What better fit for a high scoring offense than an aging 350lb center? The proposed deal is Shaq to Phoenix for Marion/Banks. What's FChat's opinion?
well the trade is going to be made. It makes sense on the large scale, they think they need to have a big man to defend. Plus twin towers Shaq and Amare. Marion would have opted out after this season and the suns still wouldnt have had any flexibility with free agents. It will be interesting to see how it works out. Im not sure hes the answer to their playoff push, but he does elevate in the post season.
I completely agree. Shaq's legacy seems to have passed. But if he can manage to keep up with the Sun's fast breaks, Phoenix will have another serious threat. Defense down low shouldn't be a problem for him, as long as he gets well and stays well.
I hate to say it, but that's like saying Duncan can become a 3 point threat. PHX is stupid for doing this trade. This doesn't help them out against San Antonio, maybe against Dallas or the other threats. Marion was the only one that had a chance at containing Parker, now you have Parker going whenever he wants. It doesn't get PHX over the hump. This is what Shaq will look in a PHX uniform. Image Unavailable, Please Login
I write on this thread as a Suns fan... Shawn Marion was my favorite player on the Suns and I hated to see him go, especially to a team in the East. But you also have to look at the trend of western conference teams trading around for valuable big men (LAL, etc.). i disagree with the suns front office in the sense that they are a running, fast-break, quick-opportunity team. Shaq, I would think, would hinder that somewhat. They have Amare, and he's a beast on blocks and boards. I guess I understand, but I definitely do not agree. I have watched every single game since O'Neal has started, and although he does look energetic at times, he is lethargic during others, and can't run the floor like the rest of the team can. When he starts getting double-doubles consistently like he could, I will deem him worthy of the trade, but thus far they've dropped from the best record in the west down to third now (i believe).
I think it's just the simple fact they lost one of the most dynamic SF's in the game in Marion, a person who could pop that ugly-looking three on you just as easy as he could make you a poster... He was a KEY element in Mike D'Antoni's run/gun, full-court offense and made the team the speedsters they had become known as, but the front office caved into concerns about never having a true big man. I realize Marion is a nine year vet, but that's nothing compared to the years O'Neal has logged (I'll use a term I heard on an ESPN basketball program and agree that his, "sun has set." Corny. Oh well). I don't understand the need for Amare AND Shaq...I could see exactly why you would want Amare and Shawn, though. They had a bum deal last year when they lost to the Spurs, without Shaq... and I say that with only a little bias.
They wouldn't need Shaq, if Amare would actually get some rebounds and defend (although Shaq doesn't seem to be much help in the defense department). Marion averaged about 2 more rebounds than Amare during his time in the Valley. Amare is a bit overrated, in my opinion. He benefits a lot from playing with Nash, running up to the net and dunking it on most of his points.
Amare leads the team in scoring and avg's about 2.5 BPG...I don't think he's overrated, to be honest. Yes, he does get the dish and the AO's all the time, but you would too if you had him. It was a good one. Shaq had a double/double @ 14 pts, 16 boards, respectively. The thing that made me proud was holding Tim Duncan to only 17 points. If they play tough, physical defense and get this thing rolling before the playoff's, they are a contender for the WC Finals, no problem.
It would have been pretty surprising if they were to play at the level they were playing at, for the remainder of the season. That's why I did not agree with the people who wrote them off so quickly. The Suns had no choice but to trade Marion. He would have left in free agency. He wanted out. Well, he got his wish. He's the MAN, now that Wade has been shut down. Marion has always complained about being a natural 3 playing the 4. Well, now he plays the 3, he's not doing that well at all. He has a quickness advantage over 4s, but he doesn't have the ability to create his own shot from the wing, like most 3s. Happiest player ever to be traded from a .700 team to a .200 team.
