The odds have been in the Suns favor for the last four years or so. Vegas has liked them to be in the mix to win an NBA championship. An odd thing happened on the Suns road to a championship though, they never won regardless of how much Vegas was in their favor.

If they want to win the title in 2010 they’ll have to beat the odds. After having 13 to 1, 11 to 2 and 9 to 2 odds to win it all over the last three seasons Vegas has the Suns as 50 to 1 odds. That’s right, the Suns odds to hoist the Larry O’Brien trophy are not looking great (but you didn’t need Vegas to tell you that). To make you feel better though we’ve looked up some things in life with better odds to happen than the Suns winning a championship (OK so maybe they won’t make you feel better).

The odds that a person will get away with murder is 2 to 1. That’s bad news for Suns fans but good news for the Suns front office as that means Steve Kerr and Robert Sarver will most likely get away with killing this team. Don’t worry though, the odds were already in the favor of Diesel coming to town and killing this team. The chances of a person being killed in an accident with a vehicle is 77 to 1 (it’s not better odds than the Suns winning but it’s close).

The pain in your ass that you are feeling might not actually be caused by the Suns front office mismanagement after all. Odds are better than the Suns chances to win a title that they are hemorrhoids, 25 to 1.

Think the Cavaliers basically stole Shaquille O’Neal? That’s OK there was a 20 to 1 chance that the Suns and Steve Kerr were going to be a victim of a major crime in their lifetime.

Feeling sick yet? It may not be because your hopes of seeing an NBA Championship in your lifetime has been dashed. There are decent odds of you having a stroke, 1 in 6 chance in your lifetime, or contracting the flu, 1 in 10 chance this year.

This should make you feel better though, you have a 200 to 1 chance of dating a millionaire. Although if the economy keeps heading in this direction those odds will go up as guys like Robert Sarver won’t be part of the millionaire club anymore.

There is some good news though, when the Suns start losing and the newspapers stop covering them, (see the Coyotes and comments of local columnists), and you are between the ages of 18 and 29 there is a 3 to 1 chance that you won’t notice as you don’t read the paper.

So cheer up, because odds are that it could be worse.

With the introduction of Shaquille O’Neal as a member of the Cavaliers today, we here in Phoenix thought it would be an appropriate time to have a little talk. We understand what you are going through today. We went through it on February 7, 2008. You feel excited, enthralled with every word Shaq has to say and dreams of championships are dancing in your head. It’s like Christmas, minus the fat guy in the red suit (that was a different introduction when Denny Green came to town). You’ve come so close over the last four years but were always missing one piece. With the introduction of the Big Aristotle you feel you have found that missing part. That one thing that will help win a title and keep King James in a Cleveland uniform for the long run. We felt it all here in Phoenix just a short year and a half ago and boy that championship parade felt even better.

During the press conference today, Shaq said all the right things. He talked about fitting in, being able to play any style of basketball and knowing his roll. All things that sound oddly familiar to the tune the Big Shaqtus sang when he arrived in the Valley. Too bad it was all talk.

Don’t believe us? Today he stated his motto for this season is “win a ring for the King”. In 2008 he said he was going to take Amare Stoudemire to the next level and called his motto for 2008/2009 the “Amare Stoudemire Project” (the Allan Parsons’ Project proved to be more successful over the last two years).

“This is something I couldn’t turn down. You guys already are a damn good team,” O’Neal told the Cleveland media today. When Shaq was introduced in Phoenix, he fed the fans and media a similar line saying, “I just want to come in and fit in with a damn good team”. Shaq’s ego proved too big to fit in with the Suns, but now the team doesn’t have to worry about that or about having a “damn good team”.

Not enough to prove that Shaq knows the company lines? How about this? Today he told reporters “I’m not here to demand 40 or 50 shots. Thirty (laughing). I’m just coming in to do my part.” Funny because during his introduction in Phoenix he said almost the identical thing, “I’m not a ball freak I’m not going to be asking for 30 or 40 touches. I just want to fit in”. We all saw how that worked out for the Suns. By the 2008-2009 season Shaq was demanding more touches than a frat boy at a strip club and instead of advancing the Suns fans’ dream of a title, he and his personality helped to dash them.

