FanHouse Preview: Cavaliers

FanHouse previews all 30 NBA teams in advance of the 2009-10 season.

Cool things happen when a team trades for a center who has at least one MVP trophy on his mantel.

Wilt Chamberlain got traded, and won a championship. He was traded again, and won another title.

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar was dealt, and won five more crowns.

Bob McAdoo got traded, and later won two rings.

Bill Walton was shipped away, and eventually got another title.

Moses Malone was traded. You guessed it. He won a championship.

Shaquille O'Neal was dealt. He won a ring to add to the three already on his fingers.

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OK, there are some disclaimers here. McAdoo played on four teams between Buffalo initially trading him and getting his titles with the Lakers, and Walton had one team in between his Portland and Boston stints.

We didn't mention Dave Cowens and Hakeem Olajuwon, who weren't exactly fitted for rings when they closed their careers with Milwaukee and Toronto, respectively. And O'Neal, who won three crowns with the Lakers and one with Miami, didn't get one with Phoenix, his fourth team. His first team was Orlando, but that was before he won an MVP.

But you get the idea. There's enough precedent for the Cleveland Cavaliers, who acquired Shaq from the Suns last June, to be feeling pretty good about themselves.

"Every once in a while, I have to pinch myself,'' Cavaliers coach Mike Brown said of O'Neal being added to his talented team. "I couldn't ask for a better situation.''

Well, maybe he could. He could have asked for a 27-year-old, rather than a 37-year-old, Shaq.

Still, there is reason for optimism. While we are on the subject of former MVP centers winning rings, it's worth noting Abdul-Jabbar picked up three after he turned 38, the age O'Neal will be in March.

In perhaps the biggest move of the offseason (literally and figuratively since O'Neal is listed at 7-foot-1, 325 pounds), the Cavaliers acquired O'Neal to pair with the reigning MVP, forward LeBron James.

If you want to add up the number of total All-Star game berths that Cleveland players have accumulated, it's 15 for O'Neal, five for James, two for backup center Zydrunas Ilgauskas and one for guard Mo Williams for a total of 23.

No wonder everybody is really excited in Cleveland these days.

"It's going to be great,'' said Ilgauskas, not minding at all that the acquisition of the big fellow is sending him to the bench.

We interrupt all of this glee, though, to remind onlookers there is still a regular season to be played. Other teams beefed up during the offseason, including East rivals Orlando and Boston and the defending champion Los Angeles Lakers. And even Brown admits there could be times when Shaq slows down the team.

But the Cavaliers, who went a league-best 66-16 last season before they were dominated by center Dwight Howard in an East finals loss to Orlando, have a pretty darn good base. Charlotte coach Larry Brown said James is getting "better every second.'' And the cast includes steady role players in guards Delonte West and Daniel Gibson, newly acquired wing men Jamario Moon and Anthony Parker and big man Anderson Varejao.

But the big man everybody is focusing on is O'Neal. How he fares could be the key to whether the Cavaliers can bring home a trophy in this championship-or-bust season.

There is a sense of urgency since James can opt out of his contract and become a free agent next summer. The last thing the Cavaliers want to see is James becoming an MVP who wins a title somewhere else.

Last Season by the Numbers

Record: 66-16 under Mike Brown. Won Central Division, 1st in the Eastern Conference. Eliminated by Orlando (4-2) in the East final.

Offense: 112.4 points per 100 possessions, 4th in the NBA, 4th in shooting, 6th in turnover rate, 14th in offensive rebounding, 15th in free throw rate.

Defense: 102.4 points per 100 possessions, 3rd in the NBA. 2nd in defensive shooting, 10th in opponent turnover rate, 9th in defensive rebounding, 11th in opponent free throw rate.

Top Performers: Forward LeBron James won his first MVP trophy by averaging 28.4 points, second in the NBA. He averaged team-high figures of 7.6 rebounds and 7.2 assists. Guard Mo Williams averaged 17.8 points while shooting 43.6 percent from three-point range. Center Zydrunas Ilgauskas averaged 12.9 points and 7.5 rebounds. With James commanding double teams, the Cavaliers also had potent three-point shooters in guards Delonte West (39.9 percent) and Daniel Gibson (38.2 percent). Forward Anderson Varejao provided steady play, shooting a team-high 53.6 percent from the field and pulling down 7.2 rebounds a night.

All statistics via Basketball-Reference.com.

Player to Watch

FanHouse's Matt Moore and Tom Ziller preview one player to watch from each team. Here's a snippet of Moore's post on Jamario Moon.

The Cavs signed Moon to an offer sheet this summer, and his arrival on the team marks a striking departure for Cavalier forwards. Because he's actually a real small forward. The Cavs frontcourt above Center-level has consisted over the last few years of oversized shooting guard Wally Szczerbiak, center-convert Ben Wallace, and ... whatever Anderson Varejao is, to go along with LeBron James, who is simultaneously very much a power forward, very much a point-forward, and very much just the best basketball player on the planet.

Read all of Moore's post on Jamario Moon.


Offseason Tracker

IN: Daniel Green (draft), Coby Karl (free agency), Jamario Moon (free agency), Anthony Parker (free agency), Leon Powe (free agency), Shaquille O'Neal (trade).

OUT: Tarence Kinsey (waived), Sasha Pavlovic (trade), Wally Sczcerbiak (free agency), Joe Smith (free agency), Ben Wallace (trade), Lorenzen Wright (free agency).

Chris Tomasson can be reached at tomasson@fanhouse.com.