Shaquille O’Neal goes to the Cavs for Ben Wallace, Sasha Pavlovic, the 46th pick in today’s draft and $500,000.
I haven’t followed the NBA in forever, but seeing Shaq and Lebron James on the same court might just make me come crawling back.
It’ll be really interesting, if Shaq can stay healthy and keep his production where it was this past year. Although I thought he credited his good health to Phoenix’s trainers, who won’t be coming with him. It looks great for LeBron but we’ll see how it plays out.
Also interesting: the way SI covered the piece, Cleveland wanted Shaq so he could defend Dwight Howard. Very strange to think of anybody trading for Shaq so he can defend somebody else!
Anybody have choices for a Cleveland-based nickname for O’Neal? I was thinking “The Big Drew Carey.”
That makes 5 teams for Shaq, right? (Orlando, LA, Miami, Phoenix, now Cleveland). Is there any other top-25 or so player who played for that many teams? Wilt only played for 4, although he played in 5 cities.
ETA: oops, only 3 teams for Wilt, actually - didn’t realize the last team listed in his wikipedia article was ABA.
It’s very likely that the Suns will just buy Sasha Pavlovic out and that the Cavs will resign him.
And everybody says Wallace is going to retire anyway. I’m thinking the NBA should relax its salary rules so these kinds of ridiculous trades go away.
“Witness Protection” seems to have the edge.
golf clap
Le Brawn
Depending on his performance “The Big Mistake on the Lake”
Terminal Cower?
OK, there’s one that only a Clevelander would get.
As a Cavs’ fan, I don’t like it. Shaq ain’t getting any younger and I don’t think he’s got much left in the tank.
As a Doper, I feel compelled to point out that nobody is getting younger. As a basketball watcher, I feel compelled to point at the Suns’ 2008 season and wonder what the hell Cleveland brass were thinking.
He only has to be better than Ben Wallace, remember.
It’s not like he’s going to slow down an otherwise fast-paced non-stop run & gun Cavs team.
He’s going to be in the way while LeBron goes to the rim.
They hope a title will keep LeBron in Cleveland. They apparently think Shaq has enough left to deliver one. I would be shocked if it worked out.
Shaq looks doughy and tired these days, but he can split time with Z, who is also still a decent big center but with limited stamina.
But Cleveland is the kind of town that can have both Shaq and LeBron and still not win the title. Fate will only let us win as scrappy underdogs.
Can he be any worse than big Z? This could be Shaqs fourth different team to reach the finals, third to win a title. Those gotta be records right? In other news Orlando got Vince carter for Rafer Alston, Tony Battie and Courtney Lee, if they resign Turkoglu they’d basically be starting five all stars (turk got robbed!).
Just heard that. I kinda wish we’d kept Courtney Lee and dumped Pietrus, just because Courtney’s so much cheaper right now, but fuckin’ woot!