Well it looks like the first big trade of the 2008-2009 NBA season has gone down- and no, the Adam Morrison for Valdamir Radmanovic trade doesn't count. The Miami Heat have traded Shawn Marion and Marcus Banks to the Toronto Raptors for Jermaine O'Neal and Jamario Moon [NBA.com]. Both Marion and O'Neal are big name players, but neither has impressive stats this season in key areas where they are usually much better.
- 12 ppg vs 17.9 career average
- 8.7 rpg vs 10.0 career average
- 13.5 ppg vs a streak of about 20 ppg from 2000-2007
- 7.0 rpg vs a streak of about 9-10 rpg from 2000-2007
They're both 30. I'm ready to write off O'Neal as a non-All Star for the remainer of his NBA career, but I still have hope that Marion will resurface as a high impact player. Even though he still seems like he can protect the rim very well (I could be wrong), O'Neal just seems like broken and damaged goods. I'm willing to bank that under Nellieball or D'Antoni, Marion can still be the Matrix.
For some real deal insider views check out:
- Peninsula is Mightier (Miami Heat)
-
Hoops Addict
-
RaptorsHQ.com
- David Thorpe on Jermaine O'Neal for Shawn Marion [True Hoop]
- Heat Trade Marion to Toronto for O'Neal (Rated-R Superstar)