Shawn Marion and Marcus Banks for Shaquille O’Neal (2008)
Kevin Durant? Bradley Beal? Both strong options. But let’s go back. The 2008 Suns had the best record in the West when they made this blockbuster. They had Steve Nash running Mike D’Antoni’s “Seven Seconds or Less” system, but no one was happy. The versatile Marion felt under-appreciated. Then-coach D’Antoni felt pressure to win a title. Fans were tired of losing to Tim Duncan and the Spurs. GM Steve Kerr called it what it was — a gamble. It didn’t turn out well. With Shaq, the Suns suffered the same postseason fate, losing to San Antonio in five games in the first round. After the season, D’Antoni left to coach the Knicks. O’Neal lasted two years before he was traded to Cleveland. Phoenix surged in 2009-10, losing to Kobe and the Lakers in the Western Conference finals, then went 10 seasons without making the playoffs. — Doug Haller
Shawn Marion and Marcus Banks for Shaquille O’Neal (2008)
Kevin Durant? Bradley Beal? Both strong options. But let’s go back. The 2008 Suns had the best record in the West when they made this blockbuster. They had Steve Nash running Mike D’Antoni’s “Seven Seconds or Less” system, but no one was happy. The versatile Marion felt under-appreciated. Then-coach D’Antoni felt pressure to win a title. Fans were tired of losing to Tim Duncan and the Spurs. GM Steve Kerr called it what it was — a gamble. It didn’t turn out well. With Shaq, the Suns suffered the same postseason fate, losing to San Antonio in five games in the first round. After the season, D’Antoni left to coach the Knicks. O’Neal lasted two years before he was traded to Cleveland. Phoenix surged in 2009-10, losing to Kobe and the Lakers in the Western Conference finals, then went 10 seasons without making the playoffs. — Doug Haller
I agree with you... At least Shaq was a fan favorite, regardless that he was at the end of his caraeer... No one expected him to carry us to the promise land, nor did we give up a massive haul of picks.
Looking back, definitely wouldn’t make the Shaq trade BUT at least there was fun moments, and Shaq did make an effort to make it work. There was a small period after we got rid of Terry Porter where we looked pretty good but then Amare got hurt and that was the season. Wonder how it would’ve looked if we just went straight to Alvin Gentry instead of hiring Porter.
