Now what is he: The Big Second Banana?

Okay, so the deal is done, Shaq to Cleveland, and for the life of me, I can't figure out how this works for the Cavs.

Is LeBron going to walk the ball up the court and dump it in the post? Is LeBron going to be iso'd on the wing, break his man down driving and run into the somewhat substantial girth of Mr. O'Neal.

Really. Doesn't this smack of Desperate Times Calling For Desperate Measures?

Sure does to me.

And for all you 2010 conspiracy theorists out there, it has no bearing on anything the Cavs were or weren't going to do. If they hadn't made this deal, they still would have had some money that summer. It doesn't necessarily "set up" anything.

What it does is mean the Cavs are likely to try and re-sign Anderson Varejao -- and that actually increases their spending for 2010-11 but they need to get someone.

Oh, and how do you reconcile Zydrunas Ilgauskas and Shaq? Pray tell how that shakes out. That's $32 million tied up -- THIS SEASON ALONE -- in immobile centres. Yeah, that's going to work really well.

You know who I don't want to be: Mike Brown. How the heck are you going to coach that collection of slow, old bigs with one of the most explosive players ever sitting on the roster, too.

Best of luck.

Phoenix? Well, they blew it when the traded for Shaq, this kind of corrects that mistake.

And what it does, more importantly than anything, is appease Steve Nash. Not sure how well Captain Canada and Shaq meshed on or off the court; now they'll have some money to give Steve a couple of more years on the extension he wants.

All in all, I've got to think that if this deal isn't a wash, the Suns have the slight edge.

Comments

[jc]

any interest in pavlovic?

Blogger's note: Me? Not a bit. Them? Never heard him even remotely considered. He lost his job to Wally Szczerbiak for goodness sake.

[dsl]

The most unwatchable offensive team in basketball just got even slower. The best part about this? Even more nationally televised games showing dreadful basketball played by super-duper stars.

The Cavs are gonna be like the Van Gundy Knicks mixed with the O'Neill Raps on defense. To make matters worse, they're gonna be like the Mike Brown Cavs on offense. Better close your eyes when they come to town.

[Sivart]

For the league minimum he might be able to take a bench spot on a team somewhere, but I have to figure that he could make more than that in Europe.

[doug]

this trade perplexes me, it makes sense from a marketing sense but in regards to results on the floor it doesn't make any sense. Sure it is still a long way to next season so more moves may transpire, but the Cavs biggest weakness was the lack of a solid secondary scorer...this doesn't resolve that problem at all..and as you say the money tied up in Big Z, Shag and Varejao for whatever production you get is not worth it....Nash is happy for now but also the Suns I feel are headed towards a washout year, clearing the decks of salary as Amare, Barbosa rumoured to be next to go, could Nash be far behind??...depending on draft next stop could be the Knicks...

[Dan W]

Seems similar to the Raptors the year before. Howard dominates the Raptors so BC trades for O'neal. Same thing happend to the cavs so there GM is doing the same. The suns tried that too so they could stop Duncan and that didn't work out either. At least they didn't give up any real pieces to get him. At least if one goes down with injury your not screwed.

[Tim W.]

We were discussing this deal at basketball the other night and I came out on the side against the deal. For the Cavs, anyway. This is the second time Shaq's been used as a desperate attempt to help a team win a Championship and the second time he's badly fit. Is Ilgauskas going to be a $10 million backup? Are they going to try and trade him? Will the Cavs have the worst pick and roll defense in the entire league? I predict Shaq will say all the right things, but his ego is just to big to be a role player. If he doesn't, at least, get the ball on offense, he'll sulk. I mean, he's not exactly the most mature player in the NBA. I just see disaster written all over this, and I mean disaster, because if the team collapses what are the chances LeBron re-signs?

[Danny]

Shaq is a 37-year old big-man, I have no idea what they expect him to do in Cleveland. They will make some money from t-shirt sales - maybe that's all they want.

[Chris]

although they did have an interest in pavlovic a couple of years ago?

correct me if im mistaken

Blogger's note: You could be right, but even so, that was a couple of years ago; there is scant interest now

[Matt from Oakville]

Hey Doug,

I read something on Charlie V's *hinting* 'Cleveland management to seek out a PF'. Is it inappropriate for professional sports players to be doing things like this?

Also, how about that Cleveland pick and roll defensive coverage now? Between Shaq and Z on the floor together, Mike Brown would truly be deserving of praise of being a brilliant defensive-minded coach if this team can somehow not become worse in their own end.

[Not Important]

any thoughts on Charlie V posting (on twitter) that know all Cleveland needs is a PF? If I was advising Charlie I would tell him his top 2 priorities should be to play for a winner and to get paid!

[Sean]

If the Cavs had Shaq during the Magic series this year, things would have been different. Say what you want about Shaq, but he is one of few people who can guard Dwight. Dwight also had some of his worst rebounding games of the year vs. the Suns last year (avg 7.5 in two games). And what exactly did they give up? An injured guy and a guy you admit having no interest in.

