Hope they have a crane

i cant see any reason for phoenix to do this...

On Espn it says they were looking at shipping him to Phoenix for Shawn Marion and Blount. Shaq would almost single-handedly change the pace of Suns games to a less run-and-gun style.

He could end up singing !!!!!

It's up to you... New York, New York
da da daa da da

Apparently the whole roster is up for grabs and
a mass trade gets rid of the dud contracts they have and Miami can pick up handy players around Wade.

New York get Shaq which is not that bad if he gets fit and can start from scratch rebuilding properly.

How does adding a 300 pound, 35 year old with bad legs, who has 2 years and 40 million dollars left to go help New York rebuild Would This Work

If Phoenix do trade Marion and Marcus Banks was the other not Blount

They are going backwards

Shaq isnt the defensive presence he used to be

Old man with big body and lots of experience, helping a young fresh inexperienced backcourt for a few years while they learn to play in the league.

New York needs a star and no one on the roster is going to be one. cut your losses and start with an overpaid old man I say, but get some new rookies and get rid of some of those big contracts.

By the time Shaq is done you will have the money for a gun free agent and a few kids with 2 years experience and hopefully a star player on the books.

I just can't see them getting anywhere with quick fix options like they have been doing.

A long term plan is needed here

Shaq's not going anywhere unless he decides to agree to a buy-out in the offseason. Hopefully he does as he'd put a team like Dallas over the line.

Shaq to new york? LMAO, they've got enough problems.
I certainly wouldn't pay $20m a year just so he can 'mentor'

I am a Knicks fan and Shaq can stay away thank you. I don't want the old man or his fat ugly contract.

Knicks are in deep trouble as it is, we don't need Shaq there.

Shaq to Phoenix is all but done. Apparemtly heading to PHX tomorrow for a physical, if that's good the trade goes ahead.

As a Suns fan, and an even bigger Marion one, I am majorly pissed off. We trade our best defender and rebounder for a past it, slow, 300 pounder with a huge contract. Unless Marion demanded to be traded, then I just can't believe why they would do it. So many other deals they could do, most likely without giving up the teams second most valuable player....

Phoenix does this trade because:

1) Team chemistry, I have read on numerous occasions that Marion hates not being the number one option... regardless of Stoudamire and Nash being on the team.

2) The Suns have realized that they don't have anyone to guard proper centers come play off time. Don't be fooled by thinking Amare is a C, he is a PF, and often gives up a lot of points to opposing players, didn't Bogut have a career game against him recently?

3) Shaq wont be so heavily relied on at the Suns minute wise. They have a deep rotation so I guess they will hope for more meaningful minutes, allowing him to get himself fitter for the post season.

4) Team Chemistry on court.. try guarding Shaq and Amare when Steve Nash is feeding you the ball. One of these guys is going to get considerably better looks and make you pay.

5) Shaq is not past it yet. He might not be playing at the same level as he used too, but I bet he can still be very productive. He would bring leadership, finals experience and a winning attitude. With a fresh start maybe he will become more energised.

6) Marcus Banks sux and so does his contract.

7) If the trade doesn't work out, Shaq might retire, I think he still has 2 years left on his contact after this one. By retiring this frees up cap space for the suns.

Miami does this because:

1) Marion immediately comes into the team and makes more of an impact than Shaq was. Marion also gets the chance to be the 'star' (albeit the second one).

2) The Heat suck, a change is needed. With any luck they will get lucky with the ping pong balls, grab a great youngster, and be able to build around Wade, Marion and draft pick.

3) With Shaq gone, they continue to play Mark Blount ensuring he gets decent stats on paper, and trade him at seasons end for more than he is worth.

4) The Heat become a more up tempo team with Marion which COULD benefit everyone.

I just think the trade is interesting and will add excitement to an already very good NBA season so far.

TC's on the money. Also in response to Mr. Hubbard he thought this was that Shaq to Suns deal from last week. This new one most certainly has legs.

I can see the pros and cons of this trade. I hate giving up Marion though. I doubt this trade would of happened a week ago (it only happened because of the Gasol trade)

I cant see Shaq guarding duncan though. I would rather Suns pursue Camby or something

And they won't be able to build around Wade and Marion, i will bet my house Marion will be out of there this year (he can opt out after this season)

It would be good if Phoenix resigned him ha ha

This is purely a salary dump by Miami

TC:

1) I agree with, to an extenet. Remember, Marion was feeling down about being mentioned in trade rumours every summer, and at times during the season too. And Amare has been whiny too, so it's harsh to just point out Marion's complaints.

2) Yeah, Amare can't D up. But I think that if your only bringing Shaq to play D, you can get someone else (Dalembert?) at a much cheaper cost.

3) We don't have a deep rotation. With Marion gone, we'll most likely see:
Nash/Barbs/Strawberry (very rarely)
Bell/Barbs
Hill/Diaw
Amare/Diaw
Shaq/Skinner

Adding Shaq just means one less reliable player who gives 30+ minutes easily. Which means everyone else has to step up and play bigger minutes. That worries quite a bit.

4) I agree with.

5) Lots of guesswork. There comes a time in everyones life where their body just doesn't have it anymore. Shaq's been on that path for a while, and I do fear that we lose him to injury as soon as we get him.

