<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE </div><div class='quotemain'>Shawn Marion's previous gripes about disrespect rarely were more than a murmur. But this? This will be known as the potshot heard 'round the world. By Marion saying, "It's time for me to move on," he no longer has the public on his side. It's hard for fans to buy the disrespect angle when they know this: •Marion makes the most money among Suns players ($16.4 million this season). •He led the team in minutes played last season. •He took more shots than Amaré Stoudemire and Steve Nash did. Sigh. Why did he have to go there? In one day, he went from "That's just Shawn" Marion to "That's just wrong," Marion. He went from the goofy, cartoon-watching athletic anomaly to the guy who can't be happy with money, minutes and magazine covers. That's too bad, because he's more the former than the latter, a guy who avoids trouble, who gives more money and time to this community's needy than most local athletes. Yet some deep-seeded need for constant approval has left him unable to embrace a darn-good situation. "Everybody has their point," teammate Raja Bell said. "I guess Shawn feels like he's at his." By allowing his gripes to go from murmur to megaphone, he has made everyone's job more difficult. Trade talks with Utah and the Los Angeles Lakers have been ongoing for months without a deal. The chance of one happening before Monday, the mandatory team reporting date, is small, and even smaller once camp starts. It's hard for me to believe that the Suns would agree to a trade with a division rival, even though Marion sounded excited about the idea of playing in LA during an interview with SportingNews.com "Why wouldn't I be?" he asked. "You have a great organization, great ownership there with the Lakers. I don't see no problems with playing there." Except that he wouldn't be taking the most shots on that team. Yet Marion wants to bail on an organization that everyone else in the NBA seems to want to play for these days. Marion's deal, which will pay him $17.8 million next season, was a maximum contract. That's respect. It ties him with Baron Davis and Steve Francis for 12th among all NBA players. That's respect, too. His desire for an extension - which has been reported as a request for three years and $60 million - is understandable, but the terms aren't realistic given the market and the Suns' need to manage their salary structure. With a payroll that's seventh largest in the league at $69 million, it's not as if they're cheap.</div></p> Source: AZ Central</p>
