Korean Job Discussion Forums

traxxe · Joined: 21 Feb 2007

I bleed purple and orange. I do. I've been a Phoenix Suns fan all my life. That team and I have had ups and downs.

True Story: My father and I watched every game. One game my father was ill, very ill. He grabbed a bucket, puked in it an sat in sweat as the game went into overtime. He told me to shut up and we watched as the Suns KJ throw in a buzzer beater to go up four and seal the deal. My father then had me (I was 10) drive him to the hospital because he had a heart attack during overtime. He didn't want to die before the game ended, he told the doc. So he waitied to see. Anyway, he had his quadrouple bipass the next day.

Anyway, Shaq is in the land of the dry.

Well I love Shaq. I would have a hard time loving the Suns if they had landed Kobe. Shaq is a good upstanding guy I admire but lets face it... he has seen many better days. Man, the Matrix was awesome for Phoenix. He never had plays drawn for him and always created his own stuff. He had Nash to help.. he will be missed.

Many people are dissing the Shaq addition because they think it will hurt the tempo the Suns set. That's not entirely true. Shaq will be the inbounder and the rebound passer. Typically the Suns send four running and gunning and this won't be slowed too much by Shaq.

My thing is Shaq is injury prone now... and with the great addition of Grant Hill... that's a lot of fragile eggs in one basket.

On the plus side we can see Amare finally play at the four spot like he is supposed to.

Plus the Suns are looking to add one more. While I would of rather seen AK47 or, hell... Gasol... welcome Shaq. Hopefully we'll get someone else in who will add depth. Screw it, trade the Hawks #1 pick and some of the new guys. Go for the trophy.

CPT · Joined: 25 Mar 2007

I didn't quite understand it at first, but I think the Suns must have accepted that they weren't going to win a championship with the roster as it was constructed up until a few days ago.

Marion is a fantastic player (and I bet Miami is thrilled to have him...they probably thought they wouldn't be able to give Shaq away), but having Shaq and Amare in the front court for playoff style basketball is probably going to give Phoenix a better shot at a championship than the Amare/Marion combo they had been using.

Shaq's health is a big concern, but they can afford to rest him up for the playoffs, and just hope he can stay healthy.

And man, the Western Conference playoffs are going to be amazing this year. I really hope we see a Suns/Lakers series at some point, and it's crazy to think that at least one of the Suns, Lakers, Spurs, Mavs, and Hornets aren't making it out of the first round.

Unposter · Joined: 04 Jun 2006

Centers win Championships, unless your named Jordan, best big man wins.

Good move for the Suns if Shaq stays healthy and they use him primarily as a rebounder/defender.

endo · Joined: 14 Mar 2004 Location: Seoul...my home

Marion was their best defender and best finisher on the fast break.

The Suns can still play a fast break offence as you don't need 5 players to run a fast break. However, the addition of Shaq will definately change the team.

The deal needed to be done. Run and gun looks great in the regular season, but come playoff time the game changes.

We've already seen Bynum abuse the Suns this year. That won't happen now with Shaq in the middle.

c-Shaq/Skinner
pf-Stoudemire/Diaw
sf-Hill/Tucker
sg-Bell/Barbosa
pg-Nash/Strawberry

That's a solid 7 man rotation to use during playoff time with Tucker or Skinner (or my man Sean Marks Cool

) filling in for spot minutes.

demaratus · Posted: Thu Feb 07, 2008 11:39 am Post subject:

Yeah the heat win that trade just for dumping Shaq's salary. 20 million a year for the next two + this season. Thats obscene for a guy who gives you 14 and 7, obscene. While I like Marion's game, the guy was a total cancer in the locker room and the team especially D'Antoni are glad to see him off. Phoenix may be doing better by getting rid of Marion and his bad attitude.

runlikegump · Joined: 05 Nov 2007 Location: Seoul

There goes Nash's shot at a ring. Shaq was awesome 12 years ago, incredible 8 years ago, great 5 years ago, but nostalgia aside, I don't think anyone can put him top-ten big guys in the league anymore. All this trade does is slow the Suns down. And that sucks.

CPT · Joined: 25 Mar 2007

DrTommyTom · Joined: 18 Dec 2007 Location: Suwon, South Korea

The Suns have the best chance to get into the finals if Shaq is healthy throughout the rest of the season and playoffs. His track record speaks for itself, Orlando went to the finals (lost to the Hakeem the Dream), Lakers 3 peat, Miami once and now with the Suns. I can see it happening in the near future. Shaq is a tough man and he wants to play and I feel, being the entertainer and competitor that he is, he will bring something much needed to the Suns.

Besides that, Grant Hill and Steve Nash are getting up there in age and I know they will want to end their careers with at least one Championship trophy. With the addition of Shaq they finally have a leader in the locker room, on the bench (if need be) and on the court, who knows how to get the job done and most importantly get past those Spurs in the Conference finals.

Bad news for Marion though. Miami just lost too many players during the off season and right now too many to injury for extended periods of time. Pat Riley needs to make some moves or else he will be playing shuffleboard with all the other seniors in Miami.

blaseblasphemener · Posted: Fri Feb 08, 2008 7:51 pm Post subject:

Jermaine O'Neil might have been a better fit for the Suns. Younger, fitter, franchise player. I imagine he would have thrived with Nash. Pacers would have jumped at that deal.

ForceOne · Joined: 25 Aug 2005

The more I think about this deal, the more I like it for the Suns. While the deal may have only been done in response to the Gasol deal, they needed size any way. Shaq will help tremendously on the boards, in the half-court offense and in the locker room. Marion apparently was a huge cancer that the Suns did not want to re-sign anyways. Better to get something for him now than nothing for him later.

In my opinion (while he is amazing on defense) Marion is only as good as Nash and is teammates make him. I would be pretty concerned if I was a head coach and Marion was a #1 or #2 option on offense.

This deal will actually help the Suns save money as they will avoid the luxury tax, and Shaq @ 20 milion for the next 2 years will be cheaper than Marion + Banks.

Marion 08/09= 17,180,000 09/10= Likely a max deal
Banks 08/09= 4,176,000 09/10= 4,464,000 10/11=4,752,000

As for Jermaine O'Neal being a franchise player, well I beg to differ. He is certainly not a guy I would want to build my franchise around, and as for being "fitter" well, skinnier, yes, but J. O'Neal averages 62 games played/year, and has played 70 or more games in only 5 of 11 seasons.

traxxe · Joined: 21 Feb 2007

I'm starting to come around to the idea of Shaq in Phoenix.

Plus in two years Nash, Shaq, and Hill will probably be ready to come off the books and retire.

Phoenix will still have Stoudemire and will be ready to throw Barbosa to be the lead. They will also have tremendous cap room to sign someone else who might be an incredible asset to the team...

Hey.. Lebron... Wade... don't they all come off the books then? Razz

cuckoo for kimchi · Posted: Sun Feb 10, 2008 10:10 pm Post subject:

I'm a big Nash fan (being a Canuck and all)...the big Aristotle is going to slow down (to say the least) there up tempo style...
I think that's fair to say.

riverboy · Joined: 03 Jun 2003 Location: Incheon

If Shaq want to grab boards and dish the ball on the fast break, I see Pheonix doing well. He has to be healthy and that is the big question. I certainly hope so.