Championship or bust: Kerr pins hopes on aging, ailing Shaq

[Maximus]

Shaq Traded To Phoenix | From NFL, MLB, NBA, NHL, NCAA, Fantasy Sports and more: CBSSports.com

By Tony Mejia

It's a deal that elicits a range of emotions from incredulity to head-scratching acceptance. Shaquille O'Neal has been freed from the disaster that is the 2007-08 Miami Heat to join the Phoenix Suns, potentially as the piece that ultimately puts them over the top. The transaction, which sends Shawn Marion and Marcus Banks to South Florida, is contingent on O'Neal going through the motions in a Wednesday physical. Suns management already knows he's not going to ace it due to an ailing hip that has kept him out of Miami's lineup for 14 of the team's last 18 games.

Unless the plodding 35-year-old O'Neal shows up to his workout with a cane or walker, he'll be a member of the fast-paced Suns. In discussing this move with viable league sources, including general managers of other teams, the prevailing question was not, "What does O'Neal have left?" but rather, "Why would Phoenix do this?" The Suns have the Western Conference's best record through 48 games despite chemistry issues that have been in play all season, starting with Marion's September trade demand to recent exploratory discussions about Amare Stoudemire's future with the team.

Steve Kerr, in his first season as general manager, was told by owner Robert Sarver to put his stamp on the Suns when he took over. Apparently, this is his way of saying he didn't believe his team, as constructed, could make it through the Western Conference maze come the playoffs. It is no coincidence that this drastic measure comes on the heels of the L.A. Lakers' acquisition of Pau Gasol on Friday. Gasol debuted with 24 points and 12 rebounds in a win over New Jersey on Tuesday night as talk of a potential deal between Phoenix and Miami circulated throughout the league.

"They're desperate about winning a championship. They're afraid the Steve Nash era may end up having nothing to show. Desperate times will make you do desperate things," one league source said of the Suns. "It's a drastic adjustment, for sure. I hate saying something can't work, but I find it pretty hard to see how." The only way this move is lauded is if Phoenix is celebrating a championship by 2010. There's no in-between. That's why Sarver, who has a history of penny-pinching, has endorsed the move. Kerr is disrupting the up-tempo style his head coach, Mike D'Antoni, has utilized to win nearly 72 percent of his games and reach a pair of conference finals in the last three seasons.

Pat Riley similarly went all-in when he dealt Lamar Odom and Caron Butler to L.A. for O'Neal, knowing that without a championship, he was mortgaging his franchise's future for an aging star who would command a large salary. The Heat won that ring in 2006, making even this season's nightmare worth stomaching, but Miami is thrilled with having O'Neal and the $40 million he's owed over the next two seasons come off the books. There won't be a parade welcoming Marion into town, but if sentiments dictated that type of celebration, Miami mayor Manny Diaz might be working on preparations to honor O'Neal being shown the door. From a cap standpoint, the Heat can breathe again. Although Banks' deal, paying him $13.4 million the next three years, isn't fiscally responsible, it's manageable, particularly in an area of need. Marion, if he feels comfortable with the Heat, would likely work out an extension, though he can exercise a $17 million player option for 2008-09 and try his luck in free agency.

If Marion chooses to part ways with Miami after the season, the team can chase after the likes of Baron Davis, Elton Brand and Ron Artest, dangling the carrot of playing alongside Dwyane Wade, Udonis Haslem and what will likely be a high lottery pick in the 2008 draft -- the Heat's reward for this season's unexpected demise. The future, which looked bleak and tied to prayers when the week began, is now brimming with possibilities. O'Neal has stated time and time again he'll accept no buyout, having signed up for a full term on which there is still two years left. He won't run away from that, which means Phoenix fans should get comfortable with him being around a while.