You would think that the team with the best record in the Western Conference would stick with the formula that brought it there. But with the NBA trade deadline less than two weeks away, the Phoenix Suns have undergone a dramatic shakeup by trading for "Superman" himself, center Shaquille O'Neal.
In a trade that still has many shaking their heads in disbelief, the Suns sent All-Star forward Shawn Marion and guard Marcus Banks to the Miami Heat in return for O'Neal. While much has been made about the apparent ill fit of Shaq into the Suns' up-tempo style, the Suns evidently decided that their roster was not built to win a title with Marion. With the Los Angeles Lakers' recent acquisition of Pau Gasol, the Suns saw another contender getting stronger up front, where their team was weakest.
With Shaq, the Suns had an opportunity to add a player with the size to guard the top big men in the conference, something that has been their Achilles heel so far this season. Although they traded away their best defender in Marion, the Suns hope that having a true center in the lineup will help them defensively and also allow Amare Stoudamire move to his natural position: power forward.
While the Suns are clearly moving in a new direction - one that will emphasize the half-court game with Shaq in the lineup - what is less clear is where the other party in this deal of the season is headed. Indeed, what does it say about the worst team in the league, the Miami Heat?
Miami has seen a giant roster overhaul since its NBA title two years ago, and it seems that more changes are on the horizon for Pat Riley's team. Over the summer, the Heat lost defensive specialist James Posey to the Boston Celtics and top shooter Jason Kapono to the Toronto Raptors, traded Antoine Walker to the Minnesota Timberwolves and were faced with the retirement of point guard Gary Payton.
With so many weapons from the championship team gone, it was realistic to think Miami might drop a notch this season. Still, no one expected what has transpired since - namely, a 9-40 record that currently has the Heat in last place in the league and chasing the No. 1 pick in the NBA Draft in June rather than another championship trophy. The team endured a 15-game losing streak earlier this season and has lost 22 of its last 23 games, with the lone win coming in a two-point victory over the Indiana Pacers.
Unlike many bad teams, Miami's troubles have come mostly on the offensive side of the ball. Though the Heat are still a middle-of-the-road defensive team, their offense is the worst in the league, averaging just 92.3 points per game.
Dwyane Wade has been asked to shoulder the load and has responded by leading the team with 24.2 points and 6.8 assists per game. Although those numbers are down from last season, likely due to lingering after-effects from major knee surgery over the summer, Wade is still the fifth leading scorer in the league.
However, he has not had much help up to this point, and this latest trade suggests that the Heat's management is trying to rectify the situation. The summer acquisitions of Ricky Davis and Mark Blount from Minnesota were supposed to help alleviate the scoring burden for Wade and give Miami another skilled big man to spell Shaq. But Davis has been up and down, as he has been most of his career, averaging 13.5 points but delivering little else. Blount has been a complete disappointment and is battling for playing time with third-year center Earl Barron.
The team's defense should only improve with the addition of Marion, who has the ability to guard every position on the floor. But where the former Sun can truly pay dividends is in the rebounding department, where Miami sits at the bottom of the league. Marion averaged just below 10 rebounds per game with the Suns and recorded a double-double in his first appearance with the Heat, a 104-94 loss to the Lakers on Sunday.
Offensively, the implications of the trade are less certain. It remains unclear how Marion's offensive style - running the floor and securing transition buckets - will fit in with the Heat's struggling offense. Banks, having shown brief flashes of brilliance that made the Suns give him a long-term deal two summers ago, will be given a chance to earn minutes at the point.
The Heat will certainly have a busy summer trying to build around Wade and might continue making trades before the deadline. With over $25 million from eight expiring contracts set to come off the books, Miami should be a major player in the free-agent market this offseason. That number could swell even more if Marion, who is set to make almost $17 million next year, decides to opt out of his contract; he has always wanted to be a team's No. 1, and time will tell if he can adjust to playing alongside Wade or if the Heat will even want him for the long haul.
If Marion is off the books, Miami might be in the running for a player like Elton Brand, another superstar who can also opt out of his deal this summer.
As is, the Heat are probably not any closer to getting back to championship level, but Pat Riley deserves credit for trying to move his team in the right direction.
