News Blink (Not Hyped Enough For A Flash): Shaq to Suns, Marion and Another Guy to Heat

Well, this was quite the quiet trade, now wasn't it? One prediction I can make is that the season ticket sales of the Phoenix Suns will suddenly spike. The Miami Heat's ticket sales? Not so much.

Stephen A. Smith seems to think this would be a good trade for both teams - Shaq gets some fresh legs to run around him while he holds it down in the middle, and D Wade gets some help. Yeah, I don't see D Wade sticking this one out much longer than he has to unless the Heat make some other acquisitions.

I was surfing the 'net and came across this exchange between Dan Patrick and Shaq after the Heat won the NBA Championship in 2006:

Dan Patrick: Congratulation. Shaq, come on in. How's this one feel
differently than the ones in L.A.?

Shaquille Oneil: It feels good. I came to Miami because of this young
fellow right here [Wade]. I knew he was a special player. I knew the first time
I saw him I knew he was something special. So I knew it was my job to come here
and make him better.

Dan Patrick: When you looked at his skill, when's the first time you
said, "I got -- I can be Robin to his Batman."

Shaquille Oneil: No, I knew that, you know, he was a young gunner. So
when I came here I decided to let him go, and I was going be, you know, second
option. And I was good with that and, you know, he's a great player, unselfish
player. He's the best in the world, D. Wade.

Dan Patrick: You wanted to play for Pat Riley. You got a chance. What
has he meant to your career?

Shaquille Oneil: Pat Riley's the best coach I've ever had. Him, Dale
Brown, you know, my father, you know they've been...telling me, you know, to
just stay positive all year. And Coach -- Coach Riley told us on June 8th that
we was going to win on June 20th.

I think I said this before, but my, what a difference two years makes.

I will be interested to see if this trade really helps anyone. A loyal reader mentioned that although Shaq's near the top of his five faves of all time, his "lower body has more miles than my old Toyota RAV4, and I got rid of that whip 2 yrs ago." I couldn't have said it better myself. Like my reader, I still want to see Shaq do well, though, so we'll just be cautiously optimistic . . . for now.