Friday, Feb. 13, 2009 | 2:34 p.m.
Former Rebels Shawn Marion and Marcus Banks were traded on Friday from the Miami Heat to the Toronto Raptors in exchange for Las Vegas resident Jermaine O'Neal, Jamario Moon and a future first-round draft pick.
Marion and Banks were both traded to the Heat late last season in a deal that sent Shaquille O'Neal to the Suns.
Miami made the move in an effort to bolster its front court, which has former Rebel Joel Anthony currently starting at center. The Heat, after a 95-93 win at Chicago on Thursday night, are 28-24 this season, currently good for the fifth spot in the Eastern Conference standings. Toronto, at 21-34, gives Miami some salary cap relief with the deal. The Raptors, despite being second-from-last in the East right now, are only five games out of the final playoff spot.
Marion is averaging 12.0 points and 8.7 rebounds in this his 10th NBA season. Both averages are the lowest he's posted since his rookie season in 1999-00 (10.2 and 6.5, respectively). The former ninth overall pick spent nearly nine full seasons with Phoenix before last season's deal.
Banks, a former first-round pick himself, will now play for his fifth team in six NBA seasons. His 2.6 scoring average and 10 minutes per game this year are both career lows.
With rookie Mario Chalmers taking a stranglehold of the starting point guard position in Miami, Banks had been relegated to the bench, only appearing once in Miami's last 21 games.
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