LeBron and Shaq. Teammates.
The Cleveland Cavaliers executed a monster trade Thursday to unite the superstars, acquiring future Hall of Famer center Shaquille O’Neal from the Phoenix Suns in the hope that he can help LeBron James deliver this seemingly sports-cursed city its first major pro championship in 45 years.
The deal creates a tandem that instantly rivals any in sports today and calls to mind some of the great duos in NBA history: Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen, Magic Johnson and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Bob Cousy and Bill Russell, Shaq himself and Kobe Bryant.
More important, if Cleveland’s gamble works and O’Neal, 37, delivers a title, it could keep James around. James is an Akron native, knows Cleveland’s pained sports history and has always maintained he wants to stay in his home state, though there is no guarantee he will sign an extension with the Cavs. Cleveland can offer him one as early as this summer.
But that’s for another day.
Hours before an NBA Draft that figured to be overshadowed by the Shaq-to-the-Cavs move, the reality of James playing with O’Neal, a 15-time All-Star, was just sinking in.
“Shaq is an incredible ballplayer and a four-time NBA champion,” James said in a statement. “I have a lot of respect for him and his game. It will be a real honor to play with Shaq as my teammates and I look forward to another great season with the Cavs.”
The Cavs sent center Ben Wallace and swingman Sasha Pavlovic to the Suns, along with a second-round pick in the 2010 draft and $500,000, for O’Neal, the 7-1, 300-plus-pound center who won three straight titles from 2000-02 with Bryant and the Los Angeles Lakers. His fourth title came with Dwyane Wade and the Miami Heat in 2006.
“I was elated about the trade because I get to play with one of the greatest players to ever play the game in LeBron James,” O’Neal said during ESPN’s draft telecast. He expects “a lot of fun, a lot of just having a good time and a lot of smiling, and a lot of winning.”
The teams first talked about a deal in February but couldn’t work out an agreement before the deadline, a missed opportunity that cost the Cavs in this year’s playoffs when they had no answer inside for Orlando Magic center Dwight Howard in the Eastern Conference finals.
After the Cavs were eliminated with a Game 6 loss, a frustrated James stormed off the floor without shaking the hands of any Magic players, including Howard, his U.S. Olympic teammate.
Cleveland general manager Danny Ferry and Phoenix GM Steve Kerr, former teammates and close friends, never closed the book on the O’Neal deal and finally reached an agreement Thursday morning.
Ferry completed the deal because he wants to win a title. Now.
“Our goals are aligned with what our players want, including LeBron, and that’s to win a championship and win it next year,” Ferry said. “We don’t want to be patient.”
The Cavs, who came up short this year despite winning 66 regular-season games and their first eight playoff games, are only thinking of unseating the Lakers as champs next June.
O’Neal is coming off an All-Star season with the Suns, averaging 17.8 points and 8.4 rebounds in 75 games.
