The Real Reason for the Shaq Trade

By Craig Kwasniewski

Now that all the shock of the trade has died down and all the fat /slow/old jokes have passed, I'm starting to think that Phoenix did the right thing in making that trade. Putting Boris Diaw in Marion's spot hasn't slowed down the Suns at all and in a few weeks Shaq will be back into playing shape and finding his own way to contribute to what is now the top contender in the NBA.

WHAT? A Lakers fan conceding that the Suns are THE top contender????

Think about it, the one team that seemed to always have the Suns number was the San Antonio Spurs with their slow/deliberate style of play. They had the coaching along with the patient and experienced roster to never get caught up in Suns high octane pace and always seemed to pull out W's when it mattered.

And that's why the Suns made the deal for Shaq, not as a panic reaction to the Lakers getting Gasol, but rather to deal with the Spurs during the playoffs.

Just days after the Spurs slugged out an 84-81 win at Phoenix the Suns trade for Shaq. Coincidentally, the Lakers traded for Gasol the next day, so it came off as a panic reaction to the Lakers deal. Instead, Steve Kerr finally realized that the Suns just weren't capable enough to grind out wins over the Spurs in their current form. So Kerr took a chance and didn't have to gut the Suns roster to get a player like Shaq.

Back in 2005-06, Diaw showed us that he was a capable 3 or 4 when filling in for the injured Stoudemire. So there's really no drop in play with him filling in for Marion until Shaq is in game-playing shape (which could be in a few weeks). Shaq's smart enough and experienced enough to realize what the Suns need from him in order to succeed: rebounding, defense, interior intimidation and (most importantly) quality minutes against Duncan on defense. Plus, all the initial negative press from the trade is enough to motivate Shaq to get into the type of shape necessary to compete for a title. So if the Suns don't quite pull it off this postseason, expect a 2005-like Shaq to return next year. Maybe he can't dominate games offensively, but he'll be just enough to put the Suns over the top and right in the NBA Finals.

The trade clearly gives the Suns a two-year window... so we'll see.

Comments

[Matt]

I think (aside from the REAL question of how much Shaq can return to form) you overestimate Diaw's ability.

He has shown he can be a significant contributor in spurts, but he is still ridiculously inconsistent. There's a reason he was on the bench behind Marion all year, and it's because he doesn't bring it every night the way others on this team do...

[Sean Connolly]

The Spurs always have the Suns number and Shaq will definitely help them in the half court game. The Suns style of offense will never win championships because it has no versatility, now with Shaq they have that. Don't worry about your Lakers though as soon as Bynum is back I put them right up there with the Suns. I'm really hoping for a Suns-Lakers match up in the western conference finals. Thats all I can look forward with the way my Bulls are playing this year.

[paul]

Your last sentence really is the key to this whole trade. Steve Nash, their best player, has about 2 good years left, so the fact that shaq might only have 1 or two decent years left is inconsequential. they were not going to get it done with the team they had. Shaq gives them a legitimate 2-year window to win.