Shawn Marion and Jermaine O'Neal Trade Analysis

So a blockbuster trade went down today in the NBA. Toronto's Jermaine O'Neal and Jamario Moon (along with some filler) got traded to Miami for Shawn Marion and Marcus Banks.

I like this trade for Toronto. They get to get a look at Shawn Marion for free, and they get his defense and athleticism alongside Chris Bosh. It also gave them a chance to get rid of Jermaine O'Neal's awful contract and his injury-prone career. Remember how Marion was in MVP talks when he was playing with the Suns? What did that Suns team have? They had a two-time MVP point guard in Nash, an athletic big man in Amare, and shooters galore. Well, Toronto doesn't have the MVP point guard, but he is pretty darn good. Calderon is the forgotten point guard of the NBA. He is averaging 13.1 ppg, but more importantly, he is averaging 8.5 assists per game. That is what Marion will benefit from the most. Marion will be able to play around the basket, and finish plays. So after Marion gets over the fact that he is leaving the warmth of Miami, and traveling to the less than comfortable weather of Toronto, he will understand that Calderon will revitalize Marion's career. Marion is playing for a contract, and people were skeptical of his talent after watching his production in Miami. Rest assured, Marion will be thanking Calderon for bringing him back to his Phoenix prominence. Bosh is the Amare that Marion thrived on in Phoenix. Bosh will command the most attention, and it will allow Marion to be the roamer he loves to be. Throw in shooters like Jason Kapono, and a developing big man in Andrea Bargnani, and the Raptors might have something here. Granted, Toronto is currently not a playoff team, and Marion may or may not change that. This move, in the larger scheme of things, was Coangelo's move to help the Raptors become a playoff team this season. They have the pieces in place for that playoff run. If it doesn't work out, Marion leaves, and they have a large sum of money to spend in this offseason in hopes of keeping Bosh in 2010. On top of the finances, Jermaine was pretty ineffective this season except his average of 2 blocks a game. Marion will bring more scoring, defense, and toughness to the Raptors. In the end, it is going to help both Marion and the Raptors. Great move on Toronto's part. (Note: notice that Jamario Moon is guardig Marion in the picture above.)

I wish I could say the same for Miami. I'm very unsure of what Pat Riley was trying to accomplish with this move. The second O'Neal to grace Miami's roster is going to be nowhere near as effective as the previous O'Neal was. Jermaine O'Neal is one of the NBA's tragedies. He was the superstar that never was. I remember watching the historic 1996 NBA draft and remembered that some guy named Kobe Bryant was the youngest player ever drafted (13th), but then a guy named Jermaine O'Neal got taken at 17th. Jermaine played marginally at Portland early in his career, but he showed a lot of promise as his career went on. He put up some big numbers when he went to the Pacers, but the injury bug hit, and things went south forJermaine. He never fully recovered to his previous production. So here is a guy making the 4th highest amount of money in the league this year (even above Kobe) at $21.3 million, and is averaging 13.5 ppg, 7 rebs, and 2 blks in 41 games for Toronto. Now, that's a lot more court time than he has seen in his previous seasons with Indiana, but it still is not worthy of how much he is cashing in at the bank. When he was traded to Toronto, O'Neal was rejuvinated. He worked hard, and approached the game with a different attitude. The motivation was back. Well, the product of that motivation was the stats I just mentioned. Very underwhelming. So why did Miami want to take Jermaine O'Neal? I'm not sure. They dumped Marion's $17 million for the season, but still owe O'Neal about $22 million next season. I guess that is the key. The summer of 2010 is what this all comes down to. The Heat may be hoping to clear that cap room in order to lure Wade back, and potentially another big name player. Chris Bosh, anyone? So that part of the deal makes sense. It also gives Beasley a chance to develop at the SF position instead of the PF position. That is a plus. If Beasley improves at that position, the Heat could go after that big name PF like a Chris Bosh or Amare in 2010. It will also do some things for Udonis Haslem and Joel Anthony, but those players are so sporadic, the impact of Jermaine O'Neal on their games is sort of unpredictable. I also think that Riley sees something in Jamario Moon. He is an NBA journeyman. A young player with a tremendous amount of talent, and I think that with the right moves, Erik Spoelstra's staff can tap that potential.

So lets think about the Heat's long term plan. If the Heat managed to keep Wade, sign a big name PF, Beasley develops to the player they hope he will be, and Chalmers continues his current path of development, this is a bright future for Miami. Miami fans should be able to live with that. Championship in Miami right now, not a chance. So look to the future. On face, this doesn't make sense for this season, but if you look at the numbers, the math turns out to work in the Heat's favor in the long run. Miami has no problem attracting big name players to the city. Although is is, in size, only the 42nd largest city in the country, it is one of the entertainment hubs of the world. I also don't think the weather and flash of South Beach hurt the case for Miami either.

So for Marion and O'Neal, instead of doing what NBA players do over All-Star Weekend, they will be making travel arrangements to go to their new cities. As for us, we hope this is the warmup to a very active trade season. Again, enjoy the weekend.

