Shaq to Phoenix Trade: Settling in the Valley of the Sun?

The dominating force of Shaquille O'Neal may soon be making his presence felt in the Vally of the Sun. The Phoenix Suns seem to be just one "yes" away according to NBA front-office sources.

According to abcnews.com, sources told ESPN.com on Tuesday night that the Miami Heat have already agreed to send the powerful center to the Phoenix Suns in exchange for All-Star forward, and Phoenix favorite Shawn Marion and out-of-favor guard Marcus Banks. Miami seems to be waiting for the Suns management to complete a medical examination of O'Neal and formally accept what would seemingly be the biggest, yet most unexpected trade in NBA history.

It is being reported that O'Neal arrived in Phoenix early Wednesday morning to undergo a complete physical. Most are wondering what affect Shaq would have on the domination of the Western conference. It is commonly known that the Western Conference has always been much more powerful than the Eastern. It does seem as though they will have the upper hand against the East but with Shaq's age (35) and hip injury (that has seen him sit out the last six games) there is concern with how he will keep up with the run and gun game of the Suns and Mike D'Antoni.

One of the biggest controversies surrounding this move for O'Neal appears on the surface to make little basketball or financial sense for the Suns. O'Neal's arrival in Phoenix would undoubtedly prompt widespread skepticism about his ability to keep up in the Suns. It is being reported that two years and $40 million remaining on O'Neals' contract after this season also clashes with the Suns' recent pattern of trading away players and draft picks in attempt to reduce payroll and eventually drag themselves away from the NBA luxury-tax line of $67.875 million. (According to ESPN.com) Shaq seemed pleasantly surprised and happy about the talk of the trade. The Miami Herald reported on their website that the Heat were reportedly shopping O'Neal seriously to the Suns.

I believe that the front-runners will undoubtedly be the reigning champs, San Antonio Spurs. The Suns have got to get the chemistry back into the line-up before they can focus on total domination. The chemistry, will most importantly have to come from Steve Nash and they will have to fully "mesh" to make a run at a title this season. I don't believe this will happen overnight.