Steve Kerr is a genius.

Posted on February 9th, 2008. Written by Emmett Jones.

There, I said it. No lightning from the heavens, no pangs of guilt, no flashes of light. Steve Kerr is a genius.

For those of you living under a rock for this past week, the Phoenix Suns traded all-star forward Shawn Marion and point guard Marcus Banks for all-time great, center Shaquille O’Neal. The man who made the deal happen? A man by the name of Steve Douglas Kerr. As soon as this deal was made, many (read as: “everyone”) who knew basketball called this deal one of the worst deals in NBA history. How could you trade Banks (a formidable backup to Nash) and Shawn Marion (an all-star forward who, at any given time can guard every position on the court except for the center position) for an aging soon to be 36 year old center who has spent more time in street clothes than on the court in the last couple of years?

Well, hear me out, and if you’re still not convinced by the end of this article…re-read it, because by then the coherency and logic of my argument will have no choice but to permeate your thoughts.

First thing’s first. The main complaint I hear from everyone is this, “The Suns are a running team. Shaq is 35 years old, big, slow, and constantly hurt…Won’t he hurt the offense?” The simple answer to this question is “No.” Yes, the Suns are a running team, but who said that in order to be a running team you had to have all 5 people run down the court every single time? Most of the Suns “running” consists of Steve Nash pushing the ball in a 3-on-3 situation and kicking the ball out to one of the shooters for an open jump shot. That will continue to happen now, only it will be Shaq starting the fast break by getting the rebound and throwing the outlet pass. Furthermore, the Suns can’t run every time, and that is where Shaq comes in handy. Regardless of how old he is, or how healthy he is (and one can speculate about this anyway…Shaq is like the Michael Strahan of the NBA), Yao Ming is the only person in the NBA that can guard him one-on-one, which will be a tremendous help to the other four Suns on the floor in a half court set.

Secondly, its important to remember that the SUNS WERE NOT GOING TO WIN THE CHAMPIONSHIP THIS YEAR. Are the Suns good? of course. But honestly, was anybody giving them a chance to win the championship this year? We’re at the all-star break, and has anyone talked about the Suns legitimately winning the NBA championship this year? No. Everything has been Boston’s Big-3, or Detroit, or the Spurs, Mavericks, or the upstart Hornets, blah, blah, blah. Now throw in the fact that the Lakers just picked up Pau Gasol; giving the Suns one more potential hurdle to clear before they even get to the finals, let alone win the championship. Steve Nash will be 34 this year, and it doesn’t make sense to let his few remaining years languish away with the same nucleus that has already proven that they can’t win the championship (especially not when other teams are continually making moves to get better). The deal for Shaq isn’t about saying the Suns can’t run as much or that they don’t have as many versatile defenders, its about changing a team that dynamic that was great, but had no chance of succeeding in the end. Shaq brings potential, whereas everyone knew what was going to happen with Marion; the Suns would go to the second or third round of the playoffs, and lose. Does Shaq guarantee a championship in Phoenix? No. But he guarantees a chance to win, something that didn’t exist before the trade.

Thirdly, Shawn Marion didn’t want to be in Phoenix, so why not trade him? I myself said last September that there was a chance he’d go to the Heat [There is a glitch in The Matrix], I just didn’t expect him to be traded for Shaq. But honestly, was there a better deal available? Marion wanted to leave, plus he only had one more year left on his contract…why not deal him now to avoid the potential situation where you get nothing in return? Should the Suns have picked up someone other than Shaq? Maybe…but who? Pau Gasol had already been traded, Jason Kidd wouldn’t work with Steve Nash already there, and any lesser player would not be able to make the money match up (Marion is making $16 Million this year); Shaq was really the only way out.

Finally, this move was a good move because of the business advantages. Shawn Marion is a great player, but this is Shaq we’re talking about. Shaq’s move to the heat will increase merchandise sales and attendance (even though the Suns are doing quite well with their attendance numbers already). I’m not sure how the NBA teams split up merchandising revenue, but I assume that a revenue increase will do nothing but help the Suns (Yes, Shaq’s jersey is already on sale, and he ranked 12th last year in jersey sales, a category which should see an increase now).

In the end, Steve Kerr was in a stagnant situation. He had a great team, but he had a team that was not going to win the championship and he had an all-star player that didn’t want to stay with the team. He went out and pulled off a blockbuster deal, getting the best player possible, regardless of that player’s age. His team now has a CHANCE to win, whereas before they did not. That is why Steve Kerr is a genius…at least, until his next move.

Sports Business Digest: There is a glitch in The Matrix

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