Desert Dud?: Why Shaquille O'Neal Won't Work in Phoenix

In recent history, the NBA has provided fans with some of the most irregular transactions we can imagine.

The Phoenix Suns are no strangers to these.

In 1992, the Suns stole one of the greatest forwards of all time—Charles Barkley—by trading away Jeff Hornacek and a couple of players you may never hear of in your lifetime.

(Props if you know Jeff, but he was a fantastic shooter.)

The end result: Sir Charles won an MVP that season with Phoenix and the Suns were ousted in the NBA Finals by Michael Jordan's Chicago Bulls.

Flip the switch to 2008.

Shaquille O'Neal, who may be the worst center for Mike D'Antoni's run and gun offense, is awaiting his first game as a member of (gasp) the Phoenix Suns.

The trade itself wasn't so bad. Shawn Marion is a free agent at season's end and it was expected that the Suns would let him go, safely assuming this because of their interest in the cap situation (letting Kurt Thomas go to the Sonics for a second rounder made this more obvious after the Joe Johnson trade for Atlanta's pick).

The Heat get out from under Shaq's overweight contract (no reference to O'Neal there), and bring in a player who may help them win 20 games this season. Both teams win when those factors are considered.

But I'm sorry to inform the Suns fans that, once you incorporate Shaq into your offense, you become the biggest losers.

OK, so it has been repeated many times that O'Neal won't be a major part of Phoenix's run and gun system. This is completely false and here's why:

1) O'Neal is unable to move out of the paint.

You'd love this if you were a half-court team that wants to beat up the frontcourt, slow down the game, and drag the opposition through the mud, but Phoenix is on another planet. When Shaq is stuck under the rim, the screen and rolls between Nash and his teammates are useless if Steve decides to pass out of them, because instead of attacking the rim, the Suns will have to settle for a mid-range jumper, unless they believe they can dunk over their own teammate. 

Assuming Phoenix pounds the ball inside to Amare, he isn't exactly "inside" anymore.

Amare's forte was his ability to dunk. The Suns are 63-62 when Amare is playing power forward and there's a reason for that. Putting Stoudemire a few feet away from the rim means he's going to shoot the ball more, and after watching him attempt a three-pointer last night against the Hornets in a clutch situation, you have to wonder if he's going to try and turn himself into Utah's Mehmet Okur.

If you feel good about that, you'll be disappointed for the rest of the season.

2) Shaq demands the ball to be effective.

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