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| Dwyane Wade (left) and Shawn Marion (right) during Marion's debut in Miami. (Photo by Issac Baldizon/NBAE via Getty Images) |
You know, I keep hearing how the Shaquille O’Neal trade was a good trade for Phoenix and that it was a one-sided desperation move.
Well, I beg to differ.
The winners of this trade are the Miami Heat. With the new acquisitions of Shawn Marion and Marcus Banks, the Heat just took a giant step in the right direction.
By sending Shaq to Phoenix, Miami unloaded roughly $40 million over two years.
That leaves cap space to pursue a big name in the offseason. Possible free agents include Gilbert Arenas, Ben Gordon, Luol Deng, Antawn Jamison, Sam Cassell, Baron Davis and Ron Artest to name a few.
Let's not forget that before Steve Nash strolled into town, Marion was the captain of this ship, averaging 21 PPG, 9 RPG, 2.3 SPG and 1.3 BPG.
Those are pretty solid numbers for a guy who was supposedly not team orientated in Phoenix. In his debut, Shawn gathered 15 points and 14 rebounds to go along with three blocks.
As for Banks, he is also good in his own right and was a 90 percent free throw shooter in the 05-06 season. He is a 77 percent free throw shooter for his career.
In his debut, Banks had seven points and four assists.
The Heat’s defense will eventually become focused and better overall with the addition of Marion’s all around skills. The Heat will also most likely receive a top 10 pick in this year's draft.
The reason the Heat may not receive the first overall selection, is because the play of Wade and Marion will hurt their chances of ending with the worst record in the league.
Look for the Heat to possibly trade up for the top pick and possibly draft Roy Hibbert from Georgetown. Miami is also in the running for Knicks' foward Zach Randolph.
The Knicks, however, won’t budge unless Udonis Haslem is sent in return via trade. Then again, the Heat could make a deal for Chicago center Ben Wallace, who looks unhappy right now in Chicago.
Wallace seems to have fallen out of good grace with the Bulls, and Miami may be able to get him for a bargain, perhaps Ricky Davis and Daequan Cook.
Well, whatever Miami decides to do, barring a catastrophic meltdown, the Heat look to be a potential top five team in the Eastern Conference by next season.
4 comments Last one added about 1 year ago — Leave a Comment
Michael Whittenberg about 1 year ago
I agree that the Miami will benefit from this trade--but they have to get a key free agent during the offseason, and they have to re-sign Marion, who is a un-restricted free agent at the end of the season.
Luol Deng, Ben Gordon, Allen Iverson, Baron Davis, Jermaine O'Neal, Elton Brand, Ron Artest, Gilbert Arenas, and Antawn Jamison will be the biggest names on the market this summer.
I doubt they will get most of these guys--but I think Jermaine O'Neal would be a great fit or Antawn Jamison.
2008 Free agents: http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?page=2008FreeAgents
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Andrew Ungvari about 1 year ago
Marion can opt-out and become a free agent but he won't. No team will have the $17.1 million in cap space he's due to make. They'll probably use the mid-level and hope that Zo comes back. Pair that with a top 5 pick and they'll have enough to keep Zo happy. They can either let Marion go at the end of 2009 and use the cap space on someone else, or re-sign him and have a little dough to spend in 2011 when Blount and Haslem's deals expire. I know Riles has at least one more move in him with Ricky Davis or J-Will's expiring deals. What a great move by Riley to dump Shreq.
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Erick Blasco about 1 year ago
I'm trying to think of which of those guys would want to play in Miami. I don't think Davis, Iverson, or Arenas are going anywhere, and since the wings are set, Gordon, Deng, or Artest are unnecessary. Arenas would never defer to his teammates, so he's a bad fit. That leaves O' Neal, Brand, and Jamison.
Jamison is strictly a scoring-minded big forward. Would the Heat really need him? Especially as he moves Haslem to the center spot where he'll be out of position. O'Neal is a marginally better defender who's more willing to play in the post but only against forwards. He's too soft to be more than a jump shooter as a center. As for Brand, he's a powerhouse scorer in the post but he may be washed up with his achilles injury. Do the Heat really want to play with another older frontcourt player coming off an injury?
The best bet of the three is Jermaine, but the Heat also still need a point guard too. Jason Williams is on his last legs and there's nobody behind him on that roster.
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David Leney about 1 year ago
I liked your article but I disagree that Roy Hibbert will end up being the # 1 pick. Hibbert is a big body but that's about it. If you look at any mock draft Hibbert continues to drop, he might even slip out of the lottery if enough talent comes out. I do, however, think Hibbert is a good team player and with the right pedigree could turn into something special, given the right system.
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