Suns general manager Steve Kerr discussed the decision to trade Shaquille O'Neal to the Cavaliers on Thursday.

"We felt it was imperative going forward that we gain the kind of cap flexibility and roster flexibility that allows us to start making some basketball moves," Kerr told the Arizona Republic.

"That's critical, especially with this day and age with this economy. You can see from the deals that are going on around the league that if you have the upper hand financially, then you're going to make a pretty good deal.

"We've been on the decline and things have not worked out as well as we had hoped. So now it's time to adjust and you adjust by gaining flexibility, by putting together assets that you can build around, that you can move, that give you the kind of leverage to re-establish yourself as a great team," Kerr added.

The general manager also admitted that acquiring O'Neal from Miami roughly 17 months ago didn't turn out as he planned.

"Team-wise, it didn't pan out as we hoped," Kerr said. "I believe, if you have a chance, you go for it and we knew that team before the deal was not going anywhere in the playoffs because of our lack of size in the front court and we were starting to decline a little bit. You can make the argument that we should have let that team go, let it tail off and then make a move. I know I'd be taking a lot less heat right now if that had been the case."