shaq to the suns?

[keem21]

marion-wade-beasley???

[dada]

You know, after listening to D'Antoni on PTI this afternoon it seems even he isnt fulyl convinced this will work out. I mean, he said all the right things he should that an optimist would but there was a plastic feel to it for some strange reason. Well, lets see how this all works out as though I believe the Suns are still a great team with as good a chance as anyone to win the title I dont necessarily believe they are better off after this deal.

[[Q]]

it's beginning to be pretty obvious that this trade was Kerr's reaction to the Gasol trade. D'Antoni knows that Shaq does not run well or shoot from the outside well so he might be a little skeptic of it all. however, Eddie Johnson was saying on the Suns/Hornets broadcast last night that if the Suns do get a stop whether it be off of a rebound or a block that the resulting outlet pass & fast break usually is a 3 on 2 or 3 on 1 or a 2 on 1 fast break so the big guys get left behin danyways.

[Lamrock]

Were the playoffs to start today, the #1 Suns would face the #8 Warriors. Especially after the trade, I would say the Warriors would probably get #8 seed first round upset #2.

[diddy]

my team is in rebuilding mode! it's hard to lose such a guy like Shaq, he is the greatest! but Miami showing terrible game this season, but now we have good changes to:
1. draft one of a top 5 first rounders
2. sign a very BIG name in the offseason
3. trade before the 21-th of feb. for a center (may be Curry), we still have a LOT of exp. contracts

[Lamrock]

Why Curry?

The Heat could be a dangerous team with just a couple moves this offseason. Should they get Rose or Beasley, they have a legitimate big 3, and if they signed a big FA with their cap space, they could be title contenders again.

[kingjames23]

a motivated shaq is a dangerous shaq. even in limited minutes. if he gets a defensive rebound, he is igniting the fast break, but not running it..... however, if amare or anyone else gets a defensive rebound THEN he is going to get out and run. nash is going to reward him if he runs.

shaq has a history of proving naysayers wrong when they piss him off. imagine all the open looks the suns's shooters are going to get now because he is one of the best passing big men ever.

shaq is going to make amare even better. he's calling him "his project".

alot of people forget... the suns can beat most teams without marion or shaq... so whats the difference? they now have a big man who can match up with duncan.

[jots]

I really hope this works out but I wish shaq would stop talking about how he´s going to prove everybody wrong.

I´ve been a fan of shaq since he first came into the league, but the guy needs to acknowledge the fact that he isn´t the biggest, baddest most dominant player in the nba anymore.

Shaq´s gotta work really hard for every thing at this stage of his career, it won´t come easy like it did when he was 10 years younger.

Gonna be interesting to follow both the Heat and the suns though. I´m a shaq fan first but I still like the Heat.

Gonna have to change my sig now...

[Sauru]

I really hope this works out but I wish shaq would stop talking about how he´s going to prove everybody wrong.

I´ve been a fan of shaq since he first came into the league, but the guy needs to acknowledge the fact that he isn´t the biggest, baddest most dominant player in the nba anymore.

just cause he is not as good as he used to be does not mean he cant prove people wrong. infact i think he almost has to prove people wrong now. everyone is saying how bad this is for phoenix. well if they do win the title this year then no matter what happens for the next 5 years this was worth it and he would have proved people wrong, cause without him they will not be winning anything

[jots]

I really hope this works out but I wish shaq would stop talking about how he´s going to prove everybody wrong.

I´ve been a fan of shaq since he first came into the league, but the guy needs to acknowledge the fact that he isn´t the biggest, baddest most dominant player in the nba anymore.

just cause he is not as good as he used to be does not mean he cant prove people wrong. infact i think he almost has to prove people wrong now. everyone is saying how bad this is for phoenix. well if they do win the title this year then no matter what happens for the next 5 years this was worth it and he would have proved people wrong, cause without him they will not be winning anything

I´m not saying he can´t be successful in Phoenix, but I think he should focus more on actually playing the game than talking about it.

[GoHornets]

Who's going to start at pf in miami, marion or haslem?

[Oznogrd]

Marion's really more of an SF kinda guy imo. taking a quick look at the roster...If zo is healthy i would definitely put him in at SF, relegating haslem to the PF spot. They could move things around, they have enough big men to do it

[[Q]]

They could move things around, they have enough big men to do it

Not really. I played with them in NBA Live and outside of Mark Blount at C, you have Marion & Haslem that can play at the 4. Unless you really want Earl Barron & Joel Anthony to play, then I guess it's alright. Oh but I forgot they have Alexander Johnson. ok never mind I take that back.

they might have a deficiency at C then. both Marion & Haslem are undersized PFs so they would not be able to slide to C to cover Blount.

[Lamrock]

Time to employ Michael Olowokandi!

[Andrew]

Were the playoffs to start today, the #1 Suns would face the #8 Warriors. Especially after the trade, I would say the Warriors would probably get #8 seed first round upset #2.

Not necessarily. If Webber's in the lineup, the Warriors aren't going to have five players running the floor on every possession either.

[Indy]

I've pretty much (almost) done a 180 on this trade, but I still have question marks.

Positives for Phoenix:
1.) Shaq is going to bring that confidence and swagger that will make the rest of this year feel like a new season.

2.) Shaq is a very proud player, and I 100% think he was dogging it this year in Miami. That's not to say he isn't washed up, because he is. But I could certainly see him putting all that diesel fuel that's left in the tank in to the rest of this year and the playoffs to go out with a bang, despite this "10 more years" crap he's spewing, he'll retire if he helps Phoenix get that ring this year.

