If the Miami Heat trades away Brian Grant, Lamar Odom and either Caron Butler or a future first round draft pick for Shaq, would they be getting ripped off.
They lost a good young player in Butler and Odom too. I think that's gonna to hurt them in the long run since Shaq is getting up there.
If Shaq is revitalised, and by all accounts he would be in Miami, then the Heat become instant title contenders. They had a solid line-up before, but was that ever going to deliever them a championship? It'shrd to say, but I don't think they had that dominant piece of the puzzle to go all the way, and they are not nearly as deep as Detroit. You play for championships, and gaining Shaq gives them their best chance to do it. So yes, I like the deal.
I don't think this trade would help the Heat both in the short and long term. Sure, getting Shaq makes them instant contenders, but will they win the East, let alone a championship? Don't forget that Shaq and Kobe couldn't even get past the Pistons. Would a team of Shaq and Dwyane Wade be superior to the Lakers team that had four future Hall-of-Famers. Being contenders doesn't help with free agency too, since Shaq's huge salary would basically cripple the Heat's salary cap. In the long term, when Shaq retires, the Heat would be left with only Wade and a few leftovers. If they never got Shaq, they would have gotten a great trio of Butler, Odom and Wade and be one of the top teams in the East. That is why I feel that Pat Riley erred in this blockbuster.
Heat is being ripped off. Watch Shaq gets injured mid-season and Lakers going to playoffs with our guys
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting shinji3c:</div><div class="quote_post">Heat is being ripped off. Watch Shaq gets injured mid-season and Lakers going to playoffs with our guys</div> If the Lakers don't make big additions in the frontcourt they won't make the playoffs next season. They're going to have too many guys playing the same positions. Odom can't play the four in the West, so that leaves Odom, Butler, and George at the 3. It seems like a waste to have any of those players coming off the bench. the Lakers also will be destroyed by just about every WC team's frontcourt. I think the Lakers woud be behind these teams if the Shaq trade is completed Spurs Twolves Rockets Kings Mavs Grizzlies Nuggets, especially if they get Kmart
Heat definetly get the better of this deal, hands down, it takes a dominant big man to win in the NBA, See Tim Duncan, Hakeem olajuwon, Kareem abdul jabbar
^ Exactly. A core of Odom, Butler and Wade looks nice on paper and will probably get you to the playoffs consistently, but it's never going to win a championship. At least Shaq gives them a legitimate shot at the finals and the title for 2-3 seasons. It makes Miami even more attractive for prospective free agents, too.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting Supersonic:</div><div class="quote_post">^ Exactly. A core of Odom, Butler and Wade looks nice on paper and will probably get you to the playoffs consistently, but it's never going to win a championship. At least Shaq gives them a legitimate shot at the finals and the title for 2-3 seasons. It makes Miami even more attractive for prospective free agents, too.</div> a core of billups, hamilton and the wallaces won't win a championship either... oh wait, they just did. just because shaq, olajuwon and duncan won titles doesn't mean you need a dominant big man to win... two words: jordan and pippen. a group of effective players with good chemistry can win too.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting cubanballer:</div><div class="quote_post">a core of billups, hamilton and the wallaces won't win a championship either... oh wait, they just did.</div>Okay.....you can't really compare billups, hamilton and the Wallace's (don't forget Prince) to Wade, Jones, Butler, Odom and Grant. What Detroit had was amazing defence and two of the better (if not best) inside defenders in Wallace and Wallace to win the championship. I know that Miami is talented but they are definitely weak in the front court positions to handle any WC team much less Detroit. <div class="quote_poster">Quoting cubanballer:</div><div class="quote_post">just because shaq, olajuwon and duncan won titles doesn't mean you need a dominant big man to win... two words: jordan and pippen. a group of effective players with good chemistry can win too.</div>Jordan was considered the best player in the game and Pippen was a close second as well. They were also two of the best defenders in the game as per their multiple 1st team defence and Jordan even winning the DPOY. Not to mention that they also had Dennis Rodman for a good part of those championships as well. This is also a bad comparison of the situation that Miami is in. IMO they would not have won a championship with that group of players no matter how many years they have been together to develope. Add Shaq to the team and it almost automatically makes them contenders for a ring.
