Shaq Trade Puts Flame Out In Phoenix

If the Suns traded for Shaquille O'Neal to rid themselves of their unhappy star Shawn Marion then great, mission accomplished. But if new General Manager Steve Kerr really believes this move makes the Suns better then he clearly will never be as good of a personnel man as he was a set shooter. Everything you are reading about this trade from the so-called professional analysts is true (for once). Shaq is a bad fit in Phoenix. He would have been four years ago if he came straight from L.A. when he actually had some gas left in the tank, and since his large tank is sitting on "E" right now, it's an even worse fit. The Suns are a run and gun, out-shoot, we-dare-you-to-outscore-us team. They have never been about stopping anybody nor have they ever attempted to beat a team in the half-court. Look at O'Neal's history. Name me one team he has played on that wasn't at least very good on defense and played strictly in the half court on offense? You can't because naturally Shaq's presence in the paint will make you a better defensive team if the players around you are willing to play on that end, and of course if you have the most dominant big man of this century, you aren't going to run your offense in transition.

Newsflash: the Suns just traded away their best defender in Marion, leaving them with one player on their team who has even heard the word defense (Raja Bell), which will minimize Shaq's effect on the defensive end, and there aren't many players on the Suns who are equipped to play offense in the half-court. Amare Stoudamire has no mid-range game, which is what a four man must have playing next to the Big Fella, and the guards are all used to releasing down the floor as soon as a rebound is cleared and waiting on the other end for Steve Nash to find them. How do you think Bell, Barbosa, Grant Hill, and Boris Diaw are going to fare now that they are constricted to the half-court? This is a trade that would have to be made at the beginning of the season for it to work because that would allow the players and coaches to get accustomed to working with O'Neal and getting used to a new style offense. That is exactly what those 10 preseason games are for. Unfortunately, the season is just about 50 games old, so there is no "wait it out" period for the Suns. The clock has been ticking on this franchise for the past few years now and with their new addition being 35 and out of gas, one has to believe that the Suns window to capture the championship that has eluded them is closing at an even faster rate.

DTM