Shaquille O’Neal should be in Phoenix by now, and pending passing a physical this afternoon, Phoenix and Miami will submit the trade by the end of the day and Shaq will become a member of the Phoenix Suns, the Arizona Republic reports.

Shaq reportedly talked to several Phoenix players Tuesday night, including Steve Nash, telling Nash he will not let him down.

The deal would send O’Neal to the Suns in exchange for All-Star forward Shawn Marion and guard Marcus Banks.

ESPN’s David Thorpe, who writes a weekly column rating this year’s NBA rookies, discusses “chuckers” among the rookie class this week and rates Seattle’s Kevin Durant among the top of the list. Here’s an excerpt.

I would love to see Kevin Durant make a decision, maybe even for just one week, to simply stop shooting perimeter jump shots (unless forced to by the shot clock). Contrary to conventional wisdom (and his own memory), he is not a good shooter. Any study of his statistics suggests that he'll miss about two-thirds of his outside shots. Do I think he'll ultimately be a great shooter? Yes. But for now, focusing only on hard drives, paint jumpers and post-ups would be a better method to help the Sonics win games; they currently are the least efficient offensive team in the NBA.

Contestants for the 3-point contest during the All-Star game were announced today, and the list does not include a member of Sonics.

Toronto’s Jason Kapono will defend his title against Kobe Bryant (Lakers), Nash (Suns), Peja Stojokovic (Hornets), Daniel Gibson (Cavaliers) and Richard Hamilton (Pistons). Dale Ellis is the only Sonic to win the event in 1989.