Shaq wants White Chocolate

[Reality]

allegedly.
Does Shraq not like Eddie Jones or something?
Or does he truly think with Jerry Wests and Hubie Brown oversight that White Chocolate has become a bona fide point guard wiwth whom Miama would excell as opposed to a  good SF -Jones?

http://msn.foxsports.com/story/2686752

[Joe Vancil]

I wonder if Shaq has got his brain engaged at all.

Has he discussed with his CURRENT point guard - Dwyane Wade - how such a deal would affect HIM?  If I'm a point guard, and you want me to move to the 2, and take the ball out of my hands, *I'M* *UPSET*.  Shaq may have just ticked off Dwyane Wade.  

Has Shaq considered who will be at small forward, if not Eddie Jones?  Miami has other 2-guards, but Butler and Odom are gone.  Eddie may have to play at the 3 - at least some of the time.

If you want to help your team, Shaq, stop engineering trades and start recruiting Karl Malone and other free agents.  Your trades - Harper for Celestand, Van Exel for Tony Battie, Campbell/Jones for Rice, Rice for Grant - don't exactly live up to top-notch GM status.


 

[Derek Bodner]

Wade was a 2 in college.  Before Shaq was acquired there was talk of finding a pg and moving wade to the 2.

Still, talent wise (particularly defensively), miami would get killed in this trade.

[Guest_Randy]

Wade is a scorer, not a shooter and the ONLY reason they moved him to point in the first place is because of his heighth.  Wade isn't that great defensively and Jones is one of the best defensive guards in the league -- he is also a better shooter from outside than either Wade or Williams.  Williams has improved a great deal under a great teacher and IS a real point guard with great court vision but he isn't a great shooter and is a poor defender.  Posey is the better part of this deal, IMO as he provides Miami with a real threat outside and can play the 3 as well.

Bottom like?  I don't like it because this gives you a REALLY small backcourt and a backcourt that not only can't defend but also can't shoot from the outside.  

Shaq is a poor GM -- the sad part is that he may be as good as Mitch Kupchak!!!

[westkoast]

Williams was always a good passer, it was his decision making with the ball that really held him back (Like those really bad pull up 3s in the playoffs).  He never has been and never will be a good defender.  Wade is not a good defender either.    Eddie Jones and Brian Grant were probably the two best players defensively on that squad and now it looks like both will be gone.  Honestly how long is Shaq going to last physically if he has to do a huge bulk of the scoring and constantly be challenging penetrating guards?

The only thing that benefits from this trade is Shaq's ego.  If the trade goes down he is really going to miss Kobe and Fish because he wont have any space to operate.

[Derek Bodner]

I don't think Wade's that bad of a defender.  In fact, I think he's a fairly decent man-man defender, although he has some ways to go with help defense

[westkoast]

I don't think Wade's that bad of a defender.  In fact, I think he's a fairly decent man-man defender, although he has some ways to go with help defense

Different story with much larger, higher scoring shooting guards.  I dont remember that well but I believe I watched Baron Davis man handle Wade last season.  BD is a great player but hes no where nearing the offensive juggernaut as players like T-mac and Kobe.

[Joe Vancil]

I think Wade is an EXCEPTIONAL defender, at least when I've seen him.

I can't figure out why everyone here is calling him sub-par.

 

[jn]

Joe,

I think that's particularly true consdiering he's a rookie.  

[Derek Bodner]

In the 7 game playoff series, Wade actually held Baron under his regular season average (18.1 ppg to 22.9 ppg) and under his regular season shooting % (37.7% to 39.5%)

He did drop 33 on the Heat in the regular season, but that was Wade's 1st or 2nd game back from injury.  And if I remember correctly he didn't even start that game.

[westkoast]

Joe,

I think that's particularly true consdiering he's a rookie.

I agree he will get better as time goes by but not in one off-season.  Plus guarding PGs and guarding SGs is alot different.  He will be undersized if they move him.

DB, Baron Davis was injured in the series when they went up against one another.  

[Lurker]

I think that many of you are forgetting that Wade mostly played sg down the stretch for Miami last year.  Rafer Alston became the point guard and Wade moved to sg.  Jones played the 3 and Odom played the 4.

Wade guarded many 2/3 players last season.  As with most teams today those two positions are readily interchangable.  And whoever matches up on one end of the court isn't necessarily the matchup on the other end.

[Reality]

what I saw today of Wade was a mixture.  Some fantastic steals.  Good drives.
Other horrific drives where he either jumped when he should not have or forced a drive to the hoop when he should have short-mid jump shot, resulting in turnovers.

As a rookie Id say its just rookie errors.  All in all he was a positive today for sure.

Unfortunately the Intl game has floppers galore also.   :nonono:  

[westkoast]

I think that many of you are forgetting that Wade mostly played sg down the stretch for Miami last year.  Rafer Alston became the point guard and Wade moved to sg.  Jones played the 3 and Odom played the 4.

Wade guarded many 2/3 players last season.  As with most teams today those two positions are readily interchangable.  And whoever matches up on one end of the court isn't necessarily the matchup on the other end.

That is when they had the luxury of having a defender like Eddie Jones, a player like Skip to my lou (for those who watch AND1 street ball, aka Rafer Alston) and a lengthy player in Odom.   If the trade goes down they will have none of the above, Odom left, Rafer left, and Jones will be dealt.   Matchup wise, like Randy was saying, lMiami will have one of the smallest backcourts in the league.

I do expect his defense to improve in the next few years.  He seems like a smart player and really what he showed in the playoffs this year says alot about the kind of player he is and will become.

Hopefully we all are just talking out of our a#$ and Miami DOESNT make this trade to please Shaq.  They will be much better off.