Shaq vs. Marion/Banks

Yeah, I know the trade was, like, 9 weeks ago, but here are my thoughts, anyway:

Since Steve nash's return to Phoenix for the 2004-5 season, and before the Shaq trade, the Suns' style of offense was characterized by an up-tempo offense, smallball (i.e. PF Amare at C, SF Marion at PF, and either a SF at SF (Grant Hill), or a three guard lineup (Nash, Joe Johnson, Quentin Richardson), a lack of low post play, and lots of three's (1). The Suns have finished first in offensive efficiency each year, and are number one this year. The defense has been characterized by poor rebounding(2), disadvantageous mismatches due to players playing out of position, and an inability to stop the top big men, especially this year. The Suns have finished 16th, 16th, and 13th in defensive efficiency in Nash's first three years, and are 14th this year.

How does Marion fit into this? Offensively, he compliments Nash perfectly. He runs the floor, moves without the ball, finishes well (in the regular season), and can shoot threes decently. Defensively, he can defend both guard positions, both forward positions, and is a great rebounder. Marion therefore mitigates some of the matchup problems for the Suns. If you replaced Marion with an average-rebounding and -defensive small forward, and the Suns would be olibertated on the boards, instead of just hurt, or in this year's case, killed. Next to Nash, he's the most important part of the system. If he had missed the 2006 season instead of Amare, I doubt the Suns would have won 54 games.

How does Shaq fit into this? Shaq can outmuscle defenders and dunk. He can outmuscle defenders and lay the ball in. He can outmuscle a donut and eat it. He's also an underrated passer. He can't run the floor. He's efficient. He's still shooting 58% this year, which is his career average. His free throw shooting is always good for a laugh. Defensively, he sucks. He averages a foul for every 7 minutes on the court. He can't rebound. He can't defend the pick and roll.

In sum, the Suns lost an integral part of their league-best offense, and their best rebounder and defender when the team's defense is average, and the rebounding is the worst in the league. They gained a good offensive player who's horrible at defense. So the offense is about the same, maybe a little better since it's more balanced, and the defense and rebounding, the things that were holding the team back, are much worse. All in all, I would say this is a bad trade.



(1) The 2006, 2005, and 2007 teams are 1st, 2nd, and 3rd all time in 3 pointers made over a season. The 2008 team is on pace to finish 4th.

(2) The Suns' rebounding margins have been -2.0, -4.1, -2.3, and is an abysmal -6.0 this year