Shaquille O'Neal to Cleveland?

[rams80]

So does the supply of wine-and-gold kool-aid.

It is a thread about the Cavaliers, isn't it?

I mean, no disrespect, but wouldn't you expect Cavs talk from Cavs fans in a thread titled like so?

We expect talk. We do not expect fanwank to the point of absurdity.

[BBTV]

Did I see Sam Dalembert's name posted in this thread? That tells you all you need to know about the absurdity of some of the posts.

[Jigga]

So does the supply of wine-and-gold kool-aid.

It is a thread about the Cavaliers, isn't it?

I mean, no disrespect, but wouldn't you expect Cavs talk from Cavs fans in a thread titled like so?

None taken...but "fans" need to be "rational" in order for their posts to make "sense." This ain't fantasyland, kid.

Or is it?

[LEWJ]

So does the supply of wine-and-gold kool-aid.

It is a thread about the Cavaliers, isn't it?

I mean, no disrespect, but wouldn't you expect Cavs talk from Cavs fans in a thread titled like so?

None taken...but "fans" need to be "rational" in order for their posts to make "sense." This ain't fantasyland, kid.

Or is it?

I guess I'm looking at this like anything is possible, which is true, but you're right in saying that it needs to be rational. After reading what I posted yesterday, some of it may be a bit irrational haha.

Did I see Sam Dalembert's name posted in this thread? That tells you all you need to know about the absurdity of some of the posts.

Haha. Yea I said Sam Dalembert. I was just throwing out the possibilities.

He does average more points, rebounds, and blocks than Varejao.

And Varejao wants a butt-load of cash, so there's my reasoning for that one.

[BBTV]

I'm assuming you don't realize how much money Dalembert steals makes.

I believe for 2009 it is > $12M.

[LEWJ]

I'm assuming you don't realize how much money Dalembert steals makes.

I believe for 2009 it is > $12M.

Your assumption is correct.

I honestly have no idea how much he makes.

I'll just shut my mouth now.

And if he makes that much, he shouldn't be.

See I'm not too educated when it comes to salaries of players; I look at the stats.

But I've now realized it's close to impossible to know what i'm talking about without knowing both.

Carry on.

[FiddySicks]

Warning: This is coming from a 16 year old Cavs fan, and may be considered irrational by some readers. )

Back on topic with the Cavs though;

It is rumored that the Cavs may be looking at a possible return of Andre Miller to Cleveland.

I would personally love to see this happen.

But how could it work? Andre at SG? Mo at SG?

They both average around the same amount of points, but Andre averages far more assists.

So could that work? Maybe not.

One of my best friends is Andre Miller's cousin, if this gets me any closer to actually meeting Lebron I'm all for it.

[The_Admiral]

One of my best friends is Andre Miller's cousin

Common defense against accusations of Andre Miller's cousinism.

[PittsburghSucks]

It looks like talks are starting to heat back up.

http://www.cleveland.com/cavs/index.ssf/20...talks_with.html

Shaquille O'Neal may be closer than ever to being a Cavalier.

According to multiple league sources, the Cavs and Phoenix Suns began intense talks Wednesday about finishing a deal that will bring the four-time champion and future Hall of Famer to Cleveland. One league executive said the talks were "warm" and thought it could be completed Thursday ahead of the NBA Draft.

However, there are some potential hang-ups and the Cavs have other lines in the water. Sources said the Cavs were in serious talks about two other trades that could include multiple teams. One of those teams is believed to be the Los Angeles Clippers, who are dangling big men Chris Kaman and Marcus Camby as they prepare to select Oklahoma forward Blake Griffin with the No. 1 overall pick.

The Cavs, according to a source, also have been in discussions with the New Orleans Hornets, who look to move around their roster before the draft.

The talks also include movement in the draft order, with the Cavs looking to move up from No. 30.

The basics of a deal for O'Neal, who is 37 and has one year and $20 million left on his contract, are well known. The Cavs have offered Ben Wallace and Sasha Pavlovic, both of whom have expiring contracts with Pavlovic's only partially guaranteed. Such a move could save the Suns $9 million in salary and luxury tax and perhaps more if Wallace decides to accept a retirement buyout as he suggested at the end of the season.

