Should the Phoenix Suns have traded Shawn Marion to the Miami Heat for Shaquille O'Neal?

No

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by Benjamin Lomax

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Long-term, the Shawn Mario for Shaquille O'Neal trade will prove to be a very poor trade, giving up a rising star for a fading one. 2008 proved the point, as "Superman" made few appearances in the post, blocking shots and intimidating as he once did. In addition, the trade has created inconsistency with the remainder of the players, necessitating a shift away from their bread and butter, and has handcuffed the most talented point guard in the NBA, who now has only three other players at best to work with on the break.

Steve Kerr correctly identified Amare Stoudemaire as being uncomfortable in the low post center role, yet another forward-center in the current era of scarcity in power players. Looking around, most other teams had locked down their true post threats (the few that exist in the NBA today), but he had a resource that a struggling Miami team could not turn down, a future team leader with amazing talent.

This idea might look good on paper, but Shaq is constantly injured and is growing slower with geometric bounds when he does play. He was once capable of playing with the Suns up-tempo game, but now only plays 5-6 minutes at a time, and his absence is notable in post defense. Stoudemaire has not looked comfortable sliding in and out of the center position as Shaq bounces back and forth from the bench to the court. When the two play together, they actually look good, but the fact is that Shawn Bradley would look great being fed the ball by Steve Nash. This guy could give assists to a sack of oatmeal!

Adding the Diesel's power to the Suns does not complement their style, and is only effective when he flashes back to the days in Orlando, which he can only do for about fifteen minutes a game. He also risks yet another injury every time he runs up and down the floor. Barring a nearly miraculous regeneration in 2009, then the loss of Shawn Marion, an amazingly talented young forward, will seem very foolish indeed. Even if O'Neal had accomplished everything the Suns wanted him to, had a huge impact in the remainder of the season and pushed them forward in the playoffs, they had no real chance to beat the deeper, equally talented teams in the West. In any case, the Shaquille entry was trading the future for the present.

I admit that when the Lakers traded O'Neal to the Heat, I would never have thought he would bring home a championship, and so I am hard-pressed to argue with his results so far. However, the only way this trade makes any sense is that Shaquille rediscovers his dominance and finds a fountain of youth enabling him to play 25-30 minutes per game. In addition, the Suns need to get lucky with Robin Lopez, who might learn something from the aging superstar. Unfortunately, Lopez is more Stoudemaire than Shaq, and Diesel has never shown any real inclination or gift for teaching.

Without these unlikely events, a year from now this will continue to look like a foolish trade, as Marion will almost certainly find his way to be a perennial All-Star with whatever team he ends up with, flying far above the drudgery in the East, as Lebron James now does. Shaquille will be a role-player at best within a year, and will only continue to play because of the huge salary he demands. This was a bad trade, proved out by 2008, and will only get worse with time.

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