Trade O'Neal while he is still worth something

The Miami Heat really don't have it this year. That isn't their fault- they are also one of the oldest teams in the NBA. Wade's return will make them a 7th/8th playoff spot team - maybe. They aren't as good as Boston, Cleveland, Milwaukee, Detroit or Orlando on paper, and they are D.F.L. in the worst division in the league.

I am a Heat fan. For the same reason I can legitimately claim to be a Celtics Fan (Oh Anderson, how I love thee) I cheered for the Heat that first year they drafted Mr. Ackles and never really stopped. I definitely stopped cheering for the Celtics - but now that they have a decent team again...

The Heat can rebuild by doing the only thing they can do: Trade Shaquille O'Neal. That old horse has got two solid seasons of unstoppability left in him - they can get three/four prospects and free up the cap room they need to sign younger players.

Shaq remains, at least when he feels like it, totally unstoppable. The problem is that he is 30 pounds overweight and lazy unless he knows he can win. He can back down ANYONE in the league and unless they foul him (also known as Hack a Shaq) or double team him (freeing up an open man) he will score.

On defense, he can be a one man zone.

He can help a lot of teams (like, say the Orlando Magic) that have a gigantic HOLE in the middle of their team and as a result can't beat teams with back to the basket centers. Also, his play is inversely proportionate to how much fun he is having, knowing that winning is fun. When he is winning, he is unstoppable. When he is losing, he stops trying.

Everyone in the league knows this, and to be blunt, he could also give someone a shot in the arm in terms of ticket sales.

Or, you can just waste one more year on Wade's contract reaching back for past glory that can't come the way things are right now. Move him or lose him at the end of the year.