According to insiders, the Suns have been trying to get a deal that includes more talent even though they have made it clear they need to reduce their payroll. One team that is perhaps competing with the Cavs is the Chicago Bulls, who could offer a package with more talent but less savings.

The Cavs could try to sweeten their offer with a future draft pick and a prospect like J.J. Hickson to try to work a third team into the deal to get the Suns another player.

With that so complex it is understandable why the Cavs are delving seriously into other deals for big men as a backup plan or perhaps to push the Suns to pull the trigger with the package on the table.

O'Neal is coming off an excellent season in which he averaged 17.8 points, shot 61 percent and played 75 games. He was an All-Star and was named Third Team All-NBA after dealing with an injury-plagued season in 2007-08.

Picking him up now would serve a couple purposes for the Cavs. First it would give them the massive inside presence they have been lacking and proved to be a stumbling block against the Los Angeles Lakers and Orlando Magic this season.

Second, because O'Neal is on the last year of his deal it would give the team immense flexibility for the future. If the experiment to match him with LeBron James did not work, he could be traded by February's deadline. Or if the Cavs aren't able to reach their goal of winning a championship O'Neal would come off the books and the Cavs would be in position to attract one of the big-name free agents in 2010.

The same strategy also would apply for a player like Camby, who is going into the final season of his contract. Nowhere near the offensive force O'Neal is, Camby is a strong defensive player and one of the best shot blockers in the NBA.

[PittsburghSucks]

Done deal!!!

http://www.cleveland.com/cavs/index.ssf/20...h_deal_for.html

Shaquille O'Neal is going to be a Cavalier.

According to multiple team executives, the Cavs have aggreed in principle to a trade with the Phoenix Suns to bring the four-time champion and future Hall of Famer to Cleveland. The team is hoping he is the biggest missing piece alongside LeBron James in a quest to win their first NBA Championship.

The Cavs will send the Suns veterans Ben Wallace and Sasha Pavlovic in a deal plus the 46th overall pick in Thursday's NBA Draft. It is a trade that has mostly financial incentives for the Suns as they stand to save around $9 million in salary and luxury taxes while the Cavs take on the final year of O'Neal's contract at $20 million. The Suns could save even more if Wallace accepts a retirement buyout as he hinted at the conclusion of the season.

The trade could be finalized on Thursday.

The Cavs and Suns have been talking about this swap for the last six months off and on and couldn't get it done ahead of February's trade deadline. Talks re-started last week and became intense Wednesday.

O'Neal is coming off an excellent season in which he averaged 17.8 points, shot 61 percent and played 75 games. He was an All-Star and was named Third Team All-NBA after dealing with an injury-plagued season in 2007-08.

Picking him up now would serve a couple purposes for the Cavs. First it would give them the massive inside presence they have been lacking and proved to be a stumbling block against the Los Angeles Lakers and Orlando Magic this season.

Second, because O'Neal is on the last year of his deal it would give the team immense flexibility for the future. If the experiment to match him with LeBron James did not work he could be traded by February's deadline. Or if the Cavs aren't able to reach their goal of winning a championship O'Neal would come off the books and the Cavs would be in position to attract one of the big name free agents in 2010.

[tj4eck]

Does that make them Favorites?

[BBTV]

Dumb, dumb, dumb.

I love Shaq, but at this stage, he's only going to hold them back. He's not the same guy he used to be.

Also, if he does find his step and dominate again, then Lebron will be saddled with all the baggage that Kobe had until this year. The whole "he couldn't have done it without Shaq" thing. Something like that could make him want to leave more, so he can prove that he can be the man somewhere (unless they get rid of Shaq after one season.)

[Jigga]

Dumb, dumb, dumb.

I love Shaq, but at this stage, he's only going to hold them back. He's not the same guy he used to be.

