You know what they say about the rumors: they're always true. And that's exactly the case with the talk of Shaquille O'Neal going to the Cavaliers to play alongside LeBron James. Yahoo! is reporting that it's a done deal, and that the Suns will receive Ben Wallace, Sasha Pavlovic, the 46th pick in Thursday's draft, and of course, some cash on the side.
The Suns have been fielding offers for both O'Neal and Amar'e Stoudemire, and now that Shaq has been sent packing, it's likely that the team will hold onto Amar'e through the end of his contract.
As for the Cavaliers, it's interesting to see how reactionary they were to the team's failures this previous season. The 2008-09 version of the Cavs was built to beat the Celtics, but once Kevin Garnett went down with that knee injury, the Celtics were no longer the ones standing in their way.
Instead, it was Dwight Howard and the Orlando Magic, and the Cavs didn't have the interior pieces -- on either side of the ball -- that were capable of handling Howard. So, they went out and got the premier interior presence in the league (in O'Neal) to counteract that.
I know this is looking almost a year into the future, but let's say that Shaq helps the Cavs get to the Finals. And let's say that Kobe Bryant and the Lakers are the team that they face once they get there.
I'm fairly confident in the fact that my head wouldn't be the only one exploding if that's the way that the 2009-10 season was to end up sorting itself out.
Comments (Page 1 of 4)
Lets see Shaq show up in shape and dedicated to play b4 we start talkin Shaq and LeSpoiled Loser vs the Lakers in the finals.
STFU coach potato!
Shaq will do his part,but he will not be able to play more than 70 games. Unless the Cavsgeta solid wing player they will still not have enough to win it all. Plus do people realize that Kevin Garnett will be returning to the Celtics next season? checkout www.blogtalkradio.com/bline with a guest roster of Chris Bosh,Vince Carter and Stephen A.Smith and upcoming Dwight Howard,Dwayne wade.Live shows every Tuesday nights with Pod Cast available.
LBJ better improve his shooting because he won’t be able to drive with Shaq’s fat ass in there. An old brittle declining Shaq is going to help you get over the power house from the east Bos, Orl not a chance!
they had wallace ,how much worse can shaq be
hope this works
It's not.
The Cavs would probably end up drawing the Bulls or some other surprising team they had no intention of seeing and get their butts handed to them yet again.
But think of the pregame antics! Forget about the pregame introductions that will feature more elaborate dance routines than cirque de soleil, they're gonna take it to the next leveland beyond. Lebron and Shaq will get their own comedy show on ESPN, oh the misadventures they'd have. I can't wait for hilarity to ensue.
Just think Shaq taking shots at Nash and the suns, praising Mike Brown and the greatest player to ever play the game(behind Shaq of course)King Lebron James. Shaq gets LeBron his first ring, Lebron praises Shaq as the greatest center of all time and they win 4 rings in a row.
Then everyone wakes up.
Without the Pheonix medical staff, Shaq reverts back to "the big twinkie" they start losing games and Shaq blames LeBron, Lebron blames Shaq, meanwhile Kobe laughs his ass off on the way back to another ring. Season ends, Mike Brown gets fired, Lebron leaves Cleveland, Shaq retires and the Cleveland economy fails.
LOL ! Sadly, this isn`t too far from the truth.
Shaq was once the most dominant center ever to play the game. His speed, power and footwork are unparalleled. But now he's a bloated caricature of his former self. He makes $75-100 million a year, and he can't hire a nutritionist and personal trainer so that he can hold up his responsibilities to his team mates? He's too good -- make that too lazy -- to use the free throw shooting coach that every team has hired for him? If he wanted, he would still be the best center in the NBA, and retire with everyone in awe. Now he's just the clown who won't go home. Very sad, and an insult to fans and his team mates and the people employing him.
3 years ago, this is a great trade! Now? Come on!
I honestly think Favre has more left than Shaq does.
OH HELL YEAH THIS IS GOING TO GET GOOD. SHAQ S A WINNER CAN T WAIT TO BUY HIS NEW JERSEY GO BIG DADDY KICK LAKERS AZZ
This is a great man Big Daddy and the King GO CLEVELAND!!!!!!!!!! Lebron couldnt have gotten a ring with the crew he had so why not give it a chance. The big men Cleveland had done squat so we shall see
This is a bad, terrrible, horrifying move for Cavaliers. Shaq will only clog up the middle like what happened in Phoenix he will just slow slow down the offense. He is not the same mobile Shaq when he won consecutive titles with the Lakers....Cleveland do yourself a favor take the trade back you got the best record in the NBA this past season w/o Shaq and get someone else in the middle
According to an inside source, one condition of the trade is that Shaq had to sign an agreement to come to camp at 320 or under and in shape. If this doesn't happen, his contract is null and void. That's why Cleveland got him so cheap.
Shaq has supposedly hired a nutritionist and a personal trainer to get his body fat below 8 percent and to build an extra 25 lbs of muscle. He has reportedly been jogging 5 miles a day, has been in the gym practicing free throws with free throw specialist Mark Price, has taken up yoga for muscle flexibility and has been relentlessly practicing his own version of the sky hook.
Shaq who turns 38 in March of 2010, reportedly was inspired by Bill Russell who told him with the proper work, he could duplicate Kareem Abdul-Jabbar's feat of winning 3 NBA titles after turning the age of 38.
Russell told him Jabbar's legacy wasn't cemented when he was young and powerful, but when he was older and showed his will to adapt his game to continue to win championships.
Hey, I'm just sayin......
This trade will give the cavs 5%-7% better season record, however in as much as the post season goes.....Shaq regardless if injured or not will not take this team to the championship!
Thus Lebron will feel the need to try and do it himself and it will leave him angered and bitter because another season of disappointment awaits him in Cleveland! Smart move is for Lebron to go to Dallas and win a title there!
First of all lets get the facts straight, Shaq was , and I say was a very dominate center in his prime, but Greatest Center is a very long stretch.
This is an opinion which has much debate.
Shaq is the only big name Center to play the game when instead of changing the rules to slow him down, they added and allowed rule changes that would help make his game easier.
I am not saying that he wasn't a big and very strong force to be reckoned with, I am just saying that other players of old were much more dominant , so much that they kept changing the rules of the game to slow them down. If the rules were enforced & followed according to there original intentions, Shaq would have been fouling out of most games before Half time. He was not exactly very graceful , more like a bull in a China shop.
An example of what I am talking about is this. In the day Russel & Chamberlain would average 10 block shots per game, there entire carrier, while people think Shaq is so great when he gets maybe 2 block shots per quarter. Also rebounding;
check out the stats, Russel and Wilt would haul in 20 - 25 rebounds a night , there entire carrier. That's dominance. Chamberlain would score big in the paint, and do it without fouling. Much different game, some of the rule changes have been good, but Shaq was given a get out of jail free card for the whole time he played with lots of Money$$$ without passing GO!
Simply look at what Shaq did in college, and then realize he is definitely one of the best, but the greatest? , and then look at JABBAR, not too many big guys can say they were that good all the way until the end of his carrier. JABBAR was truly someone who altered his game and contributed significantly in his later years as a player. And then the athleticism of a HAKEEM, unbelievable talent,he was a threat at 15', and sometimes 20' from the basket, kind of like a quicker more balanced Kevin Garnet.
Man that sucks!!! Cleveland is no place for Shaq, he needs to be back in LA playing along side Bro. Kobe if he wants another ring!! Cleveland and LeBron Suck!!
LA sucks even more
yeah they suck.
they suck so much they even won a title.
you're a moron