Mike D'Antoni Defends Shaq Trade

[scootfu602]

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I don't think he's totally against it to the point where he wanted to use his veto right to kill the deal. I just don't think MikeD is the one that pushed for the trade and Kerr is the one who's hesitated. I think it's the other way around and the fact that Sarver wanted it too. No sense for MikeD to veto the deal at that point regardless of what he wanted.

Thanks for clearin that up mkot. I really wasn't sure how his veto was used and what not. Much appreciated

[jaypo]

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What do you mean "no"???????????? Brotha, did you not witness the massacre we suffered by other teams hammering the offensive boards in the first half of the year?

Sorry. I meant "no" to the guy that said "we needed low post defense, adn Shaq was supposed to be the fuggin' answer?". He did help in that area. He actually played decent low post defense on TD. However, the perimeter defense of the suns was absolutely horrible, and he had to wind up covering the guards and forwards.

I'm agreeing with you, but disagreeing with the guy that makes it look like Shaq did not help the low post defense.

[jaypo]

Sun Scorched, I've been a fan of Shaq since his High School days. I've liked Phoenix, but only started following them seriously after the trade. I know I'm not a life long fan like most of you guys, but I'm a life long NBA fan, and I think I can contribute some good points here. I've been a fan of the way Phoenix plays for a long time now, and I loved the Suns during the Thunder Dan ERA!!! He's one of my favorite players of all time. I think if the trade would have gone down earlier in the year and our team had a chance to gel, we would be in a position to win the Chip. Our defense needed time to improve. But with more time, I think we would have been fine. This year should be better. We have 3 of the best at their positions in the league (Nash, Amare, Shaq). We just need to "tighten" up a little. I'm looking forward to 08-09.

[thamadkant]

People need to get this through their heads...

- Marion (is one of my favourite players of all time), brought so much for the team, but with the way the west re-stocked this season and for the future, Suns were very under sized.

- Marion wanted a 4+ year contract that will net him close to 20 million a year, 15 million for 4 would be "okay", but he wanted a similar deal to his contract and Suns cannot afford it.

- Shaq deal frees up 20 million in 2 years.

- As with point 1, Suns weren't gonna beat anyone with Marion. Too small of a team.





The Suns now, just need a legit swingman defender to spell Hill, Bell etc. A Posey type or a Pietrus would do instrumental help.

A backup PG to lower Nash's minutes to under 30 (28~30) would be great, Nash with his age seriously needs to have plenty of rest early first half of season.

I like the Shaq trade in the end, although Suns lost Marion, but with Shaq, Stoudemire gets to play his natural position and the Suns can battle it out with size amongs the giants of the west.... not to mention just the Pacific... remember also, Aldridge/Oden is coming up... on top of the already stacked front courts of the west.

[MSuns.13]

SMH.

I have no words.

[b-ball forever]

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Sorry. I meant "no" to the guy that said "we needed low post defense, adn Shaq was supposed to be the fuggin' answer?". He did help in that area. He actually played decent low post defense on TD.

WTF??? He did did a decent job on TD?????

Stop being such a Shaq homer in denial like Steve Kerr, Duncan put up 25 PPG on 50 FG% on "Superman"'s a

[jaypo]

Us Shaq homers are wrong? But you Marion homers aren't? Well, since pretty much everyone in the Suns' organization is happy to be rid of his attitude and locker room presence (except for you Marion Homers on this board), I'll side with the Suns. TD did average a 25PPG, but that average was skewed from his 1st game where he scored 42, and Shaq sat most of that game because of BS fouls. The Hornets did well because they doubled TD every time, and their guards prevented Parker from driving into the paint at will. Shaq routinely had to leave his man to cover for their lack of perimeter D, leaving TD open. Kind of a double edged sword for him.

Of course he isn't that mobile anymore. He's 36, has bad knees, and weighs 300lbs. He can't be expected to keep up with lightning fast guards like Parker beating their men off the dribble. He does not defend the PnR well. He has that weakness. But find me an NBA player that doesn't!!!!!

Bottom line- they weren't going anywhere with Marion, and they didn't have a chance to gel with Shaq before getting to the playoffs. Let's continue this discussion after next regular season. And quit being so confrontational! I've noticed a lot of you people on these forums like that!