I'm not sure if I understood that Heat/Kings mumbo jumbo but luckily I made it to the part about the Suns.....I watched the Suns last week and I saw a team that looked stale. Yes, they looked like a good, athletic team, but they looked stale. When they first started running this offense everyone was excited and wanted to be a part of it. Now, years later, they have all grown used to it and it seems maybe they take it for granted. Shaq could infuse some talent into the team and 'unstale'(?) them....Still, he doesn't have the skill set to guard the elite bigs anymore.

Great point, Cobra. That "stale" element is exactly why the Suns needed to shake things up. They weren't doing too good against the elite teams, either (something like 14-12 against the Western conference playoff teams).

I don't think the Suns are too worried about Shaq guarding elite bigs... who is an elite big among these teams: The Lakers (Bynum might be, but Shaq might be able to hold the youngster), the Mavs (Dampier?), Nuggets (Camby), Spurs (Horry/Duncan), Hornets (Chandler), and Warriors (Chris Webber/Andris Biedrins). They are all quicker than Shaq, but none are real threats to drop 20 ppg or anything in a series, except for Duncan (if he's considered a center) and maybe Bynum.

A lot of those teams you mentioned move their bigs around quite a bit and that's where Shaq will have problems. NO and LA are always running those pick and rolls and Camby is always all over the floor in Denver.

Phoenix essentially might still have to have Amare guard most 5's and have Shaq guard the weakest (offensively) big man on the floor.

Couldn't you see NO pull Paul/Chandler out to the perimeter to pull Shaq out there and then run pick and rolls for an entire series? That could get real nasty.

I stopped reading at "Hibbert top 3 pick"

"Oh, and you can't trade expiring contracts after they expire. Miami could trade picks for Artest and Bibby, and not have to worry about making the salaries match up, but they can't trade Williams and Davis after their contracts expire."

In other words, this blog has lost all credibility.

Creditility? Shoot, we never had any! We're not Slam, yo...

Seriously, I think the Heat have some more moves they can make then before the trading deadline. There's still three weeks for them to move those contracts. Or maybe they are just trying to clear cap space, and that's it. If so, they might let Marion go. That's a possibility, though, like the Grizzlies trading Pau Gasol, it makes no sense, because... what are the Heat going to do with all that space? Who is available that they want?

@Pooh: Yeah, Roy Hibbert might still be a top-5 pick. Seriously, don't be too surprised. He is the best center-type player available, unless you count Kevin Love as a center. Hmm...

But I admit college ball ain't my field of expertise. Maybe Rickhouse knows what's up?

@Cobra: Brian beat me to it. Those other centers in the West - Camby, Chandler, Biedrins... there's no need for Shaq to go out the paint to guard them. None of them can hit a baby jumper regularly. Webber can, and Boozer/Okur definitely can. On the other hand, one of the Heat's 9 wins was against the Jazz; Shaq got Boozer into foul trouble early, and he ended up with only 10 points that game (on 4-16 shooting). I'm guessing that was an anomaly, but maybe Shaq can handle Boozer better than we are giving him credit for.

Either way, I don't think any other center on a playoff team in the West can really abuse Shaq, even this 35% Shaq we're seeing today.

Brian brings up a good point: the sad reality is that teams are shying away from uptempo play in the NBA, because either it doesn't win in the playoffs, or because they are trying to match up with the Celtics/Spurs/Lakers, the three biggest "favorites" right now (per Vegas).

Q: "But who can't be happy living large in Miami?"

A: Shawn Marion

Nash gets a break for his defensive lack because he still works hard on that end of the floor. His problems are the physical tools he's working with, not a lack of effort or desire. The gifts that he uses to get an advantage on the offensive end do not help him on defense.

Wes: I like the post on your site about how teams should be entertaining, and that should be the case even if they are winning championships. It seems highly relevant in the discussion of this trade, and how it effects the "entertainment" value of these Suns.

