Shaq Trade

I do not understand the Phoenix Suns

Shaq to the Suns for Shawn Marion? Did that just really happen? Even the most lay fan out there can not understand where this one came from. The Phoenix Suns who do not play defense, who run and gun more than the 70’s Knicks, just traded for Shaq?

Shaq is 35 years old. He is way past his prime. He is slow and overweight. And he is going to a place where speed and athleticism are as important as food and water. In my opinion the Suns were trying to “Ron Artest” Shawn Marion. As a former coach in very low leagues of the game there are two things that many people don’t understand about basketball players. The first is they don’t need coaching, and the second is they all think they should be playing the whole game. The problem and the beauty of basketball is that you only have 5 people who play. So if you are a high school coach a high school where there are 1500 boys and you can only start 5 and play 8 you can see where the problem lies. The beauty of basketball is that if you only have 8 guys, you can play a game. So that is why it is such a good game for children and adults to play in the driveway, at church, at the gym ect.

I obviously don’t know much about Shawn Marion. But I feel as if the Suns have been trying to get equal or lesser value for him for a while. His jump shot is worse than Stephen Jackson’s’ attitude at a parole hearing. That tells me that the guy doesn’t like to be coached. If you look at the guys who are famous for shooting and work ethic, their jump shots are usually as close to perfect as you can get. Allan Iverson is that guy, Mike Dunleavy Jr., Danny Granger, and Dirk all have perfect jump shots and are very coach able players. You can make a case for Reggie Miller, but when Reggie Miller would clinics and teaches other how to shoot his jump shot was perfect. Also if you look at the mechanics of a jump shot Reggie’s jump shot from the release point through the follow through was very close to perfect.

Anyway with athletic small forwards abound I am starting to see what the Suns were trying to accomplish. They needed someone to slow down Tim Duncan. This could help. I see Shaq as a bench player. If Shawn Marion was a pre Madonna I guess its addition through subtraction. If Shaq has the rest of this year and maybe next year the Suns also relieve themselves of cap space. As for Heat they tanked their season for a high draft pick. Now they have another player to build around.

That is the only thing I can come up with. I guess maybe you can add another team to the Shaq mystique. This guy is one of the greatest players of this era. He also has the rings to prove it. Why can’t he stay in one place? It makes you really appreciate guys like Reggie Miller who stuck with their team through thick and thin, and didn’t go chasing rings.