Report: Miami Heat & Phoenix Suns Discussing Shaquille O’Neal-Shawn Marion Trade

ESPN.com is reporting the following:

The Phoenix Suns are weighing whether to complete one of the most unexpected deals in NBA history by acquiring O’Neal from the Heat, NBA front-office sources told ESPN.com’s Marc Stein on Tuesday night.

Sources said that the Suns are deciding whether to go through with a deal that would send Shawn Marion and Marcus Banks to the Heat for O’Neal, who, at 35, is in the midst of his least productive season for a Heat team that has cratered from a championship in 2006 to a 9-37 record this season.

My Very Quick Take: Wow. Breaking news here. Miami and Phoenix are contemplating a major deal, one that would alter the NBA landscape.

Trading O’Neal makes sense for The MIA. A final playoff push is as realistic as Coach Riley changing his hair from oil slick to perm. It won’t happen. And dealing ’Kazaam’ for ’The Matrix’ helps the Heat’s bottom line, increases athleticism, and boosts talent.

I’m not sure about O’Neal in Phoenix. The Diesel would blow a tire trying to keep pace with Steve Nash’s run-and-gun offense. Moreover, would Coach Mike D’Antoni modify ‘Seven Seconds To Shoot’ for O’Neal?

Or is this addition by subtraction? For years, Marion has expressed his displeasure about being the third banana in Phoenix. Some refer to him as a cancer in the locker room.

The forward can exercise an opt-out clause this summer and become an unrestricted free agent, so the Suns may have to trade him for something instead of being left with nothing come July. And that something could very well be O’Neal.

Things would become awfully interesting out west if this rumor became reality. The flaming hot Phoenix-L.A. rivalry would suddenly become even hotter. And Miami, if they can ink Marion long-term, would have rebuilt their roster on the fly.

Come back to HoopsVibe.com for more on this story as it develops ....

Should the Heat and Suns swap O’Neal for Marion? Get at us in the comment box below or hit us up in our fan forum. Click here to read and subscribe to Oly Sandor’s NBA Blog.