Steve Jones Contributor

First it was the Lakers adding Pau Gasol before February was even a day old. Next before the month was even a week old, the Suns welcomed Shaquille O'Neal aboard. And it would not be shocking but rather somewhat expected if before the trading deadline on Feb. 21 Dallas figures out a way to pry Jason Kidd away from the Nets.

The Lakers, Suns and Mavericks all want to dethrone the defending league champion Spurs as the conquerors of the Western Conference, thereby punching a ticket for a chance to play for the NBA title. But even with the moves made by the Lakers and Suns and the potential strengthening of the Mavericks, the Spurs remain the team to beat in the conference.

San Antonio is doing just what it did last season. It's not making regular-season supremacy its No. 1 goal. Instead coach Gregg Popovich is resting his players on a liberal basis while the team weathers some key injuries like the sore left foot of Tony Parker. The Spurs are lurking, and provided they are healthy, come playoff time they will be primed to mount a strong bid for back-to-back titles -- something that has not been achieved in their impressive franchise history.

A gamble worth taking
Suns general manager Steve Kerr pulled the trigger on the deal that brought O'Neal to the desert in exchange for Shawn Marion and Marcus Banks. No question it's a high-risk move and no question there's the potential for a high reward (read NBA title).

Word of the trade brought reaction that was mostly negative. Questions over what O'Neal has left at 36, whether he can get and stay healthy (he's healing from a balky hip), and how in the world he'll mesh with the Suns' run-and-gun style of play abound. The answers are to come, but beware of O'Neal, who said in his introductory press conference in Phoenix, "You just don't really want to get me upset. When I'm upset, I'm known to do certain things -- like win championships."

Given that Phoenix has lacked a true center, the strategy by its opponents has been to try and slow down the Suns and punish them inside. That would often result in foul trouble for a key Phoenix player like Marion, Amare Stoudemire or Boris Diaw -- who were guarding bigger and sometimes stronger opponents. And the Suns did not have the depth to bring in a big man off the bench when one of their top players had to take a seat.

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O'Neal is the strongest player in the league. He's past his prime but will give the Suns a defensive presence with an attitude in the middle which they have it seems forever been lacking. The Suns now have a legitimate big man who can change the outcome of a game and no longer will they be forced to play Stoudemire out of position at center. That should make him an even bigger threat as he returns to his natural position of power forward.

Even though O'Neal is not the player he was earlier in his career, he still gets double-teamed most of the time he gets the ball. His passing out of the double team will make his solid shooting teammates even more dangerous. And it will be O'Neal -- not Stoudemire -- who will go head on into potential playoff battles with Gasol and Andrew Bynum of the Lakers, Carlos Boozer of the Jazz, and Tim Duncan of Spurs. That's when San Antonio could fully realize the value of having O'Neal -- even an O'Neal who might be far from his once dominant self -- on the floor.

There will be a period of adjustment and transition for O'Neal and his new teammates. But his joining Phoenix gives the Suns a 50 percent better shot at clearing all potential hurdles, most notably the Spurs, and winning the NBA title.

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