the end of the regular season and it backfired when Hill got injured.

And I do think he would have made a difference; he was having a terrific season and is the team's best all round player.

Except Grant Hill always gets injured so Mike "taking a risk" was just stupid. I don't gamble but if Vegas accepted bets on Hill's healthy every season I'd put everything I own down. Hill wouldn't have made a difference because Manu was hurt too, Grant isn't as good as Manu, and Hill isn't close to being your all around best player. Hill didn't have a terrific season, it was one of his worst. I don't know how old you are but anyone over 13 wouldn't concider this a good year for a guy like Grant Hill who has been a all-star. Would Hill would shut down Parker, teach Shaq how to make fts, and remove the butter from Nash's fingers?

[jaypo]

No, but a healthy Hill actually kept Parker in check during the regular season. Manu may have been hurt, but he wasn't hurt enough to keep him out of the game. Hill couldn't play more than a few minutes in the series. So say Manu couldn't play at all. Do you think the series would have been different? If not, you're not looking at things realistically.