Which of the heat players are we calling Jordan and whicj one pippen? Gee thats a great comparison the Heat are not trading Jordan or Pippen they are trading average players in Grant and Butler and a Above average (checkered past not withstanding) Odom. They are recieving the best center in the league. And they look ten times more attractive to solid vets, By the time the summer is over they could sign some good FA to fill out the roster, vets dont sign with teams for potential. See: Payton and Malone. Brent Barry, Robert Horry and Anthony Peeler, the heat would love to have any guys like these and now they may have a shot at players like these.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting Supersonic:</div><div class="quote_post">It makes Miami even more attractive for prospective free agents, too.</div> Honestly, I don't see the Heat being able to get more FA's with Shaq on the roster. He will take up a third of their cap space already, and with Wade needing a max extension in a few seasons, it would be very hard for Riley to commit to any free agent long-term. With those three before, it was still at least easier to trade one of them and use the money to sign a free agent. With Shaq now, it's nearly impossible to free cap space.
the point, people, is that a dominant big man is not an absolute necessity to win a championship. that's the context where i mentioned jordan and pippen, read the post again. if you want to call it a fluke becaus ethey were #1 and #2, then see the pistons. i'm not comparing - i'm just saying that there's no conventional wisdom in basketball and that teams with superb chemistry, where players that are not necessarily the best but play in a system that takes advantage of their abilities, can win championships. that's what happened with the pistons (with a system that took full advantage of their defensive skills), when NOBODY was giving them a chance, and IMO could happen with a team like the heat was developing. solid veterans? cmo'n now. brent barry just signed with the spurs and the rest: malone, horry, payton??? i'm the biggest fan of karl malone you'll ever see and i don't want to see him on a heat uniform.
Trip <div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">Honestly, I don't see the Heat being able to get more FA's with Shaq on the roster. He will take up a third of their cap space already, and with Wade needing a max extension in a few seasons, it would be very hard for Riley to commit to any free agent long-term</div> I trust the Heat organization knows what its doing especially when they were giving away 3 starters they know they need good players to assist ShaQ, Wade, and Jones. I'm sure they'll pull money outta their ass and entice players by allowing them to play with one of the greatest players in the game. I believe I heard on ESPN that Karl Malone may be interested in playing for the Heat. Derek Fisher was also interested but the Warriors could give him a way better deal.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting cubanballer:</div><div class="quote_post">a core of billups, hamilton and the wallaces won't win a championship either... oh wait, they just did. just because shaq, olajuwon and duncan won titles doesn't mean you need a dominant big man to win... two words: jordan and pippen. a group of effective players with good chemistry can win too.</div> Your Joradan and Pippen theory cant back all yo talk up. The Era of the bulls is the only dynasty to ever last without a decent big man. The Pistons had Big Ben hes a pretty decent Big man in todays league. So could you please name any other Dynasty without any decent big man. The Bulls had the "Greatest player ever" and David Stern was his man whore. Ohh and lets not forget what other dynasty endured without a good big man? OHH Ya None!
The cap situation isn't that bad with Shaq, it's about 5 million more than with Odom, Grant and Butler. Also all you people (Ace2k2 and heatfan83) if you're Wade fans at least spell his name right, it's Dwyane not Dwayne.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting Ace2k2:</div><div class="quote_post">Your Joradan and Pippen theory cant back all yo talk up. The Era of the bulls is the only dynasty to ever last without a decent big man. The Pistons had Big Ben hes a pretty decent Big man in todays league. So could you please name any other Dynasty without any decent big man. The Bulls had the "Greatest player ever" and David Stern was his man whore. Ohh and lets not forget what other dynasty endured without a good big man? OHH Ya None!</div> oh, so now the heat is going to be a dynasty? that's great. you just said it - a pretty decent big man. not a dominating one. he's not in the duncan, olajuwon, shaq league. setting aside that the bulls with no one in the middle won six titles (vs none for the likes of patrick ewing, david robinson, etc) the pistons of isaiah thomas didn't have a dominant big man either, if you need another team that won multiple championships. the showtime lakers didn't have a dominant big man - kareem was in his last legs and in any case, i'm not sure you could call him dominant. if you want we can keep going back in history.
