Phoenix made the trade for Shaq as a reactionary move to the Lakers' acquisition of Pau Gasol.
Duncan hardly clogged the lane. Moreover, that does not relate to the point of my post, which was the trade for Shaq hindered Phoenix's offense based on the Suns' personnel. Not sure how you extrapolate that to the opposition...
Phoenix made the move because they recognized they weren’t going to win based on the style they were playing. It's a fact the GM Kerr knew/felt that the current way the team was constructed that they weren’t going to win. Thats why they traded Marion (who did not play with Shaq on Phoenix) in the Shaq trade. .
Tim Duncan didn't clog the lane but Shaq did? Based on what? Below are stats from NBA.com. Look at the years TD beat Phoenix. Notice in 04-05 how his EFG is pretty low between 5 feet and 19 feet in which he takes 597 shots.
In 06-07 - same similar numbers in which he takes 538 shots. Also 07-08.
Tim Duncan | San Antonio Spurs
Tim Duncan | San Antonio Spurs
Tim Duncan | San Antonio Spurs
A player that shoots that low below 50% and he isn't a 3pt shooter- and for the number of shots he was taking at the time - and he was hardly known as a drive-and-dish guy -- how isn't that a lane clogger? Especially considering his usage factor was between 27.9% and 28.9%? His extreme effectivness was in the lane.
My point about Shaq to you was – it wasn’t his style that hurt the Suns the most– it was that he was old. That’s why I even brought up the point that even Pat Riley let him go. To further that I brought up Duncan because “Lane Cloggers” are not all bad. Some like Duncan and Shaq are dominant like these guys were. And yes ofc an over-the-hill Shaq being traded for by Phoenix was dumb. Phoenix championship hopes had run its course and they went desperate. Most often when your team is on the downside and you trade for an over-the-hill player to change your style a bit – chances it will work are very minimal.
