SHAQ TO MIAMI: IT's OFFICIAL!

[Fresh]

Channel 7's Sports Extra:

Chris Perkins from the Palm Beach Post says that there's NO doubt that the trade will happen, as he spoke with Shaq yesterday. He says that it's "definately" Odom, Grant, & Caron...but there may not be a 1st round pick included.

 

[SMadison29]

Kobe will probably lead the NBA in scoring this year with over 30 ppg. It's time for him to shine & prove he doesn't need Shaq.

 

[Fresh]

He can shine all he wants, but LA ain't going anywhere with Brian Grant at center(as much as I admire Grant's heart).

 

[Fresh]

This Chris Perkins dude doesn't have much credibility. I mean, his list of available players included Brian Cardinal, Stephen Jackson, and Troy Hudson. An agreement to s&t Jackson to Indiana for Al Harrington was reached yesterday, Cardinal agreed on a deal for the ENTIRE MLE with Memphis on Friday, and Hudson's been gone(re-signed by Minny) since the beginning of last week.

This guy doesn't have much credibility if you ask me.

 

[Bumrush]

The Lakers are going to get hammered next year in the West. The makeup of their team is going to make them look like the Suns.

I'm pumped about this trade. I can't wait for him to step on the floor at the AA, we are FREAKING contendors just by having him. The Heat was off to a poor start this offseason, I didn't see them making moves to improve over last year. Yes we had a great run, but deep down inside you knew that if the Heat didn't develop a strong, physical inside player we would be doomed to 1st or 2nd round exits. On top of that you lose your sparkplug at the point to the Raptors and have drafted a project.

Every heat fan I know DREAMED of having Grant and Jones off the team to clear up some cap space. Odom was awesome last year, but is he capable of carrying a team down the stretch and developing a game like Garnett? Caron plays with a lot of heart and is a great defender, but he can be replaced. His game may get better, but he will never be a 20+ point scorer in this league.

What you get in return is the most dominating player in our era. He is a freak of nature, a giant amongst giants that can DOMINATE players on a nightly basis. In the east, other than Jermain O'Neil, who can match up with him? Imagine if he had been traded to a team in our division, how we would feel knowing we had to face him 4 times a year? He is one of the greatest players of all time and has 3 championship rings. You have to take a chance to win now, and trading for Shaq was the right move. Its really sad for me to see Odom and Caron go, but I agree 100% with the decision. I'd like to thank them for bringing us back to being respectable and for playing with heart and passion that will go down as one of my favorite sports moments ever.
With that being said, its time to make a real run for the title. We in Miami are used to teams that make half *** moves, too cautious to pull the trigger and go for broke. This may turn out great or may be the worst move ever, but at the end of the day, at this time, its the right move to make.

 

[VJ1252]

ChamberOwnz84 where did you hear about Hudson? You seem to knock every media sources credibility other than RealGM which doesnt seem that credible or unbiased to me.

 

[TerryTate]

Im looking forward to seeing the heat on TV (when im in town and cant make it to the game) and NOT having the glowing seats stick out like a sore thumb, cause now there will be butts in seats all year long :)

Just thought i would mention that...

 

[Fresh]

ChamberOwnz84 where did you hear about Hudson? You seem to knock every media sources credibility other than RealGM which doesnt seem that credible or unbiased to me.

And just what do you know about RealGM? I'm sure you don't know much about it.

I don't know what your deal is...I knocked 2 sources.

They're the KFFL of basketball.

 

[SmokeyPhinz]

U guys really think that having Shaq automatically means something? He doesn't have Kobe. Kobe made things happen for him, and vice versa. The Heat are giving up way too much for this deal. Don't be surprised if L.A. gets better with the deal. Odom is a good player who can be great, Grant is just a numbers guy, and Caron Butler is a young talent with upside. Shaq has little then 4-5 years left in the tank. Don't include a 1st either, that would be miserable.

 

[VJ1252]

the reason I said it doesnt seem that credible is because seems to get most of its info from newspapers and espn. So if the palm beach post and sentinel arent credible then I would think that real GM wouldnt be credible either. It seems kinda biased b.c if you click on the heat page it says "front office ruins team, trades core for aging O Neal". I hope your right and perkins is wrong because I want us to keep Caron.

 

[Fresh]

I hope your right and perkins is wrong because I want us to keep Caron.

I didn't say that Caron wasn't in the deal. I said that Perkins doesn't have much credibility as the guy doesn't even know who's still on the market, which is true.

 

[Fresh]

http://realgm.com/src_wiretap.php

From the NY Times(you have to register, but most of the article is in the link above):

``It still can't officially be done, of course, but I can tell you we're confident that this will move forward,'' Rogers said in a phone interview. ``We're excited about the prospects. We're confident that Shaquille will be moving to Miami soon.''

The expected deal would have Miami shipping out Lamar Odom, Brian Grant, one other player who could be Caron Butler, plus a first-round Draft choice, to the Lakers in exchange for the 340-pound, dominant big man.

...I just doubt Perkins has quicker, more reliable sources than the NY Times, as he doesn't even know that Stephen Jackson was dealt.

 

[Atila]

im from LA and i huge shaq fan...sure i love kobe but it is pure stupidity to say kobe or anyone else in the NBA brings as much impact into a game as shaq does

for LA, it sucks for the short term, especially LA being in the west, we need a center now ASAP

in the long run, shaq has about 4 years left in him, max, and he has some injury problems sometimes...so i think if odom stays out of trouble (drugs) this will be a long term success for the lakers even if odom doesnt perform how he did in miami (which he obviousely wont in the bigger western conference)

but now i just thought about it...grant is getting worse each year, odom had one good year and wont be nearly as good this year or any year he plays in the west and butler digressed alot from his rookie season (whatever the reason maybe)


****! :)

 

[Frayser]

If Memphis used their entire MLE, does that mean they've given up on bringing Swift back?

 

[R_t_Kraken]

If Shaq and Wade can average 30 points a game, that's huge, but where is the rest of the scoring going to be coming from without Odom, Grant, and Butler???....

First of all, Grant didn't put up big numbers. Butler seemed to only show up every other game(though he was maturing).

I like this deal, I'm ready to see the Heat win a championship. And with big shaq, and a young extremely talented 2nd year player like Wade, I think our chances just got that much better.

To answer your question, Haslem, and R. Butler will put up at least and average of 6-10 ppg each getting starter minutes, and Eddie seems to put up close to 20ppg consistantly each year.

I like Haslem a lot, I think he looked great coming off the bench.

Shaq + Kobe won back-to back-to back titles, basicly all alone. What makes you think Shaq + Wade can't do the same? Although Shaq is a bit older, I think we have better role players, than the Lakers did during their great run.