Terry Porter was in a lose-lose situation. It is very hard to coach when your best player doesnt buy into the new system your installing. Plus you are working for the 2nd worst owner in basketball in Robert Sarver and all of sudden an inept GM in Steve Kerr. The Suns will not make the playoffs for the next few seasons and they are going to lose Amare and Nash along with Shaq by the end of next year. They are probably going to have to rebuild around Leandro Barbosa because they have just given away draft picks and quality players like water
the o'neal trade obviously screwed the suns simply because they got an old washed up center, who doesnt play the kind of style the suns like to play, and you take away shawn marion
Honestly the absence of shawn marion had a bigger impact on the team than shaq. Shaq still puts up good numbers and helps that team out a lot, he doesn't need to run up and down the floor. And phoenix really had no choice giving up marion.