Don’t get us wrong Cleveland, stay optimistic as long as you can. Try not to lose faith until it becomes abundantly clear that you have to. Just remember, when Shaq came to the desert, the Suns were a first place team in the west, they were a title contender for four years running and they just couldn’t get over the proverbial hump to win it all (sound familiar?). One hundred and three games, thousands of tweets and one playoff win later the Suns are no longer a contender and are on the verge of losing one or two of their stars, Amare Stoudemire and Steve Nash, (if you’re not careful it will sound familiar sooner than you think). Buyer beware, because once you buy into the hype that is Shaq the process begins and, at least in Phoenix, it ends with the fans still urning for a ring and with the feeling of a “Big Disappointment”.

All the Best,

Sports fans of Phoenix

Last week the Suns traded Shaquille O’Neal and his bloated contract to Cleveland for table scraps. While it was clearly a move that was made for financial reasons, there was a chance that dealing Shaquille O’Neal could improve the Suns by letting them play at the fast pace that players like Steve Nash, Amare Stoudemire, and Leandro Barbosa thrive at.

On draft night, the Suns selected Earl Clark, a 6-10 forward with the variety of skills and athleticism that many people believe could give the Suns the versatile defender they have lacked since dealing Shawn Marion.

Then…the bomb dropped. The Suns apparently had agreed to trade Amare Stoudemire to Golden State for seventh pick Stephen Curry, Forward Andris Biedrins, and some spare parts. This proposed deal would turn the Suns from a team that just missed the playoffs to one that most likely would not come anywhere close to competing for a playoff spot due to the lack of a go-to player. The Suns would be assured of a lottery pick for the second consecutive year and would begin their rebuilding process.

The Suns, however have decided that instead of making a full commitment to rebuilding, they want to sit squarely on the fence between full rebuilding and trying to hang on to the past. They want to do this by keeping Steve Nash around in the last year of his contract, and surrounding him with young players and fillers, giving him absolutely no incentive to stay with Phoenix when his contract ends. The Suns would then lose Nash for nothing instead of any value they could get for him this summer.

The bottom line is this – the Suns have to think of Amare and Steve as one. Trade Amare, and you MUST trade Steve. Keep Steve, and you MUST keep Amare. To just keep one or the other would be the worst option for the long term health of the Suns.

The Suns will play 5 games in the Las Vegas Summer League, beginning Monday, July 13 against the Dallas Mavericks at Cox Pavilion.

Tucker will be playing in his third Las Vegas Summer League, while Lopez will be in his second.

Other members of the roster include Chris Rodgers, a guard from U of A, who played in Tucson under Lute Olson from 2003 to 2006, and Lee Cummard, a graduate of Mesa High School who went on to star for BYU and was a three-time All-Mountain West Conference selection.

Click Image to view roster

There are numerous rumors involving Amar’e but not one that makes me jump out of my chair and get excited, including the failed Warriors deal involving Stephen Curry.  Perhaps the demand isn’t all that high for a player on the lookout for a max contract and whose defensive abilities have been called suspect at best, or maybe it’s due to the scary injury to his retina he’s only recently fully recovered from.

Whatever the reason behind the lack of exciting offers, Kerr is playing with fire if Amar’e is traded away.  Buyer beware, getting equal value is never a sure thing.  Moreover, does the logic behind trading Stoudemire make any sense?  The fear is he’ll walk after next season and the Suns will have received nothing in return, but there are worse things that can happen than holding onto a dominant athlete playing for a contract, with welcoming mismatched spare parts at the top of that list.

