DownSwinging.com

Shaquille O’Neal has reportedly been traded to the Cleveland Cavaliers for Ben Wallace, Sasha Pavlovic, a 2nd round pick in Thursday’s NBA Draft, and cash considerations. Shaq is in the last year of his contract, so this will be a “go for it all” type season for the Cavaliers, who will see both Shaq and superstar LeBron James potentially file for free agency one year from now. It is quite clear that the Cavs feel they might not be able to re-sign LeBron in a year’s time as this trade only affects them in the immediate term. I warned against this possibility in a previous post, however, the Cavs did very well in this trade. They were able to unload Wallace’s cumbersome contract as well as acquiring someone who, along with the downtrodden Zydrunas Illgauskus, could become a formidable one-two punch down low for the team with the East’s best record next year. Shaq has won four Titles with two teams and in both situations he excelled with a dominant outside presence with Kobe Bryant and Dwayne Wade. Seeing as LeBron next year will be better than early 2000s Kobe and D-Wade, Shaq’s age shouldn’t matter as much. Lastly, he gives the Cavs a wily, playoff experience that they so desperately crave.

The Suns on the other hand have absolutely blown their team up… The Shawn Marion trade for O’Neal more than a year ago was the beginning of a movement that has since seen their team completely re-examined. Aging, star point guard, Steve Nash is a year away from free agency, and Amare Stoudamire trade rumors have been whispered for weeks. The most prevalant of which was to Minnesota. After acquiring Wallace and Pavlovic, it is clear that their goal is to rebuild. I feel the best thing for Phoenix would be to trade Nash for as much as you can get, maybe even another lottery pick. Odds are he will be gone in a year, and the Suns can now admit that they won’t challenge in a very stacked Western Conference next season. Cut your losses.