It's not a shock that the Miami Heat wanted to trade
Shaquille O'Neal. I'm stunned that the Phoenix Suns
were the team that wanted him.
Pending a physical today, Shaq will be the Suns
center. It's not only a bold move by Suns first-year
general manager Steve Kerr, it's downright bizarre.
Ever since Mike D'Antoni became head coach and Steve
Nash was signed as a free agent, Phoenix has been
known as a fast-breaking, uptempo, run-and-gun team.
Now, they're basically scrapping that system more than
halfway through the year to incorporate Shaq. Amare
Stoudemire moves to power forward and now the Suns
become a pound-it-inside club with two high-scoring
post players.
Kerr basically decided the Suns would never win the
championship with the system they were playing. They
couldn't rebound and couldn't guard the post with
Stoudemire. But Shaq? Shawn Marion is a better
rebounding and defender than he is at this stage. Shaq
and Steve Nash will be targeted for pick-and-rolls at
every opportunity.
I just don't think this is going to work. I don't
think you can change your entire system in midstream
and have everyone feel comfortable with their roles.
As for the Heat, it was basically a salary dump. If
Shawn Marion follows through with his vow to opt out
after this season, the Heat will only be on the hook
for Marcus Banks' contract. It's basically a $27
million tradeoff.