...what's all this noise?

I like and Shaq and all, but in PHX? More thoughts on this later if there's any validity to all the scuttlebutt.



edit: Looks legit. Can Shaq run with the Suns? I think the easy answer is a fairly resounding "no." At first glance, it's a pretty bizarre trade. Shaq can screen well, but he won't be able to slip picks and finish ala Marion, nor will he be able pick & pop like Kurt Thomas. He won't be able to run the floor with the rest of the team, and his lack of a jumper means that he'll be largely ineffective as a trailer on the break. He tends to camp out in the paint, which means that he may clog the lane (in that bad way: on offense), effectively killing the spacing when Nash and Hill are slashing. He's a defensive presence, but he certainly won't be able to guard anyone at the 1 and 4 spots, a void that Marion will inevitably leave. Furthermore, he's not only aging, but he's injured, so there's no guarantee that he'll even get out on the floor for the 20-25 minutes that he'd ideally provide. Perhaps most importantly, why mess around with the roster when you're 34-14 and in first place in the West?

It's a huge risk, but that doesn't mean that there isn't a certain degree of upside to the situation. The trade moves Amare back to his natural power forward slot, where he won't be required to guard bigger centers on a nightly basis. Unlike in Miami, Shaq will be surrounded by shooters (Nash, Bell, Barbosa), which means that he'll have room to operate on offense. Phoenix also won't have to rely as heavily on the pick & roll, because Shaq gives them a legitimate post presence. Contrary to popular belief, Amare's plethora of fallaway jumpers do not make him a good post-up player. The only guy currently on the team with any sort of a back-to-the-basket game is Diaw. But shortcomings aside, the Amare/Shaq tandem is fairly imposing. They won't kill anyone on the offensive glass, but conversely, opposing teams won't hammer them so much on the boards either. I'm torn on the trade. Though it makes Phoenix a much more traditional team, I do like what a healthy Shaquille O'Neal could potentially bring to the table. Unfortunately, it also means the departure of Shawn Marion, by far my favorite Sun of all time.

I'm skeptical, but I'm willing to give the experiment a chance. If nothing else, the Odom/Gasol/Bynum frontcourt out in L.A. looks a tad less intimidating now.