Shaq to the Cavs?

Trade rumors are always fun. With just a few days till the NBA draft, the rumors tend to fly even faster. However, there is one trade rumor I can’t believe would able to be a reality: Shaq going to Cleveland. The trade doesn’t make sense for either the Suns or the Cavaliers.

The trade proposal as reported is Shaqiulle O’Neal for Ben Wallace and Sasha Pavolvic.

First, Shaq would be a terrible fit for the Cavaliers. Can you imagine a Shaq-Z front-line? At first, it sounds pretty good, two giants patrolling the lane. Then you picture them trying to guard the pick-and-roll. Mike Bibby can thank Shaq’s pick-and-roll coverage for nearly doubling his salary. How would the Shaq-Z front court handle Rashard Lewis? Neither of them have the speed to cover him on the perimeter. Skilled Pfs like Rashard Lewis, Kevin Garnett, and Antawn Jameson would run rampant over a Shaq-Z frontline. Teams would run on the Cavaliers constantly – their transition defense would be a complete joke.

Alternatively, the Cavaliers could bench either Z or O’Neal, but that’s incredibly wasteful in Z’s case, and would create a locker room cancer in O’Neal’s case. Defensively, the Cavaliers wouldn’t suffer as much with only one of them on the court at the time. However, there’s no guarantee that they would have a viable alternative at PF. A Shaq trade would almost certainly result in Anderson Varajeo opting out. He’s most likely get a decrease in minutes, and in a contract year, it would hurt his value. Additionally, he’s not thrilled playing in Cleveland, given his contract dispute.

Additionally, Shaq’s presence would have an adverse effect on the best asset the Cavaliers have: Lebron James. First, Shaq’s presence in low post would clog the lanes. Rather than surrounding Lebron with low-post players who could play away from the basket, as the Bulls did with Jordan, the Cavaliers would be doubling the crowd in their lane. Beyond that, however, there is a serious issue of whether Shaq and Lebron would get along. I have no doubt that at first Shaq would hug Lebron with the his bear arms, and declare that he was bringing a championship to Cleveland. However, after the initial honeymoon, when the rough spots happen who would bear the blame? The press would really have three options: Shaq, Lebron, or the supporting cast. After the Cavs last defeat in the playoffs, everybody else took the blame, not Lebron. Although Lebron’s tendency to over-dribble did hurt the Cavaliers, his stellar play deserved the credit for the wins and his teammates deserved the ire for the Cavalier’s defeats. However, if the media scrutiny fell on Shaq – if the Cavaliers struggled – the Big Aristotle would not hesitate to place it back on Lebron. It’d be interesting to see how Lebron responds to being criticized by his teammate. He’s been the King of the Cavs, and anybody who might be a problem for him has been traded – Ricky Davis and Larry Hughes.

It’s also a terrible trade for the Phoenix Suns. Ben Wallace doesn’t add anything to the Suns’ team, because for every points he takes away on defense, he gives up two points on offense. The assumption is that he’ll accept a buy-out because he’s expressed an interest in retiring. Even if Ben Wallace accepts a buy-out, he’ll still count for $14 million against the salary cap, which means he’s almost as prohibitive as O’Neal. Sasha Pavolvic is only guaranteed for $1.5 million next year. Shaq makes $20 million, and if Sasha and Wallace are both cut, they’ll save $5.5 million for next year.