But I don't care much for the argument that Nash's "physical tools" are the reason he can't play defense. That's a racial stereotype, in two directions: either you are saying Shawn Marion is "gifted", and that's why he's so good on the defense (as opposed to the effort he puts into his defense) or you are saying that Steve Nash is "retarded" by his lack of physical gifts. Like he's some uncoordinated dude, except, of course, when he's on offense!

Defense is all effort, period. We all know that. We all also know that scrub at the court, the one who sucks, but tries to make up for it by over doing it on the defensive end, right? Hell, some of us are that scrub! That's because defense is almost all effort. It's footwork, movement, anticipation. It's not "natural abilities", at least not on a professional-level. Everyone in the NBA, even the little white boy, has sick natural abilities. Nash's footwork (his soccer background) is part of the reason why he excels on the offensive end. With that footwork, he should be a stellar defensive player, too.

defense is not all effort in the pro level.
The playground scrub who tries hard and plays good D is not a great analogy, because in the nba you can't make as much contact with one on one Defense as in the nba, of course.

"footwork, movement, and anticipation" are not guaranteed with effort.

Effort helps, but "effort" wont get you to not fall for any of a guard's pump fakes , feints and crossovers, for example. otherwise david lee would be better at defense. we all know he sucks at D, and its not for lack of effort or practice.

just throwing that out there

*make as much contact with one on one defense as in the playground.

I agree with everything you said sml except Hibbert.(rant at bottom)

Great trade for both teams. Miami worst to first? I doubt it. Bottom 4 in east to top 4 in east? Quite possibly.

I think most fantasy fans will find out the answer to a question they have been wondering for about 5 years. Is Marion a product of the system? If he is not, the Heat will be a 500 team from here on out possibly.

rant
Hibbert is not athletic enough to be great in the NBA. I would not spend a top 15 pick on him. Perhaps I would look mid 1st round if I needed a Center that badly.

You saying that is like saying Noah would have been the #1 pick a few years ago after the tourney. He was slotted there but by draft time he would have dropped quick to around 7. Hibbert will drop more. I like his effort and all, but I do not see him translating.

you lost me there when you said that a PG is more important to the defense than a competent big. where did you get that from? the no-hand-checking rules made life a lot more difficult to perimeter defenders..which obviously increased the importance of defensively dominant bigs. sure nash could be a lot better on D, but the suns' playing style which is great for the regular season, not so much for the playoffs) lends itself just fine to him. he's quick, he's a great shooter, the best playmaker in the league, capable of turning pretty much anyone into wilt chamberlain (well, ok, not so much). on D, he's just there, won't give you anything special but he's not that much of a liability...[and tony parker is really underrated. seriously. guy's added a jump shot, he can penetrate like chris paul. he's money]

anyway, i don't think both ronron and bibby could be acquired so cheap. but yes, you're right, i guess, this deal is a huge turnaround for the heat...and i guess it also means the dorrell wright era is close to its end. hibbert and bibby can make them a playoff team, yeah. riles done good.

Good feedback from everyone - thanks for the comments. Real quick:
@Prez: Defense isn't all effort... you're right, I'm overstating my case. But it, like rebounding, is more about effort and practice than people assume. My guess: if David Lee practice as hard at defense as he does at, say, hitting a 15-footer (that's what he's been working on in practice, right?), he would be better at it. A lot of David Lee's problems on defense, in fact, stem from two things he could easily correct - one, getting his hands up more, and two, not leaving his man to chase rebounds too early. So effort may not be everything on defense, since mental focus is also really needed. But I don't think defense requires "natural ability". I think people see someone like Marion (or Kirilenko, to even out the analogy) block a shot, and think that's all hops or length and nothing else. At lot of it is wanting to play tough defense. For the flip side, see Shaq, who could have easily been the most dominating defensive player in his prime, too, but never was. On the other hand, guys who were dominate at defense - Rodman, Jordan, Pippen, the Knicks - worked hard at that.