Izzy

Top 5 underachieving players

Fans and teams have huge expectations of certain players. Just like the surprise players every year, there are also disappointments. Here are the top 5 disappointments thus far.

Elton Brand: He left the Clippers hanging even though they made the move for Baron Davis, but the expectations for the Sixers were through the roof, and now they are back where they have always been. The Sixers are desperate for success. They gave up AI with the expectation that they could rebuild. The team has failed to perform up to par, and Elton Brand is not helping change that notion. The only reason I didn't put Iguodala on this list is because I have always thought he was overrated and not equipped to fill the role of Iverson. The acquisition of Brand was suppose to shoot the Sixers into Eastern Conference title contention. Instead, they are 9-11 behind the Celtics and Nets. Brand is averaging 16.7 ppg and 10 rebs. You may say that isn't so bad, but that is the lowest ppg he has had since he has been in the league. His 10 rebs are about his average. Remember, the Clippers were about to pay him around $100 million until he left to Philly for less money, but still due to make $13.7 million this season. One could also make the argument that Andre Miller and Andre Iguodala are taking away from his production, but Andre is only averaging 15.5 points (1.1 point higher than his career average), and Iguodala is averaging the lowest ppg since his sophomore season at 13.9 ppg. There is enough to go around, Brand just isn't getting it done. The Sixers record combined, expectation, salary and Brand's career low in points makes him the clear pick for the most underachieving player.

2. The Raptors: I can't pin point one player on the Raptors who is underachieving. Did we really expect Jermaine O'Neal not to get injured? They fired their coach Sam Mitchell which was a scapegoat move for their abysmal performance this season. Chris Bosh has done his part by scoring 26.1ppg and 10.3 rebs. The next highest scorer is Jose Calderon at 12.7 ppg and then Jermaine O'Neal at 12.6ppg. Having a 14 point difference between your #1 and #2 scorers is not going to get it done. The Raptors are also waiting on their project Andrea Bargnani to start producing. Currently Bargnani is averaging 11.16 ppg and 5.1 rebs which is solid, but they need more from him. The Raptors also have some pretty good role players in Jason Kapono, Anthony Parker, and Jamario Moon, but still not enough to get them to a winning level. On paper, this is a team that could be top 3 in the Eastern Conference. They have the pieces there, they might be a little undersized, but it is not looking good for them right now.

3. Brad Miller: This guy has been on the decline for a while. He is a two-time former All-Star, but has failed to live up to that standard since he made the All-Star team in 04. He got a huge paycheck when he left Indiana and joined the Kings. He is due to make $11.3 million this season. However, he is just averaging 11.9 ppg this season and 7.9 rebs. He averaged 13.4 ppg and 9.4 rebs last season. The reason Miller makes this list is due to how much he will constrain the Kings until the summer of 2010. Judging by Miller's play, he won't be getting paid anywhere close to the contract he has right now. What is frustrating is that he has proven he can compete at the 5 position, but has been inconsistent in producing that. Night after night Miller continues to get beat up by the Western Conference's size. He is also an injury prone player that has not been able to get the job done against the bigmen in the West, and I'm sure the Maloof brothers are regretting the decision to give him such a huge contract. The Kings will be stuck at the bottom of the Western Conference for a few more years.

Allen Iverson: It is tough to make the transition to a new team suddenly after you have been preparing to be with one team for the whole seasson, but Iverson is a superstar. He is not suppose to have decreases in production when he is traded. He averaged 26.4ppg and 7.1 assists last season for the Nuggets. For Detroit, Iverson is averaging 17.8 ppg and 5.5 assists. He is averaging about 10 points lower than his career average of 27.5 ppg. Dumars made the trade for AI with the expectation that AI was going to continue to produce at the level he needed to. Detroit managed to hand the Lakers their first loss of the season, but outside of that, they have been very inconsistent. Out of their 8 losses, 4 have come from Minnesota, Philadelphia, New Jersey, and New York. Those 4 teams are all worse than Detroit. They should have been easy wins for the Pistons. Their struggles in their 8 losses can be attributed to AI's decline in play. The Pistons are 7-8 with Iverson so far. He makes $20 million, but is not playing like the superstar we have known him to be. AI better turn this around fast or he will find himself with less than impressive contract offers this summer that will take him to the last years of his career.

Shawn Marion: It is tough to put Marion on this list because of the major turnaround the Heat have had this year. They are 11-9, and showing no signs of slowing down. Wade leads the league in scoring, but Marion has seen a major decline in production. Marion only averages 12.6 ppg behind Beasley's 14.1 ppg. Marion's is also averaging 9.4 rebs and 1.5 blocks which are in the ballpark of his career averages. The drastic drop in points is surprising. Marion is constantly around the basket and is known to get a lot of hustle points. That has seemed to take a hit this season as Beasley is grabbing a lot of rebounds and Chalmers is another credible scorer the Heat have this year. Imagine if Marion came up to the levels that he has played his whole career. The Heat would be one of the best teams in the Eastern Conference. Marion is also the highest paid player on the team, and wants a big extension from the Heat or a new team. Marion has not helped his case thus far.

Izzy