We’ve expected great things from Stoudemire ever since he broke into the league and showed flashes of brilliance despite little ability.  He was our next big thing, and while he’s improved every step of the way on both sides of the ball (his defensive ability had no where to go but up,) we’re still left wanting.  We want our power forward to be a perfect player, we want him to be the best, we want that championship.  We want him to usher the menace from San Antonio into retirement, wrestle the torch from him, and become the next great power forward, become the next Tim Duncan.

But not everyone can be Tim Duncan.  Only Tim Duncan can be Tim Duncan.  He’s a special case.  Amar’e certainly didn’t have four years of college, two years of apprenticeship under a Hall of Fame center, and the coaching of a guy like Greg Popovich, yet somehow I feel Suns fans view Stoudemire as a failure because he has not evolved into Tim Duncan 2.0.

Fairly or unfairly, due to their battles in the playoffs and these box scores, Stoudemire has been linked to the greatest power forward that ever lived, with Duncan serving as Amar’e’s ceiling, the player he should strive to be.

Much like Suns’ fans recently holding their objections to shipping him out of town, that’s a big ol’ steaming pile of shit.

We’ve grown more concerned with what Amar’e Stoudemire isn’t than what he is, and slowly but surely, we’ve convinced ourselves he’s part of the problem with the Suns.

I see no reason he can’t be part of the solution.  Unstoppable, 27 year old power forwards don’t grow on trees.  If they did, Amar’e would already have his share of bruises, but it’s also important to remember he’s hardly ripe.

These things take time.  From the looks of it, the Suns will have plenty of it to spare.

If I had a nickel for every time that question has been asked by a Suns’ fan in the last 2 years, I’d have, well, a lot of nickels.

Are they a ‘run and gun’ team? Are they a halfcourt, defensive-minded team? Wait, now they’re a ‘run and gun’ team again?

The lack of consistent direction by the Suns in the last two seasons has maddened the fan base of a team that was consistently in the championship mix for 4 seasons. No, the Suns never won that elusive title, but at least you knew who they were. They were the most exciting team in the NBA, hellbent on winning a championship with an unorthodox system that was regularly shot down by naysayers.

Fast forward two years. It’s July 1, and free agency began about 12 hours ago. There’s been no earth-shattering signings to this point, but there are rumors. Plenty of rumors. There’s been a few sizable trades that have gone down in the league, and one rumor circulating around the Suns. But nothing has happened yet.

Free agency and off season trades are periods of optimism. If you’re a team that is a contender, you can tweak a few things, and possibly add a player to help bolster your championship trades. If you’re an also-ran, it’s a time to wipe the slate clean and start building for the future.

I’m not feeling too much optimism emanating from Planet Orange these days, mostly because it seems like the Suns are struggling internally to even recognize what they are. Are they contenders coming off a disappointing season? Or has the window for a championship closed? Should the Suns rebuild?

Last Wednesday, they traded Shaquille O’Neal to Cleveland, and got essentially nothing in return that will help them on the court in the 2009-10 season. Cap space never hit a game-winning jumper, and it won’t this season either. $500,000 won’t slow down Kobe Bryant in the 4th quarter of a tight game, but then again, neither would Shaq, which brings me to my point.

The transactions made by the Phoenix Suns in the two years with Steve Kerr as the general manager don’t exactly inspire optimism for this franchise. Don’t believe me? Let’s review. Here’s what the Suns have done on the transaction wire since June 6, 2007, when Steve Kerr was named GM of this team.

Draft

In the three drafts that Kerr has been involved in, the Suns have picked a total of 8 players. The best draft pick was Rudy Fernandez, a Spanish combo guard, whom the Suns tabbed 24th overall in the 2007 NBA Draft. He was promptly traded to Portland with James Jones for cash. After playing one more season in Spain, Fernandez averaged 10.4 points per game and was an All-NBA Rookie Second Team pick.

