The Big Cactus is in Town: The Shaq-for-Marion Trade

Tweet

The couple of days leading to the actual trade were, at least on my part, unbelievable. The Phoenix Suns were sporting the best record in the Western Conference and they were going to send one of their top three players to the Miami Heat for an aging Shaquille O'Neal who is generally known now for anything but speed. Shawn Marion was one of the main components of the Phoenix Sun's open court style of play, and without him in the lineup, it just wouldn't be the same. And true enough, Steve Nash now has one less high-flying target for his dimes. However, it must be pointed out that with that "sacrifice" comes many advantages on the part of the Suns. Apparently, Marion hasn't been the best player to have in the locker room this season. It was evident from the get-go that Marion wanted to be traded, apparently offended at the beginning of the season by the trade talks that would have sent him to Boston for Kevin Garnett (later on, the Suns would realize that if they were indeed going to get Garnett, it would have to be Amare Stoudemire - not Marion - packing his bags) among other potential deals. The trend leading to the trade as far as Marion's off-court actions are concerned were getting worse and it reached the point when the Heat's trade offer coincided (I think) with it, and the Suns just thought it should be worth pursuing. And there seems to be a common agreement about that. Steve Nash and Amare Stoudemire gave their go signals to make the trade happen. Mike D'Antoni and Steve Kerr wanted to make it happen. Grant Hill must have also wanted it to happen. Hey, Pat Riley wanted it to happen and I'm guessing Dwyane Wade must have thought it going to be a livable thing if it happened, with the way Miami's been performing as of late. Even Shawn Marion wanted it to happen. On record, it looked like everyone was happy with the deal. What's next for Shaq? He said he wanted another ring. What's next for the Suns organization? They need to fill up the void left by Marion, his perimeter defense in particular. Marion was someone who could defend anyone from point guards to centers, and no one in their current roster (especially not Shaq) would be able to do that. Raja Bell (and rookie DJ Strawberry, according to Suns officials) are great perimeter defenders, but they will never be able to measure up to Marion's defensive contributions. If anything, the versatility of the Matrix (on both sides of the court) will be sorely missed by the Suns. However, they now have a big body - or Big Cactus, as Shaq calls himself - in the paint, something they never had before. Amare Stoudemire is wasting his agility and quickness playing at the five for the Suns, and he shouldn't be standing around in the middle like a tree; on the other hand, Shaq is just perfect for that role. Ever thought why the San Antonio Spurs never had a huge problem with the Phoenix Suns? It's because the Suns never had anyone who could really stop Tim Duncan. Big men like him just to score at will inside the paint, and that's the main reason why in the off-season, the staff at Phoenix made it a point to improve Stoudemire's interior defense. Apparently, whatever he's become defensively this season still isn't enough, so they brought Shaq in to help out. The truth is, if they didn't get Shaq, they wouldn't be able to measure up to the Spurs, the Dallas Mavericks, or the Los Angeles Lakers (now with Pau Gasol on the lineup and with Andrew Bynum to be back before playoffs from the mend). Shaq gives them an edge against the bigger teams, and that's what the trade was about. They traded some athleticism, versatility, and locker room headaches for championship experience, leadership, a big body to man the paint, and a personal trainer for Amare Stoudemire. A fair enough trade, in my opinion.