@Joe: Good point about Hibbert. Like I said above, I don't follow college basketball that much (since St. John's fell off the map); so yeah, I guess if ya'll are telling me Hibbert ain't going top-15, then fine. The Heat could still get a decent big man in the draft, right? Is Kevin Love the top big man?

Also, I'm not predicting from bottom to top for the Heat. But they could, if their plan is to keep Marion, and do something with those expiring contracts, turn things around really quick. Like you said - "from bottom 4 to top 4".

Pedro: I meant that playing defense on a point guard, or stopping a point guard, is more important nowadays than stopping a center. There aren't many centers that can hurt you or even take over a game nowadays. Almost all the best centers are finishers, not creators (guys like Camby, Chandler, Biedrins). Stop the point guard, and the center is not as dangerous.

So guys like Nash need to be able to play defense when it matters. Case in point: Deron Williams the other night against Chris Paul. We all know Chris Paul is one of the best points in the NBA right now; Deron Williams locked him up, holding him to 6 assists and barely double figure scoring. The Jazz won easily. It was the worst game the Hornets have had in a long time, and it's because Chris Paul was locked up. That's why PG's who can play defense are important, maybe even more so than centers. See Boston (one of the NBA's best defensive teams) and Rondo. They don't have a "strong" center, unless you really think Perk really is a beast!

"That's because defense is almost all effort. It's footwork, movement, anticipation."

I hope that I don't force a devolution of the argument here.

Nash's offensive game thrives off of the fact that he can score from anywhere. We've all seen him get ridiculous open looks when a center or power forward plays off him at 5-10 feet from the tin because he's worried Nash is going to hit STAT or Matrix for a dunk.

Nash is sick with the off balance shots, deep ball, free throws, wide open looks. He can shoot and pass off the dribble, which he keeps going constantly. Probing, probing, probing, while his teammates run amok for open threes and dunks.

The point is this: his deadly shot and passing give him at least a half a step on offense. None of this counts for a shingle on defense. There's no such thing as an attack-three on defense (pass, shoot, dribble) unless it's steal/block/charge. He's not quicker or stronger than Chris Paul, whatever his level of desire or intelligence.

All that has nothing to do with racism.

SML: Love the arguments and points made. First heard the trade and wondered what the hell happened to the NBA...but it was a good (great?) move for both teams and you laid out the groundwork of why beautifully. Even the flawed (pretty extravegant) moves you project the Heat could make only serve to highlight how flexible their options are now.

On the Steve Nash defense thing: Who's quicker Steve Nash or Derek Fisher? Who's Faster? Who's has a better basketball IQ? Since the answer to all those questions should be "Steve Nash" or "Both" why is it that Fisher is a MUCH better defender? The answer is desire. Not physical ability, but desire. Or as once posted by the host here: effort.

Jethro: Nicely put. The same also applies to guys like Bruce Bowen and Raja Bell - they aren't physically any more gifted than any other player, they just desire to be above average defenders. Or, to put it the other way... Eddy Curry lacks that desire. I think "desire" is probably a better word (less controversial) to use in this discussion than "effort". Thanks.

Wes: I agree that Nash's skills (which he has worked hard to hone) on the offense help keep the defense honest, and they have no impact on his defense. Alot of those skills - the knowledge of angles coming of picks, how to create space, knowing never to give up his dribble, and when to kick it out, etc. - those skills came from practicing and improving. Much like his 92% FT rate had to come from practicing. And practicing is, to use Jethro's word, a product of desire.

I would say natural ability/talent helps only in one aspect of defense - shot blocking. And even then, you still need to have desire (and timing) to be good at it. There's a reason why guys like Eddy Curry suck at it, but Tyson Chandler and Ben Wallace are great at it - because the former choses not to work on it, where as the latter duo work diligently on it. But I disgress... I agree that Nash's skill set is geared towards helping on the offense side more so than the defense side. The difference is that I just think that's because he chose to hone those particular skills.