The Suns’ top pick in 2008, Robin Lopez, a center out of Stanford, looked lost for most of his rookie season before showing some promise toward the end of the year. Earl Clark was picked 14th overall in the first round by the Suns last Thursday, and has the most upside of any of Kerr’s draft picks. In the 2nd round this season, Kerr selected Taylor Griffin of Oklahoma, a player most prognosticators didn’t see being drafted. Griffin is the older brother of Blake Griffin, who was the first overall selection of the Los Angeles Clippers in this year’s draft.
Grade: D

Trades

Let’s just list ‘em…

• 2007 - Traded James Jones and the draft rights to Rudy Fernandez to Portland for cash.
• 2007 - Traded Kurt Thomas and two first round draft picks to the Seattle Supersonics for a conditional 2009 2nd round pick, which turned out to be Emir Preldzic, a European player who’s not expected to play in the NBA this season.
• 2008 - Traded Shawn Marion and Marcus Banks to the Miami Heat for Shaquille O’Neal.
• 2008 - Traded the draft rights to Malik Hairston, cash and a 2009 2nd round pick to the San Antonio Spurs for the draft rights to guard Goran Dragic.
• 2008 - Traded D.J. Strawberry to the Houston Rockets for guard Sean Singletary.
• 2009 - Traded Raja Bell, Boris Diaw and Singletary to the Charlotte Bobcats for Jason Richardson and Jared Dudley.
• 2009 - Traded Shaquille O’Neal to the Cleveland Cavaliers for Sasha Pavlovic, Ben Wallace, $500,000 in cash and a 2nd round draft pick in 2010.

The Suns have stumbled since making the Marion for Shaq deal in February of 2008, and missed the playoffs in 2009 in the process. The Bell and Diaw deal also ended up handcuffing the Suns after Amare Stoudemire missed the majority of the 2nd half of the 2008-09 season with an eye injury. Diaw had proven in the past that he could excel in that role, and was no longer around to help. Of course, that’s not Kerr’s fault, but still, the trade has been considered a bust, although Jared Dudley has showed promise and will be relied on more heavily by the Suns this season.
Grade : D-

Free Agent Signings

Kerr was able to sign Grant Hill to a bargain-basement two-year deal in 2007, and it has worked out nicely for the Suns. Hill has missed only 12 games in two years, and is a free agent priority this offseason for Kerr and the Suns. Sean Marks was re-signed in 2007 to a one-year contract. Marks didn’t do much of anything on the court, but he’s from New Zealand and is a fan of “The Flight of the Conchords”, so it wasn’t a total loss. Brian Skinner and Matt Barnes were also one-year signings by Kerr, and both had very up and down seasons in a Suns’ uniform. Louis Amundson was a free-agent find prior to the ‘08-’09 season, and won the Dan Majerle Hustle Award last year. His team option has been picked up for the 2009-10 season, which is viewed as a popular move, as Amundson has become a fan favorite during his time in the Valley.
Grade: C-

Hirings/Firings

It may not have been his doing, but Mike D’Antoni was run out of town as Suns’ coach before the 2008-09 season on Kerr’s watch. D’Antoni had the Suns’ uptempo offense humming and averaged 58 wins per year in his four full seasons as head coach. I’m not sure why everyone was so eager to pull the trigger on that move. Kerr eventually hired Terry Porter as the Suns’ head coach, and we all know how that worked out. Porter lasted just 51 games on the Suns’ bench before being replaced by Alvin Gentry. Gentry was hired as the full-time coach this offseason, and appears to be a popular figure with players and fans. But it’s really hard to overlook that D’Antoni/Porter debacle.
Grade: F+

OK, show of hands…who else is confident about the direction of the Suns?

Anybody?

Hello?

“Breaking News!Amar’e Stoudemire to the Lakers!! He might take less money to win a championship.”

This nugget of information didn’t come from ESPN’s Chad Ford, Marc Stein or John Hollinger. It didn’t come from the Republic’s Paul Coro or even Hoopshype.com. No this morsel of insanity came straight from the mouth, or rather the Twitter account, of the man himself, Amare Stoudemire. But why?

