Have you ever looked at one of those puzzles in the Sunday comics that tell you to look real hard and you can see a sailboat? I would never see that stupid sailboat. Never. I’d stare at that stupid puzzle for hours. I’d squint, I’d slant, and I’d even look at the image upside down. Yet, no matter how hard I looked at the picture, I couldn’t see the hidden image. All I saw was a random collection of shapes and colors. That was until last week. Instead of concentrating on the individual parts, I concentrated on the whole picture. I began to look past the picture and what do you know -- there was a sailboat. 

Last week, the Phoenix Suns shocked the world by acquiring Shaquille O’Neal. The Suns looked past the individuals and concentrated on the whole picture. Now, if ever there was a “square peg for a round hole” deal, this was it. What were they thinking? The Suns offense is fast paced and quick strike, while O’Neal’s play is slow footed and methodical. Like most people, I thought it was joke. Then I started to wonder if this was a rouse by Pat Riley to get O’Neal to tighten up. Finally, I realized that Steve Kerr was doing what good GMs do: looking outside the box to strengthen championship aspirations.

The Dominant Duo Piece:

Since 1999, only two things have been an annual consistent trend: either O’Neal or Tim Duncan played in the finals. These two big men have been responsible for eight of the last nine NBA Champions. Duncan has done it with fundamentals, while O’Neal did it with sheer power. Duncan won quietly and humbly, while O’Neal did it with bravado and arrogance. Either way, these two big men have been the catalyst for any team to become world champions. I know sometimes it can’t be that simple, but since Michael Jordan and his Bulls were broken up, no other two players have been more dominant at the right time. However, for the Suns, this was the right time, because of another consistent trend. 

The Off-Beat Piece:
 
I have been reluctant to classify the San Antonio Spurs as a full-fledged dynasty, because they never defend their titles. Whether it has been injuries or O’Neal and Kobe Bryant jelling at the right the time, the Spurs always find it hard to repeat. So, armed with that little bit of trivia, Kerr, a lynchpin on some of those Spurs teams, knew good and well that the Spurs wouldn’t be able to repeat as champions this year. In vintage Kerr dagger-burying fashion, he acquired the only other person who guarantees your team a ticket to the NBA Finals. But at what cost?

The Star Power Piece:

Shawn Marion was set to make $17 million this year, while O’Neal is set to make $20 million this year and next year. Marion’s contract allowed him to opt out at the end of the year, which he probably would have done if he was still a Sun. Then the Suns would get nothing in return if he left. The addition of Marcus Banks’ contract makes this deal a bigger head scratcher. Yet, unaccounted for in this equation is the revenue. According to a Jan. 15 CNBC article, the Suns have the sixth best team selling jersey. The Celtics, Lakers, Knicks aren’t hard to understand, because of their markets. Even the Bulls aren’t hard to imagine since Jordan made them so popular, but the Heat are only in the top five because of Dwyane Wade and O’Neal.

The Suns are hoping for the same 2004-05 spike to occur again -- that was the year O’Neal was traded from the Lakers to the Heat. That year O’Neal’s jersey was the top seller. The following year Wade’s jersey reigned supreme. For two years, the Heat accumulated extra money on team paraphernalia alone. Not to mention the stars who are good friends with O’Neal and Wade that would come to the games to support them. This in turn prompted more television exposure and thus, created the modern day monstrosity of watching a team that has only won nine of its last 49 games played yet still plays in the NBA’s marquee Sunday matchup. Basically, O’Neal’s star power will pay for part of his contract. That’s the bill of goods Mickey Arison, owner of the Miami Heat, sold to his Sun counterpart, Robert Sarver. This was one of the two main reasons this trade was not only initiated but completed. The other reason is Steve Nash.

Fading Sun Piece:

Nash is the catalyst of the offense. Nash initiates the fast break, makes the correct read on the pick and roll, and always delivers clutch shots in crunch time. Nash is the head of the Suns’ snake. But cut the head, kill the snake. That’s a philosophy the Spurs had no trouble implementing last summer. Tony Parker’s inadvertent elbow busted Nash’s nose. Bruce Bowen’s inadvertent knee met Nash’s groin. But the final nail was Robert Horry’s advertent hip check that killed the Suns’ championship hopes. How many times has Wade or Bryant been recipients of intentional physicality? Rarely. Wade hits the deck hard sometime but that is because he attacks the rim with reckless abandon. Bryant was side slammed by Raja Bell, but that was because of their constant jawing at each other. Nash isn’t a big talker or relentless slasher, so O’Neal’s presence will deter players from taking those shots. That reduction in punishment couldn’t have come at a better time.         

Nash’s playing window is also closing. Nash is rarely out with major injuries, but his back and knees are a constant reminder that he is getting older. Couple that with Nash’s contract running out in two years, and that leaves a very small window to win the championship. Now, Nash could sign a new contract, but his prime is almost over, which means that he will become nothing more than a role player -- a Ron Harper to a 2000 Lakers championship, a Gary Payton to a 2006 Heat championship, an Horry to a Spurs championship, or like his GM, a Steve Kerr to a Spurs championship. These players were integral to their teams’ championship runs and made a couple of key plays, but not essential players. 

Add together these four pieces and its simple to see why the Suns pulled the trigger. Include the fact that their medical staff assured management that getting O’Neal healthy would not be a problem, that Stoudemire no longer has to take punishment from the bigs of the west, and that it was Mike D’Antoni’s lobbying for O’Neal to Kerr not the other way around, and all of a sudden it’s possible for me to state this: The Phoenix Suns will capture the 2007-08 NBA championship.

And if they don’t win this year or next year, then the Suns can start constructing a winner all over again in two years with more than $30 million in cap space and a 27 year old stud.