Lebron James and Shaquille O’neal are Teammates

Posted on June 25, 2009 by Dino Gomez

It was discussed a ton last night and has become official today, Shaquille O’neal is now a Cavalier alongside Lebron James. This deal happens just hours before this year’s NBA draft and mainly because Shaq wanted it to happen.  Really though as forementioned in an earlier post, most hall of fame players tend to just chill when a trade takes place but this trade marks O’neal’s fifth team in his career. That is a lot of moving around for the caliber of such a player. Its obvious  O’neal can’t stand to sit still for a moment if his team is not winning and the Phoenix Suns are definately not winning, so he’s gone. The details of the trade are as follows: the Cleveland Cavaliers recieve the Big Diesel with his $21 million a year contract and give the Phoenix Suns Ben Wallace, Sasha Pablovic, the 46th pick in the NBA draft tonight, and $500,000. As a Phoenix fan I’m bummed with Shaq’s departure but I recognize Wallace and Pablovic give us a better chance at completing the puzzle. A parting gift for Big Shaq comes in the form of a highlight reel when he was at LSU.

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Some Thoughts

Posted on June 15, 2009 by stone86

The finals are over and the Yankees are champions!  Excuse me, I mean the Lakers.  Kobe deserves props.  Hopefully now he can stop scowling and relax that painful underbite.  Moving on.

It’s the offseason!  Only two and half months of boredom.  (Unless you’re a Padres fan, in which case it’s two and half months of agony.)  Then football season starts, and before any of us know it, basketball will be here again.  Until then, it’s time to address the draft, rumor mill, and all the other off-season activities.

ShaqtusAs Mr. Gomez pointed out, ESPN is reporting that talks have begun between the Suns and Cavaliers regarding the big saguaro, the Shaqtus himself, Shaquille O’Neal.  As currently constructed, the rumors suggest that Ben Wallace, and Sasha Pavolovic would be exchanged for Shaquille “the big aristotle” O’Neal.  The Suns would be freed of their largest contract; while the Cavaliers would immediately bolster their inside presence.  Adding to the intrigue, Ben Wallace mentioned retirement after the Cavs elimination from the playoffs.  It’s a chance for the Suns to save even more money, with a potential buyout.  In all reality the Suns’ interest is purely financial.  Shaq is 37 and can’t be good for more than one or two more solid years.  The Cavs obviously feel they are close but can Shaq physically hold up?  If he is the revitalized player we saw this past year then the Cavs will be sitting pretty.

In other news, free-agent talk is heating up.  Lamar Odom and Trevor Ariza are both free-agents and will likely seek big contracts, meaning the NBA Champs may be forced to choose between the two.  Hedo Turkoglu’s representation said they would test the waters.  Ben Gordon is a free agent, as is Ron Artest.  A couple other notables: Shawn Marion and Allen Iverson.

I’ll take a look at the draft soon, but that’s all for now.

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