The NBA was rocked by the big transfers last week. The biggest of them was that of Shaquille O'Neal moving to Phoenix. That resulted in Shawn Marion being traded to Miami Heat. And then there was Pau Gasol going to the LA Lakers. So what impact will these transfers bring about?

Let’s look at Marion going to Miami. The Heat has the worst record in the NBA this season at 9-40. This despite the fact that they have Dwane Wade, Ricky Davis and Uddonis Haslem on their roaster. And yes they also had the services of a certain Shaq, a 14-time All Star till last week. So what does Shawn Marion bring to the table in the post Shaq era?

Miami had become a stale team. They lost out Posey, Eddy Jones and Walker in the off season. Then they lost Alonso Mourning to injury. Shaq spent most of the season warming the benches rather than setting the courts on fire. So it was all left to Wade to carry the team alone. Davis and Haslem can turn out to be good support players. But to expect them to do the bulk of the scoring was asking for too much.

'When Mourning comes back fully fit, Miami should have all the right pieces to go into next season'


So Marion coming in should be good news for the Heat. Marion is a very versatile player. He is a good perimeter shooter, a good re-bounder, is fantastic on the fast breaks and also has his share of steals per game. In him, the Hear have got a great all-round player. Now they can expect a lot more fast break points and also Marion can be an able ally to the brilliance of Wade. When Mourning comes back fully fit, Miami should have all the right pieces to go into next season. This season might be a bit too late for them.

Now we take a look at the Pau Gasol trade. The Lakers have won an absolute lottery to get Gasol for Kwame Brown and a couple of other guys. This trade alone has shifted the balance of power in the west and ruffled a lot of coaches. Look at Lakers at the start of the season. Kobe Bryant was asking to be traded. The team had no focus. They had no leader with Kobe disinterested in the going-ons.

Look at them now. Andrew Bynum has been a revelation this season. For the first time in many years they have a fully fit Odom and Walton in the team. In Derek Fisher they have the perfect leader and a team man to share Kobe’s burden. They have great bench strength with Turiaf, Radmanovic, Vujacic, Farmar and Ariza. The only thing missing from their armor was a strong guard. And in Gasol they got one.

Gasol is a great rim player. He is good at rebounds and also a good short range shooter. So now Lakers have the right mix to go for the kill. With Bynum and Gasol at front and Kobe, Odom and Fisher at the back they form one of the most formidable starting five in the west.

Now the Shaq trade. Many are saying that Phoenix have made a big mistake in going for an aging Superstar who is struggling to get his fitness back. Phoenix play a very fast, full court game and accommodating Shaq in that format is going to be their biggest challenge. The main reason cited for this trade is to counter the big guys in the west namely Duncan, Ming, Boozer, now Gasol or Camby that the Suns might encounter in the play-offs.

All said and done, Steve Kerr is not a fool. And the decision would not have been taken without proper thought. What Shaq’s presence gives the Suns is great interior defense, a tremendous low post presence, championship experience and a great mentor for the youngsters. If he can even accomplish half of what Garnett has done at Boston, Kerr would’ve pulled off a winner. How Shaq fits in the Suns scheme of things and how his body responds to the rigors of the Suns style of play needs to be seen.

In addition to these big three, there were a few other transfers that merit a mention. Damon Stoudamire moving to San Antonio Spurs and Chris Webber signing back for the Golden State Warriors. The next big transfers could be Jason Kidd who wants to move out of New Jersey and also Ron Artest moving out of Sacramento.

How these transfers shape up, if they do happen, is the next big question. But these transfers have changed equations in the West. Now how the other coaches and players respond to this remains to be seen.

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