Off Into The Sunset

Basketball, Major Sports

Posted by SK, February 6, 2008 - 8:30 pm

What was the name of the mythical bird that dies in a spectacular flame, but then rises from the ashes? 

The Phoenix.

And not unlike the namesake of his new home, Shaquille O’Neal, burned from the Heat, will attempt to rise from the ashes to make one more championship run.

Shaq was traded Wednesday to the Suns for Shawn Marion and Marcus Banks.  When I first read the rumor on ESPN.com, I made the universal “WTF?” face at my monitor (think Tom Brady watching Eli Manning hoist the Lombardi Trophy… yea, that face).  Sure, Shaq was a beast in his heydey… a career 25 point - 11 rebound guy, a block machine that wouldn’t let anyone score in the paint.  But he’s 35 now.  People were saying he was washed up four years ago, and according to STATS, Inc., his Player Efficiency Rating has dropped from 39.85 to 25.78 over those past four years.  To say he’s lost a step would be an understatement, and this year he’s already missed 14 games with a hip injury.

But then I thought about it, and this actually does make sense for the Suns.

First, Shawn Marion has made it clear that was going to opt out of his contract at the end of this season.  He’s been on the trading block for a while now, and there was no way he would have been a Sun next year.  Phoenix needed to get something for him.  Why not Shaq?

Second, the division rival L.A. Lakers just made a huge splash by trading for Pau Gasol.  According to ESPN’s Chris Broussard, the Dallas Mavericks were also pursuing O’Neal.  Now, I’ve never been an advocate of making a trade just to keep up with the Joneses, but I’m sure that’s part of what precipitated this.  If you can keep up with the Lakers, and stop the Mavs from getting better at the same time, then why not Shaq?

Finally, these Mike D’Antoni-Steve Nash Suns have never made it to the NBA Finals, and Nash’s championship window is closing fast.  He’s 33 and has 2 or 3 years left, tops.  So let’s see what happens when he’s paired up with The Diesel.  He has a habit of making his teammates better offensively, and will probably do the same with O’Neal.  Defensively, Phoenix needs someone to match up against Tim Duncan, Andrew Bynum, Tyson Chandler, and Yao Ming, and I would assume that the only times The Big Aristotle will log any extended playing time would be against the Spurs, Lakers, Hornets, or Rockets.  So I really don’t forsee him slowing the Suns down THAT much.  Again… Why not Shaq?

Obviously, he’s not someone you’re going to want to build your team around for the future.  That player would be Marion, and that’s definitely what the Heat will be trying to do.  With a nucleus of the Matrix and Dwyane Wade and playing in the NBA Leastern Conference, Miami is automatically in the mix for next year.

So this deal actually does make sense for the Suns, and definitely makes sense for the Heat.  Marion will be happy about getting out of Phoenix.  And I’m sure Shaq is excited about the prospect of not only playing with Steve Nash, but playing against Kobe and the Lakers more often.  In fact, ESPN is reporting that he spoke to Nash over the phone and told him, “I will not let you down.”

So who knows, maybe The Diesel rises from the ashes and delivers a ring to the Valley of the Sun.  If anything, this will be interesting.  Stay tuned.

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