The Miami Heat have traded center Shaquille O’Neal. The good news is, the Heat and Dwyane Wade now have Shawn Marion to team with D.W. The Heat also acquired Marcus Banks from the Phoenix Suns. Here are the details:
Miami gets:
Shawn Marion: 07/08 - 15.8 ppg / 9.9 rpg / 2.1 apg / 2.0 spg / 52% fg
Marcus Banks: played 1 game for the Suns; played primarly in the NBA summer league
Phoenix gets:
Shaquille O’Neal: 07/08 - 14.2 ppg / 7.8 rpg / 1.7 bpg / 58% fg
From Miami’s stand point, this makes sense in 2 different ways. The first is to clear a lot of cap room: Shaq, as stated, has 2 years left on his contract for 20 million each year. Getting a hefty 40 million out of the picture is a nice breath of fresh air for the Heat. Secondly, when you’re 9-37, even in the awful…awful East, you’re out of the picture. This team is already thinking long-term. The Heat and Timberwolves will battle for the rest of the season for the number 1 pick in the draft, but either way they’re going to get a top college player. This team is bad, and old. It’s hard to believe they won a title just 2 years ago, but things change quickly in the NBA. They’ve come to the realization that they can’t contend with the guys they have right now, and what bigger change to make than trading Shaq? The rest of this season is about playing everyone, getting young guys involved, and meshing Marion into the offense. With a top pick in the draft and Marion, a 4-time all star, Miami will be rebuilding, but will certainly be somewhat better next year.
But the dumbfounded analysts and fans aren’t questioning the move from the Heat’s perspective, no, but rather Phoenix’s side. Already discussed was Marion wanting to get out, but why make the move for Shaq? Why pick up 40 million dollars worth for an aging star well past his prime? Well, to hammer home that point, take a look at the last few seasons for Shaq since he was traded to Miami in 2004:
2004/2005: 73 gp / 23.0 ppg / 10.4 rpg / 2.3 bpg / 60% fg
2005/2006: 59 gp / 20.0 ppg / 9.2 rpg / 1.8 bpg / 60% fg
2006/2007: 40 gp / 17.3 ppg / 7.4 rpg / 1.4 bpg / 59% fg
2007/2008: 32 gp / 14.2 ppg / 7.8 rpg / 1.7 bpg/ 58%fg
So, what do the numbers show? Well, for starters I would ignore the field goal percentage. You know what you’re getting with Shaq on the floor. He dominates the paint, he lives in the lane, and most of his shots are from 5-7 feet or closer; he’s always going to have a high percentage because of where he shoots on the floor. But in each of the other big categories, his numbers have fallen dramatically. His points, down from 23 to 14. His boards, down from 10 to 7. Maybe most importantly, his games played, down from 73 to just 40 last year. Let’s not mistake ourselves, Shaq will go down as one of the most dominant forces in NBA history. But age has caught up to him in a big way. He simply can’t move or jump the way he used to. Defenses aren’t intimidated the way they once were; you don’t have to gameplan to stop him anymore because faster, younger players will take the game away from him. So, why Phoenix..why do it?
Take a look at the western conference powers: Mavericks, Lakers, Spurs, Rockets, etc. Each of those teams has a big, big center in the middle of their lineup. In order - Dampier, Bynum, Duncan (although a power forward by trade), and Yao. These are 7 foot, 270 lb +, big bodies that have the ability to take over a game in the paint. Phoenix doesn’t have a true big body to take over in the paint. Now you might say, what about Amare Stoudemire? He’s a stud, no doubt about that. But over the last few playoff runs by the Suns, it’s been seen that he can’t handle the load by himself. That’s where Shaq comes in. Amare would start the game and your option off the bench would be a more rested and ready 14 time all star in Shaq. He can provide valuable minutes with Stoudemire on the bench. The man can still score, albeit less than he’s used to, but he can still manage double figures in any given game. The depth Phoenix gets from this trade is about winning the championship this year. Not next year, but this year. With Shaq off the bench, and the rest of the Suns lineup (where just about every single player has the ability to start), Phoenix suddenly becomes a tougher team to beat. They took the Spurs to 7 games a few years ago in the western conference finals. Does Shaq push them over the top? We have to wait and see. But even in their fast paced, run and gun offense, it never hurts to have a big dominating body like Shaq waiting in the wings.
Shaq daddy may be up there in age, but don’t question his desire to play. He can still produce for you, and now that he’s gone from the Heat, I believe he’s going to come into play with a new spring in his step. He’s going from a bottom of the cellar team in Miami (9-37), to the Suns (34-14) who sit atop the west. That’s enough to make any player play harder and with more energy than they once were. Does the trade make sense? It doesn’t seem like it, but maybe the Suns know something we don’t. Either way, it’s going to be exciting to watch.
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