Shaq Now A Cavalier, And The Window For Title Is This Year
So, Shaq is now a Cleveland Cavalier, for their price of a diminished-skilled Ben Wallace and um, Sasha Pavlovic.
A few thoughts that have seeped into my brain since late last night when it went down:
– First, before we get into Cleveland’s end … why did the Suns pull the trigger? I understand Shaq’s contract is expiring after this season, as is Wallace’s and Pavolvic’s. But they essentially gave up Shaq for absolutely nothing. I know they’re rumored to want to get rid of A’mare Stoudemire, and Shaq might not quite mesh well with Steve Nash and their shot at a title with this current incarnation is likely dead and gone, but it always puzzles me when a GM trades away a player of value for nothing. (Though I suppose it does save them a good chunk of change.) Maybe they’ve just decided to punt on the whole Shaq experiment?
– This DOES NOT vault Cleveland to the runaway winner in the East. Of course they will be quite good again next season. But this is not some Shaq-Kobe fusion. Shaq is still an intimating center who put up a resurgent season this past year, but he is not prime-of-his-career-I-finally-found-some-offensive-game-yall-better-watch-out Shaq.
That being said, it certainly makes the Cavs better, and his personality coupled with LeBron’s should be a joy to watch. (Unless you hate LBJ, and think Shaq’s Twitter antics are a cry to stay relevant.)
– Cleveland seems to be continuing its theme of putting veterans around the Greatest Player of His Generation, instead of putting together a core nucleus of youngsters to grow along with him. This is not Oklahoma City, a team on the rise that Kevin Durant will be hard-pressed to leave when free agency comes calling, or even a team like Portland that is growing. This is a Cavs squad that has a small window at winning an NBA title: this year. The Shaq trade is nothing more than a chips-all-in, one-year band-aid. It’s not a move built for the long-term by any stretch. And that’s what LBJ needs if he’s going to stick around when he’s a free agent at the end of next season: a clear plan that they can be successful for years to come.
Hometown loyalties aside, if LBJ is left with no title and Shaq is gone, does he really want to stay there? Who does he have in his arsenal, Mo Williams?*
– This could set up a tremendous storyline, which MSM bros will absolutely eat up: Lakers-Cavs Finals. We have the main narrative of Kobe vs. LeBron, but then there’s the subplot, Shaq vs. Kobe in the Finals — the one time duo, turned rivals, turned friends (?) battling it out for a title on opposite sides of the ball.
But if the Cavs don’t see through to the Finals — and that goes for the Lakers, too — I don’t really see a scenario where this every comes into play again.
*This assumes Cleveland pulls no other moves and signs nobody else. To be honest, I always thought LBJ would stick it out in Cleveland after this next summer, but if they don’t win a title this year with Shaq, I just don’t see it. It seems like this is it.
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It is hard to be a fan in Phoenix and go from contending to JV ball
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Great stuff Ryan !!
Sports Guru
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