[joe]

If the rumors of Amare for Mcgrady are true I dont think Steve Nash will still be so happy! and Kerr should be fired yesterday

[Pete W]

This trade is a +1 in NBA 09 for the Cavs.Too bad Big Z couldnt play the 4 in real life.Not to mention video game Shaq still runs like he is 22.Not so sure how its going to play out in real life though.

[james]

bosh & wade in cleveland mark my words lol

Blogger's note: And why not Kobe, too. Go make the money work before the craziness starts. Lol.

[Brian]

Not sure why Doug doesn't think this works for the CAVs. I think Shaq managed to get his "girth" out of the way of pentrating guards named Kobe and Dwayne, and to have some success in the process.

Blogger's note: Yes, the 2000-02 and 2004-05 Shaquille did, as a matter of fact.

[Jason]

So what is the perfect complement to Lebron? I agree about aging expensive centres clogging the lane that King James is trying to get to, but is it surrounding him with sharp shooters for the drive and kick?

Personally I think Tyson Chandler would have been a better fit, an athletic centre who rebounds and defends the rim. But would oft injured Chandler be hamburger meat come Dwight Howard time?

Just curious to see your opinion on what type of players should surround an exceptional talent like Lebron.

Cheers,

J.

Blogger's note: Yeah, a young athletic big would be a good complement. Chandler would be a good piece, so would Chris Bosh, so would David Lee, so would Glenn Davis maybe.

[Mike G]

Doug, what the heck happened with Ben Wallace? The guy was a beast defensively 5 years ago and now he is no more than a chunk of change in a lopsided trade. What do you think happened to Big Ben's career?

Blogger's note: He got old fast and lost some of his explosiveness, which is about all he had. Five years is a long time.

[Nigel]

cant say that i agree with you doug. as we have seen from this past year, shaq can still play. He was the leader in LA, the second man in Miami, and he will be even less of a second man in Cleveland. I think the Cavs are a better team now - and they got rid of a washed up Ben Wallace and a guy they can replace with Boobie Gibson anyways. Good trade for the Cavs!

[LH]

Doug, Cleveland maybe rolling the dice for 1 year to see if it puts them over the top. Can't fault Ferry for trying and its not that bad of a trade if you think about it. Pavlovic wasn't playing. Wallace was ineffective since he's been there. Shaquille can't be any worse than the 2 of them. He had a pretty good year. Cleveland isn't an up and down team like Phoenix cause they don't have the horses besides the Lebron on the wing.

The most important thing is the teams battling Cleveland at the top are Boston and Orlando. Boston has a plodder at centre in Perkins he's about the same speed as Shaq. Orlando has Howard who is far more quicker and agile than Shaq. But he also doesn't have a clue outside of 5ft from the rim. Shaq can body him. This isn't as bad as the roll of the dice Colangelo did last year in getting the other O'Neal. Time will tell, one thing is for sure teams will think twice before leaving O'Neal to help on Lebron.

[K. Byron Scott]

Shaq is done...his ego is such that he won't admit it to himself. Of course his contract is still in effect so he keeps getting shuffled from organization to organization(3rd team in four seasons). He is still pretty close to unstoppable when he wants to score but my grandmother with a plastic hip can beat him down the court. Cleveland is insane or desperate to make this move. They are taking flyers on anyone they can because Lebron has said they need to improve(i.e. championship) for him to stay. I don't beleive that Lebron will stay regardless. His talk of being objective and wanting to win is just a front so he dosen't look like a complete jerk when he signs elsewhere in 2010.

I know the haters will point out that the situation is the same for Bosh as it is for Lebron the only difference is the character of both men(off the court, I'm not questioning LBJ's leadership and tenacity on the floor. or giving any weight to Bosh's child support thing.) Lebron wants to be the biggest star in the NBA(IMO currently Kobe) He needs to go big-big market for that.

[Mike G]

Any chance the raps go after Anderson Varejao as a free agent?

Blogger's note: 1-99

[Michel G]

I don't know. Shaq is better than Wallace and Pavlovic. As gambles go, I've seen worst (likes the Suns trading Marion for Shaq to begging with).

[rob]

Doug, what do you think about the magic-nets trade..
our man VC has been traded,, i think Rod thorn is the best GM in the nba... how was he able to get rid of VC's contract to get three solid pieces is beyond me.

[Jeff D]

Humour me Doug. In your opinion, what percentage of guys on the last year of their max deal contract actually still play at a "max player" level? It seems WAY to many are far overpaid in the latter years of those long term deals (i.e. Shaq, J O'Neal, AI, etc.)!

Blogger's note: Just about every contract in the NBA is a year too long

[Justin Edwards]

Andy V & Big Z looked ok in the playoffs this year. The Cavs looked real bad at the Guard spots with Gibson, West & Williams. I think "HWSNBN" would of looked scary in a Cavs uniform as the second banana not Shaq.