Fantasy Impact of Shawn Marion-Jermaine O'Neal Trade

Shawn Marion once again finds him dealt to an inferior team.  Last year it was for Shaq.  This year he’s being moved, along with Marcus Banks, to Toronto for Jermaine O’Neal and Jamario Moon.

The biggest winners in this trade is the Matrix.  With Marion leaving Dwyane Wade’s side, he’ll likely get more than the 10.6 field goal attempts he averaged with the Heat. 

He’ll be playing with a Point Guard (Jose Calderon) who more closely matches Steve Nash’s skill set, which should see his 12.0 points per game go on the incline.  Michael Beasley is playing just 24.3 minutes per game. 

At first glance I thought that Michael Beasley would see a bump in production, but the Heat are adding two guys who should see extended minutes.  Jermaine O’Neal and Jamario Moon will likely play around 25 minutes for the Heat.

JO’s scoring won’t change, but he should see a little increase in rebounding.  Instead of sharing the post with Chris Bosh and Andrea Bargnani he’ll be sharing it with Beasley and Udonis Haslem. 

Jamario Moon will get some run, but I don’t see him being a fantasy factor any more barring injury.

The biggest losers in the trade are probably Andrea Bargnani and Udonis Haslem.  Shawn Marion is playing for a payday, and after his slow first half with Miami, he’s going to want to showcase his skills to the rest of the league. 

Chris Bosh is going to get his, so someone is going to take the hit. To me that guy is Bargnani.  Udonis Haslem will see his minutes diminish as the Heat work JO and Moon into the mix.  Plus, JO’s presence will take away some of his rebounding prowess.