One Big Cactus in Cleveland

Shaq was traded to the Cavaliers to join LeBron James in Cleveland yesterday. The deal that will put two of the biggest stars in the game on the same court was finalized around the time of the 2009 draft. Here’s the deal: Shaq will play the 2009-10 season for the Cavs, whereupon his contract will expire. The Phoenix Suns will receive second-string center Ben Wallace and backup forward Aleksandar Pavlovic, who, together averaged only 10.5 minutes a game, along with a 2010 second round draft choice and half a million dollars. Cleveland had tried to make a similar deal for O’Neal least season before the February deadline, and the failure to do so could have cost them a trip to the NBA finals when Zydrunas Ilgauskas could not hang with Dwight Howard in the Conference Finals. Cleveland was unwilling to let that happen again. For Phoenix, the deal was an attempt to get younger with 26-year old Pavlovic and an extra draft pick next year, but it also functioned as a salary dump. Shaq was costing them a lot of money ($20 million a year), and apparently the Suns have been hit pretty hard by the economic crisis.

For Cleveland, the purpose of the deal was a little more conspicuous: keep LeBron a Cav when his contract is up after this season. James has made it clear he would like to remain a Cavalier after this season, but no one would be surprised if he pulled a classic superstar move and signed a contract with a team that could afford to pay him a little more money—say, the Knicks? But if Cleveland could give Lebron an NBA title next season, the Akron native might be a little more tempted to stay in Cleveland. Shaq is 37 years old and is about to play his 17th year in the NBA. Cleveland is hoping he still has enough (diesel) gas in the tank to get Cleveland past the Celtics and Magic, by whom they have been eliminated in the playoffs the past two years. The Cavliers brass might be on to something too: O’Neal already has 4 rings, and there is something to be said for someone who has proven himself a champion. Even if the Cavs don’t bring home a title, this moves at least lets LeBron know that they’re willing to do whatever it takes to get LeBron what he needs to win a championship. However, Cleveland does have one number off in the “Shaq + x = NBA champs” formula. In LA, there was Shaq, Kobe, and Phil Jackson; in Miami, there was Shaq, D-Wade, and Pat Riley. In Cleveland, there will be Shaq, LeBron, and…Mike Brown. He has the grade-A point guard that has helped him win championships in the past, but he doesn’t quite have the grade-A coach. (More like a grade-B rown coach).

One thing I know I’m looking forward too is watching Shaq join one of the most fun-loving teams in the NBA. He thinks there will be “a lot of fun, a lot of just having a good time and a lot of smiling, and a lot of winning.” Putting aside the winning part, I can’t imagine what Shaq will bring to the pre-game photo shoots and human bowling of the Cavs. Who can forget the 2007 All-Star game dance-off Shaq initiated between Dwight Howard, LeBron, and himself? To see the dance-off, click http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jhfHeeQJhVQ. If nothing else, LeBron will have a fun season putting on a show for the fans of Cleveland playing alongside the biggest personality in all of sports, Shaquille O’Neal. Another thing we can count on: the Cavalier offense will no longer be get the ball to LeBron, and watch him do his thing. James’s numbers might drop off a bit with the addition of a 15-time All Star, but I don’t think he’ll care if it gets him a ring.