3.) With Shaq and Amare demanding so much attention inside Rajah and Barbosa are going to get more open 3s then they ever did before and we already know how free they feel to shoot.

4.) Amare will no longer have to defend the other teams best low post scorer. How much more effective Shaq will be defensively is yet to be seen, because he has not been good defending the low post this year but Amare is going to benifit greatly from having to bang less.

My Questions for how Phoenix is going to pull it off

1.) First of all, I don't think D'Antoni is a very creative coach, and I don't know if he really knows how to utilize what they have here. He's going to have to come up with some ways to use Amare in the high post now. The butter play for Nash and Amare is Nash penetrating, going baseline and wrapping it around a big man for an Amare dunk. With Shaq clogging up the middle, the Suns are going to have to be a lot more creative.

2.) It will all depend on matchups for Phoenix now. They used to have to force teams to match up with them, but now they are going to be at a serious disadvantage against teams that want to go small against them. Phoenix has made a serious change in philosophy halfway through the season, and that doesn't usually work often. Throw in how competitive the West is right now, and they have an uphill battle ahead of them.

3.) Shaq seems to think he's a lot better then he really is right now. If he decides to try and take a game over LA style, Phoenix has just thrown their title hopes down the drain and will have to start thinking about rebuilding next offseason, and who here really thought they would have this much pressure on them to win right now like they now do.

Overall, I'm glad the trade happened because Shaq is a very entertaining person and it will be fun to see him on a contender again in the West.

I still can't believe how shrewd Pat Riley is though. What a genius.

[zerocooly961]

I think all teams have done bad mid year trading except for san antonio Spurs
1. Sun acquiring Shaq is speechless.. the only thing they need him is for rebound and some how he is a good passer?? well nice pass from half court Shaq.. Miami really steals from this trade by having marion ready to play and valuable for trading.. getting rid of shaq gives a sign this team is rebuilding
2. Lakers acquiring paul Gasol i think is a decent trade but not a championship trade. gasol is half court player, bad rebounder, bad defender, and probable for injury. his upside is his offense which will help this team definitely. But Getting him is no mean for championship. Bynum after a few years is getting new contracts which at his growth potential very expensive .. Gasol is not going to last long in this team because of his price.
3. Golden Warrior acquiring Webber is also a decent trade but this trade will help other teams..as golden warrior is known again for its fast pace style, getting webber to the lineup will slow the game down dramatically giving other half court teams such as Houston Rockets a better chance of winning. Webber against Yao is No match. But his experience and reb and pass should help against teams such as Utah .
4. San Antonio is so SMART by getting Damon..of course he is no match for parker but they NEED someone RIGHT NOW to control the ball (after watching Vaughn as g for 20 min i was so disgusted)

Sorry if i offend some fans this is only my opinion feel free to criticize

personally i would wanna trade someone right now for calderon he is just so good

[Sauru]

...... you know, i think i am just gonna walk away from this one.... yeah

[Cartar]

zerocooly961,
so you´re saying that Spurs move getting Damon was better than Lakers deal getting Pau for only Kwame and Crittenton?

[Lamrock]

The Warriors signing Webber was a trade? Damon Stoudamire > Pau Gasol? Getting Pau Gasol for basically nothing is bad? The Heat acquiring Marion is bad?

Nice try, but a poor first major post.

[JT_55]

I will refrain from commenting on the opinion itself, since that will take a while...

I think all teams have done bad mid year trading

...

Lakers acquiring paul Gasol i think is a decent trade.

Miami really steals from this trade

Last time I checked, Miami and the Lakers are, by definition, "teams". Again, last time I checked, "decent" and "bad" are two different words with two different meanings.

And dude, it's Pau Gasol. Not Paul.

[zerocooly961]

sorry for my bad grammar... if lakers can beat san antonio spurs , boston, dallas, and New Orleans with Pau Gasol then i think its a good trade
also sorry for miami fans i meant its a good deal for miami to get marion but bad trade by suns. Also Webber to me i think doesn't fit Golden State, by simply having Webber will not solve its issues. I think they should get another C.

also Miami finally is getting better after watching the game. Nice run by miami against lakers

[Andrew]

Whether or not the Lakers can beat those other teams having made a trade for Gasol doesn't really make the deal good or bad, though I guess you could say it's an indication of whether the trade truly made them stronger or not. Regardless, anytime you get an All-Star calibre player for a noteworthy bust and an unproven rookie along with some filler, you've made a great deal. Whether or not that deal proves to be the one that gets you over the hump is another matter entirely.

Unless of course, you feel the Lakers were better equipped to beat those other teams with Kwame Brown and Javaris Crittenton.

[Chaser7]

Zerocooley961: Nah.. Pau is definitely a championship move for the lakers.. Do you even watch the NBA? His defense ain't that bad.. and plus they have 3 7 footers at their forward spot, so that alone will help defend the rim. Chris Webber isn't suppose to be the savior that makes the championship contenders or anything, they signed him for veterans minimum.. christ! And I think you're overreacting to the Spurs signing Stoudamire, decent signing, but it wasn't like a genius move/had anything to lose.. .

[air gordon]

Suns do get a stop whether it be off of a rebound or a block that the resulting outlet pass & fast break usually is a 3 on 2 or 3 on 1 or a 2 on 1 fast break so the big guys get left behin danyways.

yep exactly

the trade also netted the suns back the boris diaw from a few years ago