6) Agreed.

7) Marion may have opted out after this year though. So the salary cap agrument doesn't really hold a lot of weight. And provided that Shaq stays on, PHX lose out, cap wise. Which shocks me the most, as we've given away picks, James Jones and Kurt Thomas (who is answer to your second point) for nothing but cash.

Basically, I know that Shaq will bring lots, but you have to remember that Marion is a walking double-double, who can play D against any player out on the floor and gets so many buckets through hard work, it ain't funny. He's close to the perfect player for Phoenix basketball. Shaq...not so much.

If Shaq can't keep up, the consequences are dire.

Logic would say the Suns will be giving up their up tempo game for a more traditional half court game. They know Nash really has only this season and next season to win it and all up I think this is a very good trade for both teams.

ELG....they wont trade Marion to any team in the West...they would trade him outta the West

Would love to see Bynum and Shaq match up in the playoffs

TC and twentyfour covered it well.

The Suns have been pimping Marion around for the last week. They tried the Bobcats (Okafor) and they tried the 76ers (Dalembert) before agreeing to the Heat offer. They got knocked back by both teams. There is whispers that the Mavs were willing to part with Josh Howard to get Shaq (which makes less sense than the Miami trade).

This makes the Kurt Thomas deal look really really bad now.....

The trade also occured due to the Lakers trade. It scared the crap out of the Suns as they can't bang with Odom/Gasol/Bynum and they would lose their stranglehold on the Pacific Division. Due to the seeding of the playoffs, winning your division is a must, just to get homecourt advantage throughout the playoffs. Outside of Amare they have nothing in the big department. The Suns also lost to a Parker-less Spurs (yes, the Suns made some silly mistakes etc etc) last week which raised some eyebrows in the front office. Kerr is also a rookie GM and he doesn't really believe that the way the Suns play will bring a 'ship. If needed the Suns can still play up-tempo, it does weaken without Marion, but I guess they feel that Hill and the improved Boris can make up the loss.

Last week the Suns review tape of Shaq and like his passing game out of the high post. Plus it adds some interesting aspects. Regardless of how Shaq is doing, he still commands a double team. Amare commands a double team as well. Both players pass well out of double teams. Hill/Bell/Nash/Barbosa are all good spot up shooters and will benefit. T

It's interesting that Shaq averaged 21.5 PPG, 10.5 RPG, 4.0 APG, 2.0 BPG and 62% FG in the two games against the Suns this season which makes me think the big fella still has some legs left in the tank.

Shaq will match up well in the West and provide assistance on the D end when they battle the Spurs and Lakers and if Houston pull their fingers out. This move also moves Amare to his preferred PF slot. It was unfair and draining in the defensive end of Amare to go with Yao, Duncan and Bynum. This will allow him to play the weakside defensive roll, also also allow him to conserve some energy.

Two weeks ago Sarver came out and said you won't here the name Marion in a trade rumour. Well it happened and Marion is apparently pissed and would welcome a trade out of the Valley.

I think it's a good trade for both teams. I think Marion will walk after the season and test the free agency market, but the amount of cap space that equates to will be sufficient to land a restricted free agent in the off-season. The temptation to play with Wade will make the Heat a real player in the game, and if they could convince Marion to resign for a better financial contract then who knows what could occur.

Restricited free agents next season include; Okafor (already turned down $12 mill per from Charlotte), Jermaine O'Neal, Elton Brand and Antawn Jamison.

I'm guessing they would like to play with D-Wade and possibly a top 3 lottery pick being Beasley, Rose or Jordan or whoever the Heat select.

The Heat have a boatload of unrestricted free agents, Earl Barron, Ricky Davis, Luke Jackson, Alonzo Mourning, Smush Parker (P), Jason Williams, and already have $20 million coming off the books in the above players. I can honestly see Riley getting this squad and totally rebuilding. He's holding a great draft pick, he's got Wade already in place, and if he can resign Marion to a cap friendly contract and add an Okafor or J O'Neal type then things are looking up.

I'll be pissed off for the Suns fans out there over this trade. I hate it.

Marion is a brilliant player.

Shaq is old and past it.

Terrible move.

The more I think about it, the more I just get pi$$ed with $arver. If he wasn't so damn paranoid with getting rid of contracts, we'd still have Thomas and I highly doubt we hear any sort of trades going down.

TR got it with the whole Laker thing, PHX FO got scared and made a move out of desperation. While I absolutely love Shaq (he was my favourite player growing up), I'm just not gonna be all too happy with this move until we finally get that ring.

I just wish we could have kept Nash/STAT/Marion together for one more go and hope that we didn't continue our bad luck.

I'm pretty glad for D Wade, whose talent seems to be wasting away this season. Hopefully this trade with Marion energizes the team. On the other hand I have no Idea why Phoenix would want to make this trade. There goes that run and gun offence we've all come to love.

If this goes down I'm going to be interest to see how Mike D handles it. He's never had a plodding centre before.

I saw an article yesterday which suggested that Mike D and Kerr don't see eye to eye on a lot of things and that Kerr has Sarver in his pocket. The article mentioned Larry Brown if the Suns want a change.