Jermaine O'Neal for Shawn Marion?

A recent trade rumor has arisen out of the East that sends Marion to Toronto for Jermaine O'Neal. Around the trade deadline random fake trades are bound to pop up from time to time but this one makes sense for both teams and Pat Riley acknowledged that it is in progress. So what impact does this have on both teams? Basically, the Heat lose several times over and the Raptors can only improve.

Jermaine O'Neal has had an injury marred season thus far only playing in 29 games, so at the very least the Raptors get a healthy body. That's not the whole story though, O'Neal has been putting on his best Tyson Chandler impersonation when he was expeected to be the big difference maker in Toronto. Tyson Chandler is a fine player, but he's a high profile role player and Jermaine O'Neal seems to have settled into that designation this seaosn. He's still a good player, but his production is a far cry from his days in Indiana where he would carry his team through the season and play hurt.

Why would the Heat want a guy who hasn't been performing well and is constantly injured? They don't want Shawn Marion. Shawn Marion is one of those players that thinks he is better than he really is. I take that back, he doesn't think he's better, he thinks he's the best. He chose a horrible Miami team over a Finals contender in Phoenix because he wanted to be "the man" and that failed. He's the epitome of a glorified role player and for whatever reason he has fallen in love with the 3 point shot this season. Now he wants to be traded again so he can take more shots. If he doesn't get more shots, he might suddenly come down with a season ending injury.

This is a good trade for Toronto because Marion fits in with their up-tempo style, Bargnani has flourished as a C, and if it doesn't work then they can let his $18 mill deal walk in the offseason. That's the main reason why it is a dumb trade for Miami, Marion is gone after this season so why are they so eager to trade him for an under achiever?

I think the real problem is that both teams want to establish the epic dynasty that the Warriors have right now. It takes years of work to assemble the cast of all stars we have in Oakland, so don't even try.