Shaq to the Suns The Fallout

As the reality of the Shaq trade is coming to fruition. It seems like we really ought to consider the ripples, that are bound to come when you drop a stone that big into the NBA pond.

Mike D'antoni is gone. I mean he will finish out this year, he might even start out next year. But soembosy write it down a calendar year from today D'antoni wont be coaching the Suns. When the trade cam up Tuesday morning, D'antoni said on his radio show that no deal was close. Hours later the trade is confirmed and Shaq is on a flight to check out his hip. Steve Kerr who is sporting some Championship hardware that D'Antoni is lacking, is pulling the strings in Phoenix and he just doesn't seem to mesh with the current coaches philosophy. (I posted yesterday about Larry Brown's desire for another coaching gig, interesting to think of him in Phoenix)

The Mavericks now have another thing to contend with while they try and figure out what the hell is going on there. One thing you can be sure of A guy like Mark Cuban is not about to sit around and hope things get better. Did you see him in Dancing with the Stars, the man is ultra competitive. You know that last years early exit is still gnawing at him. Look for the Jason Kidd trade talks to take on a little more heat. The situation basically went from Kidd is available so why wouldn't the Mavericks take a look. Now it has become more of a situation where the Mav's need to keep up the the Jones's Lakers and Suns.

The other development which I touched on the other day is the combination of the Kobe-Shaq rivalry and the Lakers-Suns rivalry. If you think that both those guys don't know that the post-trade Championship count is currently Shaq:1 Kobe:0. Kobe has a team that is set up well to make a run at a few titles now. Shaq knows if he is going to win tis race he better get a big lead over the next two years. I'll be interested to see if the SUns are willing to extend Shaq beyond the two years he has remaining.

There is a lot of people who say that the NBA season isn't interesting until the All-Star break. This year they may be right, but it has more to do with how good the second half will be not how irrelevant the first half is.