Has Stoudemire reached his breaking point when it comes to trade rumors? Does he really want to play with Kobe? Is his main focus actually on a championship? Does he want out of Phoenix or is the answer something simpler?

Over the past two seasons Amare had a chance to study at the feet of one of the best big man to ever step on a basketball court. It seems though that instead of studying his post skills, his rebounding and his post defensive skills he decided to focus on other aspect of Shaquille O’Neal. Stoudemire apparently focused on Shaq’s self promotion and attention grabbing skills. He had a front row seat to the rebirth of O’Neal’s relevance in the game but more importantly in the public eye. Through Twitter, business ventures and talking to the media Shaq was front and center once again in the public consciousness. Amare seems to want to follow suit.

This season Stoudemire launched his own online marketing for the All Star game. He rolled out a record company and even debuted a teen friendly debit card featuring his picture. This summer he, referring to himself as Sun Tzu (a nickname Shaq gave him), joined Shaq in the world of Twitter.

While Stoudemire followed the general blueprint of what Shaq has done over the years he forgot one key part. He’s not funny. As a matter of fact he comes of more smug and arrogant than he does entertaining. The reason Shaq’s personal publicity grabs were tolerated and embraced to a certain extent was because he was humorous and unpredictable. Stoudemire lacks both and the act has already worn thin.

The internet and the popularity of Twitter has changed the way athletes interact with their fans and remove the filter that was once there. It’s become abundantly clear that Amare Stoudemire is about the name on the back of his jersey rather than the name on the front of it. How fitting that his number, one, sits right under his name because that certainly is who he is looking out for. Novel concept but if he stopped talking maybe he wouldn’t have to accept less to try for a championship.

On Draft night, Amare reportedly was on his way to Golden State in a package that would send Andris Biedrins, Marco Bellinelli, Brandan Wright and the rights to 7th overall pick Stephen Curry to the Suns, and Amare to the Bay Area. Then, Golden State apparently liked the way Curry looked in his Warriors cap, and are now unwilling to part with him. That’s a topic for another day.

The deal isn’t dead, and there’s possibly another piece of the puzzle that could be thrown in by Golden State to satisfy the Suns.

One thing is for sure…Amare’s convinced he’s gone.

At his pool party at the Mondrian Hotel in Scottsdale over the weekend, according to sources, Amare was apparently telling anyone who would listen that the festivities were his “going away party.” And Amare nearly broke his ankle by stepping on a valet’s foot on the way to his room. That probably would have been a deal breaker, huh?

Should be an interesting week for the Suns and Stoudemire.

Yes, via Twitter, Amare has said he’s headed elsewhere…



The Lakers? Really? I guess everyone wants to gravy train off of Kobe now. Stay tuned, it’ll be an interesting 5 days on Planet Orange.

If a rumored trade with the Warriors goes through, Brandan Wright could be one of many new members of the Phoenix Suns this season.

Here’s an early look at what the 2009-10 Suns may look like on paper….

Phoenix Suns 2009-2010

Centers

Andris Biedrins
Robin Lopez
Ben Wallace or Tyson Chandler (if the Suns can swing a trade with New Orleans)

Forwards

Grant Hill (pending Hill re-signing with team)
Brandan Wright
Jared Dudley
Lou Amundson
Earl Clark
Taylor Griffin

Guards

Steve Nash
Jason Richardson
Leandro Barbosa
Stephen Curry
Goran Dragic
Marco Bellinelli

Re-signing Grant Hill, or another forward becomes a priority. The Suns would be very guard heavy in this scenario, but since they’ve shown a willingness to deal, they could trade Richardson or Barbosa elsewhere and pick up another front court player with the ability to score.

Preldzic is 21 years old, and averaged 7.3 points and 3.8 rebounds in 16 games for Fenerbahce-Ulker Istanbul in the Euroleague.

Most experts believe that Preldzic will continue to develop his skills in Europe for a couple of seasons before attempting to enter the NBA.

