The Suns are Rising

In the coming days, Shaquille O'Neal will be joining Grant Hill on the Suns. If this were 1995, this would be bigger news. But constant injuries have dogged Hill's career and Shaq seems to finally be feeling the results of being the most physical player in NBA history. The guy has taken more hits over the years than Jimi Hendrix and now at 35, he can barely raise his arms over his head. This is a great move for Miami if they could pull it off. They'll get Shawn Marion and give Dwyane Wade a threat in the post. Marion would be like Pippen to Wade's Jordan. If you can get that for a washed up icon, you do it. No questions asked. But is the move good for Phoenix? I say yes.

The Suns' window to win is closing. The Suns have only 2-3 years left to win a title with Steve Nash at the helm. The former MVP turns 34 tomorrow and undoubtedly will become less productive as the years roll on. But with Nash, Hill and Shaq, the Suns are hardly building for the future. They need to win now and are positioning themselves for postseason play. If Shaq can stay healthy (and playoff contention will provide some incentive), he'll provide a dominant center and will allow Amare Stoudamire to shift officially to his natural position at power forward, where he and Boris Diaw can pick up Marion's slack. The move works on the court and will improve relations in the locker room, where the chemistry problems that have plagued the Suns for years now finally seem to be at a breaking point. Marion will become a casualty of the Suns' final push for the championship and if Shaq stays healthy, he can give the Suns the fix they need to finally break through the West.

This trade could also rejuvenate Shaquille O'Neal. He is too old and worn down to lead a team at this stage in his career and with Wade a walking wound, Shaq has had to captain the Heat this season. That's no easy task for a guy struggling to contribute at all. In Phoenix, he will be stepping onto Steve Nash's team and will be able to focus only on his game, with none of the added pressures of being the leader. His experience and four championships will prove useful down the stretch and he will undoubtedly be able to tutor younger players, but he will free himself of the responsibility to be "the guy". In Phoenix, that man is Nash.

It's true that the Suns, by making this trade, sacrifice their future. Nash, Hill, and Shaq will all be collecting Social Security in a few years -- actually, Nash is a Canadian citizen so he probably won't -- and Stoudamire, at 25, has already had three knee surgeries. But general manager Steve Kerr's focus must be on the present. The Suns recognize that they need to win now and have only a window of two or three years to do so. They might as well make the push, do what they need to do, and put themselves in the best possible position to win right away. Bringing Shaq aboard gives them better chemistry, the experience of a four-time champ, and the remnants of maybe the best center of all time.

Suns' general manager Steve Kerr is a champion. He's also probably the best three-point shooter in NBA history. Throughout his career playing alongside Michael Jordan and Tim Duncan, Kerr was always the perimeter threat, the guy you wanted taking the outside shot with the title on the line. Right now, the Suns' title hopes are on the line and Shaq is an outside shot to help them break through the minefield of the Western Conference. The clock is winding down on Steve Nash and the Phoenix Suns. Steve Kerr has to take this shot.