Also, if he does find his step and dominate again, then Lebron will be saddled with all the baggage that Kobe had until this year. The whole "he couldn't have done it without Shaq" thing. Something like that could make him want to leave more, so he can prove that he can be the man somewhere (unless they get rid of Shaq after one season.)

It won't happen, because people like LeBron...he gets treated with kid gloves where Kobe would be crucified.

I don't think Shaq will be able to repeat his Phoenix season, he's going to revert back to the guy who missed 30+ games a year with Miami. He'll be no better than Big Z would be in the same role. And Z will end up starting half the season anyway.

[crashcarson15]

Hey, look at it this way-in no fashion do the Cavs run an up-tempo offense. It's get the rebound and:

a. LeBron fast break

b. PG takes the shot clock down to 5

That's all the Cavs offense is, so keeping up shouldn't be an issue for Shaq. Honestly I like the trade, and as it said Shaq's contract would come off the books after next year so the Cavs could have a shot at signing Chris Bosh or a similar player AND LeBron.

[DDR]

Dumb, dumb, dumb.

I love Shaq, but at this stage, he's only going to hold them back. He's not the same guy he used to be.

Also, if he does find his step and dominate again, then Lebron will be saddled with all the baggage that Kobe had until this year. The whole "he couldn't have done it without Shaq" thing. Something like that could make him want to leave more, so he can prove that he can be the man somewhere (unless they get rid of Shaq after one season.)

It won't happen, because people like LeBron...he gets treated with kid gloves where Kobe would be crucified.

I don't think Shaq will be able to repeat his Phoenix season, he's going to revert back to the guy who missed 30+ games a year with Miami. He'll be no better than Big Z would be in the same role. And Z will end up starting half the season anyway.

True, but Kobe had Shaq in his prime (or shortly thereafter). LeBron will be getting a Shaq that's clearly at the end of the road and clearly not the top dog on that team. I don't think LeBron will be saddled with that criticism, but not because he's a media darling.

[TFoA]

Hey, look at it this way-in no fashion do the Cavs run an up-tempo offense. It's get the rebound and:

a. LeBron fast break

b. PG takes the shot clock down to 5

That's all the Cavs offense is, so keeping up shouldn't be an issue for Shaq. Honestly I like the trade, and as it said Shaq's contract would come off the books after next year so the Cavs could have a shot at signing Chris Bosh or a similar player AND LeBron.

Mike Woodson got crucified (for good reason) for basically running no offense at all. Which makes no sense when the Cavs run the EXACT SAME OFFENSE. Trust me, I watched every Hawks game this past year, and I know the awful ass 'no offense but give it to our best player and see what he can do with it' offense when I see it, and that's definitely what the Cavs were running. The only reason it worked was because LeBron James is freaking awesome. I don't expect that to change now that Shaq, at this point, is just a slight upgrade from Big Z.

With that said...everybody knows why Cleveland made this move: to stop Dwight Howard. IIRC, Dwight Howard basically ate Shaq for lunch in everything that didn't involve trash talking this past season. This doesn't really make the Cavs any better than they were last season, they just have a bigger name now.

[lbr218]

This makes me sad

Shaq has always been my favorite NBA player (don't judge!) and when he moved to Phoenix I became a big fan of the Suns because of him, but I started becoming increasingly interested in the Suns as a team. While I will still be interested in Shaq's career in Cleveland, I am a Suns fan and am quite upset that he has moved. GO SUNS!!

[BBTV]

The more I think of it, I think this will be a true test of Shaq's professionalism. The guy got out of Orlando to go play in L.A. (warm-weather glamorous city), then went to Miami (south beach, celebrities, glamour, etc.), then took a step back and went to Phoenix, which at least has the weather and golf going for it, but now... Cleveland? No disrespect to Cleveland, but it ain't LA or Miami. We'll see if he's really ready to commit to winning another ring, or if he becomes disinterested and just tries to play out the string there.

[PittsburghSucks]

Shaq to wear number 33 as a Cleveland Cavalier.

http://www.cavaliersteamshop.com/fangear/p...S9Q3HKJ1C500439

[Audiodrama]

Image from Cavs.com: