Let's Move the Blazers to the Pacific Division

Just a thought.

I think the NBA should look at some realignment. With the Seattle SuperSonics now residing in Oklahoma City as the Thunder, I think the NBA can do a little switcheroo.

Why not move the Portland Trail Blazers to the Pacific Division and move the Phoenix Suns to a "Midwest" Division?

Portland was a Pacific Division staple until the NBA went to a six-division format a few years ago. The Blazers, along with nearby Seattle, were placed in the new Northwest Division with Denver, Minnesota and Utah. It seemed like a good fit at the time.

But with Seattle out of the picture, shouldn't we put Portland ... which lies on the Pacific coast ... in the Pacific Division? Put them with the Lakers, Clippers, Warriors and Kings.

To make room, move the Suns to a revamped Midwest Division. It's stupid to have a Northwest Division when Oklahoma City is one of the occupants. So call it the Midwest and have Oklahoma City, Phoenix, Utah, Denver and Minnesota involved.

Look, this is really all window dressing. The division format is nothing more than a show to have six teams feeling as if they won something. In reality, the NBA basically is made up of two conferences. Teams within the division play each other nearly the same amount of times so moving teams really won't affect travel or, like the Dallas Stars of the NHL, won't create bad television times.

Still, it would make a bit more sense.

WESTERN CONFERENCE
SOUTHWEST: Dallas, Houston, Memphis, New Orleans, San Antonio
MIDWEST: Denver, Minnesota, Oklahoma City, Phoenix, Utah
PACIFIC: Golden State, LA Clippers, LA Lakers, Portland, Sacramento

Shaq and Kobe Have Played Their Last Game Together

This was a one-time deal, folks. No reunion tour. No new studio album.

Despite all of the sugar-coated love displayed this weekend, Shaquille O'Neal and Kobe Bryant are done as teammates.

The Lakers aren't going to deal for him. As a Laker fan, it did cross my mind about bringing Shaq back. Let's be honest: Los Angeles could use him right now. Andrew Bynum is out until just before the playoffs and Shaq could fill the 15 or so minutes asked of him a night. That would work if the Suns bought Shaq's contract out and let him walk to the Lakers for a much, much, much smaller salary.

None of that is going to happen. The only way the Lakers could deal for Shaq is if they parted with Lamar Odom ... who has been a monster of late and even more valuable now that Bynum is out. Phoenix isn't going to buy out Shaq and let him walk to a division rival. Not just that, but Shaq becomes a huge trading chip in 2009-2010 because of his expiring contract.

Let's put all that to bed. The logistics just don't work.

The final word on this is Kobe. Do you really think Kobe wants Shaq around as he goes for another title? If there is one thing the ultra-competitive Bryant wants to accomplish is winning a ring without the Big Fella. This is Kobe's team now and Shaq would come in and undermine that a bit.

Not sabotage, but ... well just watch the All Star festivities. Shaq decided to dance with the JabberWokkeeZ (it was funny, but it was all about him). Shaq decided to wax poetic about Kobe and their past. And, for some reason, Shaq even stole half of the MVP trophy away from Kobe as they were co-winners.

Kobe did all the right things this weekend. He played along with Shaq's jokes and playfulness. He did everything to show the world that their hatchet has been buried. Most of it felt somewhat genuine but somewhat a little fake.

Look, Shaq and Kobe will never be best buddies. They may never be good friends. But I honestly think they get along and both do value those years they spent together. There aren't too many combos that can celebrate a three-peat. Both know that their careers have been and will be defined by those title teams ... whether they like it or not.

But both are different cats right now. Kobe has taken his place as the NBA's best player. Shaq is now a broken down superstar who, though playing pretty well, is near the end of his career. We didn't really see Shaq and Kobe together again on Sunday. I mean, it was them, but they look so much different. Shaq now looks aged; his voice more gruff. Kobe has done the Jordan-esque change from a pogo stick with doubters to the best all around game in the league and he knows he is the best player out there.

The thing is that Kobe really doesn't need Shaq right now. Really, Shaq doesn't need Kobe. Kobe helms a team that entered this weekend with the league's best record and season sweeps over the Celtics and Cavaliers. Shaq has four championships and will go down as one of the NBA's greatest players.

This was fun for a night, but let's not get carried away.

Phoenix Suns Were Wrong to Hire Terry Porter; Even More Wrong to Fire Him

The Phoenix Suns may or may not have fired head coach Terry Porter. Because the NBA doesn't want anyone dumping on the All Star Game, league business tends to take the weekend off.

So, tomorrow, Porter will be fired by the Suns. Thanks for that! The Suns have absolutely no stones. None.

Don't get me wrong: Porter isn't a great head coach. He's a good guy who does a good job and all, but he just doesn't enough produce wins. I'm not saying this now that he's gone ... I was saying that when he was hired.

Porter never should have been head coach of the Suns. But GM Steve Kerr was busy running Mike D'Antoni out of town and into a gazillion dollar offer from the Knicks. He wanted a defensive minded guy, so hiring Porter seemed like a good idea.

The problem is that Porter wasn't inheriting a defensive minded team. Phoenix has long been a run-and-gun team that hid their bad defense by outscoring opponents. That usually isn't a trademark of championship teams, but Porter was supposed to add that defensive dimension to go with that potent offense.

Problem was two things: The potent offense left with D'Antoni and Kerr deals away Porter's only stallions. And by stallions, I mean he traded away the two guys Porter had to have to push his defensive stance: Raja Bell and Boris Diaw. Those were the Suns two best defensive and most versatile players. Kerr dealt them to Charlotte for Jason Richardson ... who would have thrived in that run-and-gun style of D'Antoni's.

That doesn't even mention the square peg of Shaq anchoring the rounded Steve Nash and Amare Stoudemire.

Porter inherited all of this and was asked to create ... what? What was the goal? What was the standard? Yes, being the 9th place team in the Western Conference is a problem, but what did you expect when you didn't let the man coach his team. Even if he was going to stink at it, let him do his job.

If not, then why did you hire him in the first place?

Porter will probably never be a head coach again unless he takes an interim role when a coach he is assisting is fired (like Alvin Gentry, who will be replacing Porter in Phoenix).

Meanwhile, Kerr marches on to make more bad decisions.

Hey Phoenix: I Hope Shaq Was Worth It

Just because something is better than expected, that doesn't make it valuable. That point has never been more evident than what the Phoenix Suns have been going through over the past year.

One year ago, Steve Kerr and the Suns dealt away Shawn Marion for Shaquille O'Neal. And aging Shaq who was sitting due to injury.

The Suns were a team that was winning Pacific Division championships and were one of the elite teams in the NBA. No, that didn't equate to Finals appearances, but this was far from a team that needed to be imploded.

Shaq has surprised many people by having an All-Star season. The last time he looked anything like this, the Miami Heat were winning their championship. It would seem that slowing the Suns down and actually having a half court game would put them over the top.

The problem is that the Suns aren't championship caliber anymore. Odd when you think that Shaq is playing at such a high level on a team that was one of the NBA's elite. And it isn't as if Marion is doing anything of importance in Miami.

Since the deal was made, Mike D'Antoni flew the coup to New York (the Suns weren't very angry about that). Phoenix's lack of offense led to them dealing Raja Bell and Boris Diaw ... two of their best defenders ... to Charlotte for Jason Richardson. Steve Nash has gone from MVP to non-All Star. Amare Stoudemire wants out. Fans wish head coach Terry Porter would follow him.

And now the Suns want to deal Shaq.

There are two parts to this story: what has happened and what could have been. What has happened is the Suns are fighting just to get into the playoffs and get run out of the first round by the Lakers or Spurs. They are trying to deal Amare Stoudemire and Shaquille O'Neal in order to salvage some payroll and some prospects. The problem is that Amare can be a free agent in 2010 and Shaq holds a $20M price tag next season. Tough sells.

What could have been is up for debate since we really can never tell. If the Suns stayed pat and never made this deal, they would probably still be trailing the Lakers in the Pacific and most likely a No. 5 to 7 seed in the playoffs. However, it would be easier for them to make a move now. Marion has an expiring contract which would be worth something ... or just let him walk and his contract is off the books. Guys like Nash and Stoudemire are more attractive bargaining chips if you wanted to deal them as well.

Instead, the team is actively trying to deal the one player (Amare) they shouldn't be shopping. They probably can't deal Shaq right now unless Cleveland gets desperate. They aren't dealing Nash. However, neither Nash nor Shaq will be in the Suns long-term plans. If you are going to implode the team, it would make more sense to build the new Suns around Amare.

Shaq has been a force this year and an All Star. Not a bad catch considering you dealt away that isn't an All Star this year. But the biggest measure is sports are wins and losses and that is where the Suns have suffered the most.

We Need Shaq, Kobe and Phil Together For One Night Only

Normally I'm not big on having certain guys make the All-Star team. Especially a guy like Shaquille O'Neal, who has been to 14 of these things and it should be old hat to him by now.

However, we need Shaq on this team. We need it. TNT needs it. The NBA needs it.

I mean, this will be our final shot of Shaq and Kobe as teammates.

We all know that dynamic that is Shaq and Kobe so forgive me for not doing the "journalistic thing" and retracing all the steps as if you've lived under a rock. You know the history so think about how cool it would be to have Shaq and Kobe as teammates.

Not just that, but Phil Jackson would be their coach. So the triangle will get back together for one night only ... in Shaq's new playground in Phoenix. Remember how in June 2004, these three men all wanted to go off in completely different directions. Shaq blamed Kobe, Kobe blamed Phil, Phil blamed both.

Of course, we all know that the shame of this is the fact that they were making such sweet music together. Three straight titles including a postseason that saw them lose once in 16 games. Even in their non-titles of 2003 and 2004, they had their moments when they turned on the switch and were the best team in the NBA. Because of all that ego, that left.

Since then, Phil and Kobe have reunited and made another Finals appearance together. Kobe ended up with his first MVP award and a couple of scoring titles. Shaq went to Miami and won a title with his next little buddy, Dwyane Wade (who he mysteriously doesn't gush much about anymore). By the way, Wade will be playing for the East that night. All we need is Penny Hardaway to show up and we can have it all.

Well, it would be complete if Shaq blessed us with a halftime rendition of "Kobe, How's My @$$ Taste".

For one night ... if the Western Conference coaches vote Shaq into the All Star Game ... all three will be back in the same locker room. Both Shaq and Kobe will probably bring in their new playthings of Amare Stoudamire and Pau Gasol to the party. They all will be cordial and, being the competitors they are, will blow all that animosity out the window so the West can win the game.

Still, for Laker fans like me, it will be a bittersweet moment when (and you know this is going to happen) Kobe throws up a lob that Shaq thunders down like it is Game 7 of the 2000 Western Conference Finals all over again. We will remember the great times the two produced together in their much too brief partnership and lament the fact that their egos and selfishness threw it all away.

It just will be great to see the ol' gang back.