Emir Preldzic’s bio page on DraftExpress.com

Taylor Griffin lived in his younger brother's shadow at Oklahoma, but now is property of the Phoenix Suns. (Photo: Sue Ogrocki/AP)

Griffin averaged 9.6 points and 5.8 rebounds per game in his senior season for the Sooners, who finished 30-6 in 2008-2009.

He is the older brother of Blake Griffin, who was the number one overall pick of the Los Angeles Clippers on Thursday.

Taylor Griffin’s bio page on Soonersports.com

(AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki)

Earl Clark of Louisville was selected by the Phoenix Suns in the first round of the 2009 NBA Draft, 14th overall, on Thursday.

Clark averaged 14.2 points per game for the Cardinals, who reached the Elite 8 this past season for head coach Rick Pitino. He was an All-Big East Third Team selection, and was named to the Big East All-Tournament team after averaging 18.0 points per game for UL.

Earl Clark’s bio page on UofLSports.com

Alvin Gentry and Steve Kerr discuss draft pick Earl Clark of Louisville

The Suns have two second round picks in the draft, 48th and 57th overall, which was acquired from Oklahoma City (Seattle) in the deal that sent big man Kurt Thomas to the Sonics in 2007.

Stephon Curry of Davidson went #7 to Golden State, fueling speculation that Curry was actually being selected for the Phoenix Suns, and will be part of a trade that will send Amare Stoudemire to the Golden State Warriors.

Stay tuned…

As Steve Kerr put it, this move “is all about leverage, to re-establish [the Suns] as a great team.” The Shaq move is just the first of many vital moves in the coming days and hours that will reshape the Phoenix Suns as we know them. Video below:

A week ago Suns general manager Steve Kerr made time in his busy pre-draft work to visit Steve Nash at his New York City home. Kerr traveled to see Nash to discuss parameters of a new deal and let the team’s two time MVP know what their plan was moving forward.

Flying across the country for a couple hour meeting with Nash seems a little odd given how crazy things in the front office were preparing for the draft. Couldn’t Kerr have accomplished the same thing by having a conference call with Nash and his agent Bill Duffy?

One has to wonder if the trip involved more asking Nash what he wanted to see the Suns do rather than dictating it to him.

Think about it, Shaq clogged the lane keeping Nash from being able to penetrate and pass and seemed to battle Nash for control of the team. Shaq is no longer a Sun. At times it has seemed that Nash and Amare were at odds. Amare is on the block.

Maybe it was an innocent trip to discuss a contract extension or maybe there is a new Steve running the Suns. Just some food for thought as we inch closer to the draft.

Dear Shaquille O’Neal,

It is with great pleasure that I write this letter today upon the news of your trade to Cleveland. As a lifelong Suns fan I’m happy to see you go. When the Suns traded Shawn Marion, my favorite player, for you in February of 2008 I was angry. After all, the Suns were a first place team at the time. At your press conference you made a show of telling all the media how you would win a championship in Phoenix. I didn’t believe you. You made a show of pointing to your ring finger with the implication to Suns fans that you would bring the Suns franchise their first championship. Still, I didn’t believe you.

As your Suns career began, the team made a steady decline in playoff position from first in the West all the way down to the sixth spot and were eliminated in just five games. Your lack of mobility on defense and inability to hit free throws were the deciding factors in the series.

During an offseason of change you again made big promises that you failed to deliver on. You talked about playing a role on a successful team but it was soon clear once the season started that your ego wouldn’t let you step out of the spotlight. While the Suns were struggling with a weak offense, a porous defense, and internal discord, you went about your business and even had the nerve to talk about the number of shots you were getting. Players such as Raja Bell and Boris Diaw were dealt to accommodate your slow, plodding style. When Terry Porter was fired you were the only Sun that went out of your way to defend him, because he designed the offense around you.

