Shaquille O'Neal for Shawn Marion and Marcus Banks pending Shaq's physical.

Weird trade.

This makes zero sense for the Suns, and 100% sense for the Heat.

Awful (for the Suns I mean). But there have been quite a few rumors of infighting going on. Wouldn't surprise me if Marion demanded a trade. But they could have done so much better

Oh thank you God! Ive been aching for Shaq to leave town but i thought he would just retire. I dont know why the suns are doing this, Shaq is nowhere near what he was in the past and he doesn't fit with their style of offense.

Well, at this point it's just a rumor, and the Suns camp is denying it, and I really, REALLY hope it's just a rumor. If it's true, it's just a knee-jerk reaction to the Gasol trade, and they could get a way better deal for Marion.

Apparently the Suns cancelled their morning workaround...



Stupid, stupid, stupid!

I really hope this is all a lie...

Bring on Shawn Marion

I disagree that it is a bad deal for the Suns. First, they are going to lose Marion regardless after the season. Second, he is one of the most overrated players in the league, a total product of that system. He thinks he is a #1 option, a superstar player, and he is in for a rude awakening once he leaves Miami (I think he leaves after the season is up). I think this rejuvinates and motivates Shaq, who will fit in nicely in that offense because he is such a great passer and has great hands. It allows Stoudemire to play PF, his natural position and to guard players he is more capable of guarding (If he can guard anyone...he is one of the worst defenders I have ever seen).

Put it this way, they weren't winning anything with Marion and they aren't winning anything with Stoudemire playing center.

weird trade. The Suns are too cheap to pay draft picks...but they have no problem paying Shaq $20 million a year into his late 30's?

...And Shaq will clog the middle on offense, which will totally prevent Stoudemire from doing what he normally does on offense. And that's if he can even get down the court fast enough.

There are better options than Shaq. And they didn't have to do it this season, as there's no way Marion walks away from the final year of his deal.

I am a huge Shaq fan. I think the trade is weird too, but I think it will work out best for the Suns.

I agree that Stoudamire will thrive at PF with a presence like Shaq in the middle. If Shaq can stay somewhat healthy (maybe rest him until late March/early April) his presence alone and hopefully new attitude will benefit the Suns. Championship? Probably not, but who knows? Phoenix is good anyway, put a seasoned center in and move your superstar to a natural position,,and you could be golden.

anyone else excited by the potential for Shaq vs. Kobe in the playoffs?

Yep, the Lakers will have the 3rd seed, and they'll meet in the first round.

I don't think Shaq clogs the middle, if there's one thing he has proved over the years it is that he will find cutters, guys spotting up for jumpers and he can pass out of a doubleteam. That may have gotten more for Marion but I think you might be overestimating his value, I'm sure lots of GM's think he is overrated and that he isn't the kind of player he thinks he is. What is he owed next year? 17+ million. He is going to want at least that going forward and he just flat out isn't worth that. Moving him was going to be much harder than you think.

i think that is the Suns essentially knowing they weren't winning a title with the current roster, banking on this ddeal putting them over the top and moving on from the headache of Marion.

If there is one thing I can say about watching the Suns, especially in the playoffs, is that Marion completely dissapears in games too often. Aside from that, it is embarrasing that he only averages 2 assists per game playing in that offense. I think the Suns are lucky that they were able to get rid of him to be honest.

He would have been easy to move to a team that is looking to rebuild. It would have been a 17 million dollar expiring contract... They could've gotten two solid veterans for that. They could've gotten Pau Gasol for that.

Shaq is definitely great at passing out of the middle, but that's not what the Suns do. Diaw is great at that too, but they use him as a mid-range shooter. Their offense is based on spreading the floor, and posting Shaq down low would be the opposite of that. It might be great for some of their players, and certainly would have helped Marion, but I just can't see Amare's offense being anything near what it is now since he won't have room to operate.

At this point, Shaq isn't putting anybody over the top...except maybe a team that's already a championship contender and that will use him for 15 mins a game.


so they're lucky to burden their cap with a washed up player for two years after this? I'd hate to see what happens when they're unlucky.

I hope this trade doesn't happen. I'm really enjoying seeing Miami stuck in salary cap hell with the terrible team they have.

Well, it's looking like it's a done deal. Shaq passed the physical, now only the Heat can rescind it if Banks or Marion fails the physical.

I really hope this doesn't blow up in our faces.