Feb. 6, 2008 - Center Shaquille O'Neal is headed back to the Western Conference, where he won three NBA championships with the Los Angeles Lakers. The Miami Heat traded the 14-time All-Star to Phoenix on Wednesday for forward Shawn Marion and guard Marcus Banks, the Miami Herald reported.

O'Neal is a puzzling fit for the up-tempo Suns under head coach Mike D'Antoni and with point guard Steve Nash leading a running attack. Standing at 7-foot-1 and 325 pounds and fighting through a multitude of injuries and motivational issues, O'Neal can't be seen as the ideal fit in Phoenix.

But, when you dangle a championship in front of Shaq and he sees that it's time to work hard and shed a few pounds, he'll get back into good, competitive form. Compromises will be made from the Suns, too, setting up a more frequent half-court offense when Shaq is on the floor and slowing the tempo so he can get into the offensive set.

The move is good for Marion, who will be a more featured part of the Heat's offense and a key to the franchise's rebuilding effort. As option No. 2 behind Dwyane Wade, Marion will surely see an increase in his 12.3 field goal attempts per game. And the move away from Phoenix won't change the rest of his stellar fantasy game - remember, he put up largely the same numbers years before Nash or D'Antoni ever arrived in Phoenix.

Amare Stoudemire also gets a wish fulfilled, moving back to his more natural power forward position from center. Shaq will force some double teams and turn some inside attention away from him, but not to the point where you'll see a major facelift on Stoudemire's stat line.

Boris Diaw will presumably inherit some of Marion's minutes, which makes for a nice situation for him. The enigmatic forward is a quality passer, but has lacked the consistent minutes and focus to regain the form that made him one of fantasy's most pleasant surprises in 2005-06.

Dustin Hockensmith's Take
Financially and philosphically, this deal doesn't look to make a great deal of sense for the Suns. First-year general manager Steve Kerr obviously does not feel like D'Antoni's coaching style will yield a championship without a major tweak. He'd better be right because he's now on the hook for two years and $40 million left on Shaq's contract.

Fantasy Spin
I really like this one for Shaq. He's one of the most mood-oriented players in the league, and he was wallowing with the NBA's worst team. He'll get a dose of motivation with a fifth career championship in sight, and a dose of reality that he'll need to get into and stay in game shape. Marion also gets a nice boost to his value, which may end up solidifying his place as the best player in fantasy.