As the season went on you became more of a distraction and the Suns playoff chances dwindled. Sure, you had good numbers but at what cost? The more shots you took the slower the offense was and the worse the Suns looked. Playing the team game, and allowing 11 other players to be efficient was not part of your plan. The Suns failed to make the playoffs but all we heard was how great you were all season.

Sure, there were some good moments. You interacted with fans on Twitter. Lots of #32 O’NEAL jerseys were sold at Suns games, making the owner some much needed cash, and you brought some entertainment to the All-Star game – a much needed distraction from the Terry Porter situation going on at the time.

Overall, though, Mr. O’Neal, your tenure in Phoenix was filled with broken promises and disappointment. I hope the good people of Cleveland don’t buy into what you are trying to sell them. If they do, they’ll be in for a rude awakening like many in Phoenix have realized.

The aftermath of the Shaq deal has left the Suns with a roster hole to fill at center. If Amare and Barbosa are dealt to Houston for Tracy McGrady, Carl Landry and Aaron Brooks the team will obviously have down graded at power forward and will no longer need Grant Hill at small forward. Some have suggested that the Suns may trade Ben Wallace, who most likely will retire, to the New Orleans Hornets for Tyson Chandler. The question is can a lineup of Steve Nash, Jason Richardson, Tracy McGrady, Carl Landry and Tyson Chandler compete? What if the Suns dealt Amare to Golden State for the 7th pick in todays draft and Andris Biedrins, could they compete then? Would this just be the beginning of a complete overhaul? Do any of these ‘plans’ satisfy Steve Nash enough to stay with the team or does he even fit into the future of this team? Is there really even a plan?

There seems to be more questions than there will be answers in the near future but one thing is for sure. The Suns have a lot of work to do and that work begins today.

On Wednesday night the Suns agreed to send Shaquille O’Neal to King James’ court for his jesters, Ben Wallace and Sasha Pavlovic, a second-round draft pick and cash. While it left most NBA pundits and some Suns fans scratching their heads as to why Phoenix would agree to such a deal once analyzed the deal makes a great deal of sense for the Suns.

The deal comes down to three factors, money, chemistry and championships.

The money aspect is obvious as the Suns are set to save with only $1.5 million of Sasha Pavlovic’s $5 million contract being guaranteed. Not to mention the distinct possibility that Ben Wallace may accept a buyout for significantly less than the $14 million owed to him in 2009-10 to retire. Even without a Wallace buyout the Suns are set to save almost $10 million on the luxury tax.

Chemistry is an issue that will be over looked by many when discussing this deal. Having three “super stars” on one roster will inevitably cause players to butt heads on and off the court. Shaq’s presence on the Suns not only took away from Amare’s ability to be “the man”, it also created a question as to whether Shaq was the team’s leader or Steve Nash was. By removing Shaq the locker room and the paint become less clogged by O’Neal’s big body and even bigger ego. Instantly things start to look up for the Suns fast paced offense and there once easy going locker room.

What everything in sports boils down to is winning championship. The bottom line is the Suns weren’t going to come close to winning one with Shaq and Cleveland has a chance to. The deal gives the Suns flexibility to start the rebuilding or retooling process, however you want to look at it. It provides them with their third second round pick, fourth overall, in today’s draft. With that many picks the chance of packaging picks to move up becomes greater. The Suns will get an infusion of young talent while getting rid of one of the teams older veterans.

The Suns probably won’t use their savings in free agency but they will save the sanity of many fans in Phoenix. Shaq’s act was cute for his first few months in the Valley of the Sun but it grew tiresome. Whether it was raps about Kobe or tweets about pyramid schemes the Big Publicity Machine always had to be front and center not only in the Suns world but the NBA in general.

A word to the wise in Cleveland, when Shaq comes to town, points to his ring finger and talks about a delivering a championship just remember the circus has come to town and Lebron is no longer in the ring leader.

For Phoenix fans don’t think of it as trading Shaq for nothing think of it as trading him for peace of mind.