This has to be the dumbest trade in NBA history: Shawn Marion for an busted, overweight, and at this point barely a 10 ppg, 5 rpg Shaquille O'Neal?
Don't get me wrong, I like Shaq, but the Suns already have a dominant big man.
Maybe they know something I don't.
http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/column...len&id=3233246
By the way, I really like Jalen Rose as an analyst.
he still has a big ol' butt, yea.
I suspect part of this is salary cap related. It's been no secret that Marion has been wanting to get out of Phoenix for some time now, so perhaps this was essentially a dump? On paper, it's definitely a terrible trade. The Suns are a worse team after this trade than before it.
But Shaq ($20 mil) is actually WORSE on their cap than Marion($16.4 mil). His deal is both more expensive and lasts longer. I was really cheering hard for the Suns based on their high-octane O and the chance that they could get Grant to the promised land. This trade kills both of those. One of the most confusing trades I've ever seen. And it gets that oily backstabber Riley off the hook.
/Cries quietly in corner
More disgusted by what he did to Van Gundy, but I agree there's a lot of sleazy stuff to choose from.
One, two, three, four.
Can Shaq play this game much more?
My Heat fan friends are loving it. Got rid of $20,000,000 x 3 years of non-productive overhead.
The Suns seem to be a fragile team with the addition of Shaq. Grant's injury problems are well known. O'Neal is past his days of not having to worry about being unhealthy. Steve Nash takes a pounding throughout the year and it's tough to keep him fresh in the playoff series. I know he wants out but Marion has been the most consistent player Phoenix has had over the years.
Shaq for Marion is a long long way from Garnett for Marion.
Remember though that Marion can opt out of his contract after this summer and Banks wasn't doing anything for them. All the Heat are going to have is cap space (not that that isn't a good thing), but I think it was worth the risk for the Suns. I understand that Shaq is actually worse for the Suns cap, but I bet the owner actually makes money off of the deal. Shaq is still one of the more popular guys in the league and they'll make the difference up in Jersey sales if nothing else.