***BREAKING NEWS*** Raptors Acquire Marion From Heat

The Toronto Raptors have agreed to send Jermaine O'Neal and Jamario Moon to the Miami Heat in exchange for Shawn Marion and Marcus Banks, league sources told ESPN The Magazine's Ric Bucher.

The deal is pending league approval, according to league sources. Source: ESPN.com


***UPDATE*** Yahoo! Sports: Heat close to landing Raptors’ O’Neal

The Miami Heat are close to completing a trade with the Toronto Raptors for Jermaine O’Neal, Jamario Moon and a future first-round pick in exchange for Shawn Marion and Marcus Banks, an NBA source said Friday. Source: Yahoo! Sports


Sources: Heat trade Marion, Banks to Raptors for O'Neal

The Miami Heat and Toronto Raptors completed a long-discussed trade Friday, with Miami sending forward Shawn Marion and guard Marcus Banks to Toronto for forward Jermaine O'Neal, according to two league sources.

The Heat will also receive guard Jamario Moon from Toronto, along with a conditional draft pick, while the Raptors will get cash considerations from Miami, believed to be the maximum $3 million allowed under league rules. Source: NBA.com


Source: The Miami Herald

The Miami Heat has agreed to trade forward Shawn Marion and point guard Marcus Banks to Toronto for center Jermaine O'Neal and small forward Jamario Moon, an agent for one of the players said Friday.

The deal is contingent on all the players passing physicals.

''The Heat gave us a head-ups that the deal is going down,'' said Michael Higgins, agent for Banks.

The long-rumored deal will give the Heat a center, filling one of its biggest weaknesses. O'Neal's contract runs through next season and will pay him $23 million in 2009-10.

Marion, earning $18.4 million this season, has a contract expiring after this season, and the Heat had not made any recent attempt to re-sign him.

The trade will allow the Heat to be a major player in free agency in summer 2010, when it is expected to try to sign Phoenix's Amar'e Stoudemire or Toronto's Chris Bosh. The Heat pursued a trade for Stoudemire in recent days, but the Suns are looking elsewhere. Source: The Miami Herald