This is the bold strike the Suns did not make in the offseason, when the were in the mix for KG but never pulled the trigger. Shaquille O’Neal to Phoenix for Shawn Marion and Marcus Banks (remember him?) Two things are without doubt: 1) This is the most interesting trade in any sport that we can recall. 2) Suns’ GM Steve Kerr needs a forklift for his Sam Cassell-like condition. The general reaction among those who cover the NBA and those who crunch numbers is that the Suns are crazy. Marion is 29, in his prime. Shaq is almost 36, clearly on the downside. And still, a part of us can’t help but love this trade dearly and wonder if it’s just crazy enough to work. Let’s face some facts: Marion is a nice player, a four-time all-star, but this is Steve Nash’s team. Marion shot 45 and 44 percent from the field in the two years before Nash arrived; they had a transition year together, and then in his past 2.5 years spent with Nash, Marion is at about 52.5 percent. Nash makes people better. He isn’t solely responsible for making Marion what he is, but he sure didn’t hurt. Also, let’s not pretend that Kerr is breaking up the 1990s Bulls. These Suns have been a lot of fun; they’ve also never made it out of an admittedly stacked Western Conference with their up-and-down style. But these aren’t the reasons why this deal is so fascinating. For that, we turn to Shaq. There are few story angles more compelling in sports than the aging thoroughbred brought in for one or two more trips around the track. Marion is the better player in many ways; the question, though, is whether Shaq is a better fit for this team (and don’t forget in that assessment that Nash turns 34 today and might not have many more runs in him as well). The Suns are clearly counting on the fact that Shaq has more juice left than he was showing with the hapless Heat (an NBA player dogging it to provoke a trade? Surely you jest!); they are also gambling that he is not only the missing piece, but that the team can, in a sense, learn to play a different style on the fly. But a motivated, relatively healthy, 36-year-old Shaq in the playoffs, even at 70 percent of what he once was? That would be terrifying and, we dare say, make the Suns a favorite to win it all. There are plenty of “ifs,” but bless those ifs for being so delicious. The final one: If these retooled Suns face those retooled Lakers, say in the conference semis or — dare we dream — the conference finals? Well that would be pretty fun now, wouldn’t it? The reasons for hating this trade if you’re a Suns fan are logical; the reasons for loving it if you’re a Suns fan are more based on gambling and guts. From the outside looking in, it simply fascinates us because it could be a stroke of genius or an utter failure. And we’re pretty sure we’re loving that right now.

*Kevin Hart, the recruit who was “duped,” says he made the whole thing up. Wow.

*Three of The four participants in the NBA slam dunk competition have Youtube videos courting your vote. But hey, Dwight Howard wants your vote. So, too, does Gerald Green (thanks to Foley for the update … the NBA press release indicated only the other three had videos).
*Pedro Martinez, Juan Marichal and cockfighting. If you guessed, “What are three things that have nothing to do with one another,” you are wrong.

Fasola-link! We missed this yesterday. Shame on us. Go ahead! Throw away your vote.

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