phoenix pick just got better

[KD 4 MVP]

Yahoo sports has said Phoenix has agreed to trade Shaq to the cavs for Wallace, Sasha, the 46th pick and cash. We should hold on to that pick at all costs.

[batsmith]

Saw that...good for the Cavs and James

[clippersgm]

just heard it on espn too....

Lebron and Shaq are a horrible match...lol

Lebron goin to the knicks for sure now, unless Blake blows up and knicks stink so bad Lebron decides to play for us so he can rack up titles with blake...iz a long shot but blake gives us a chance, plus the fact that we're in sunny LA!!

[Clangus]

I don't necessarily agree. With Shaq gone Amar'e will have more freedom, the suns can actually run again. I think Shaq was making them worse in a strange way.

[GP20]

Yeah I agree Clangus. Well that and Porter's style of play didn't help. But Amare should stay put and him and Nash can create havoc again.

[slimjimzv]

Hopefully that's not what they were going for, Clangus. We'll soon know if Shaq was the first step in blowing up and re-building the team. If so, Amare is going next. We're going to have to stay tuned to see how that pick looks.

Either way, Presti looks more brilliant with every passing day. Talk about the Midus touch.

[Thunderstruck83]

just heard it on espn too....

Lebron and Shaq are a horrible match...lol

Lebron goin to the knicks for sure now, unless Blake blows up and knicks stink so bad Lebron decides to play for us so he can rack up titles with blake...iz a long shot but blake gives us a chance, plus the fact that we're in smoggy LA!!

fixed it for ya...there's about the same chance that Lebron ever plays for the Clippers as there is that the Clips take Thabeet #1 in about 19 hours...

[Clangus]

Hopefully that's not what they were going for, Clangus. We'll soon know if Shaq was the first step in blowing up and re-building the team. If so, Amare is going next. We're going to have to stay tuned to see how that pick looks.

Either way, Presti looks more brilliant with every passing day. Talk about the Midus touch.

Absolutley. Im hoping they are totally blowing it up. Depends on what Kerr thinks about why they had a subpar season (for them). If I were in charge, I'd be spinning big ben around into another contributor and getting them to run. It plays into Nash's strengths, Amare'e strenghs and Jrich's strenghs. Fortunatley I dont think Kerr has a brain. So he'll blow it up instead of realising that the coach is the problem not the playing personal.

[slimjimzv]

For what it's worth, I don't really like this trade for either team. I think it's a knee-jerk reaction from the Cavs after the loss to Dwight Howard and the Magic, but I don't think Shaq really helps them as an overall team. If I'm a cavs fan, I'm a little nervous about Shaq being my do or die piece for keeping Lebron in cleveland.

[clippersgm]

fixed it for ya...there's about the same chance that Lebron ever plays for the Clippers as there is that the Clips take Thabeet #1 in about 19 hours...

well it's either LA or NYC...1% LA and 99% NYC...but we got a slight edge over the rest of the teams....

[batsmith]

They will be fun to watch, that's for sure. But shaq will slow the team down some. Should be interesting to see if another shaq tandem can get a title.

[batsmith]

well it's either LA or NYC...1% LA and 99% NYC...but we got a slight edge over the rest of the teams....

The clippers would have to run deep into the playoffs to attract Lebron. Not going to happen.

[Clangus]

For what it's worth, I don't really like this trade for either team. I think it's a knee-jerk reaction from the Cavs after the loss to Dwight Howard and the Magic, but I don't think Shaq really helps them as an overall team. If I'm a cavs fan, I'm a little nervous about Shaq being my do or die piece for keeping Lebron in cleveland.

BANG ON!

Getting Shaq to beat Orlando is well and good, but Orlando isn't the only team in the East that are capable of winning it all. Shaq stayed healthy last year I think because PHX medical staff do an amazing job. Im not totally convinced that Cleveland staff will be able to keep that up.

[Durantula]

The clippers would have to run deep into the playoffs to attract Lebron. Not going to happen.

Will a deep run into the lottery every year suffice?

[batsmith]

Will a deep run into the lottery every year suffice?

Sure, why not...lol

[clippersgm]

Sure, why not...lol

no batsmith, he meant clippers, not thunder!!!

aiite fellas, see ya tomorrow...adios!!!

[DwightSchrute]

For what it's worth, I don't really like this trade for either team. I think it's a knee-jerk reaction from the Cavs after the loss to Dwight Howard and the Magic, but I don't think Shaq really helps them as an overall team. If I'm a cavs fan, I'm a little nervous about Shaq being my do or die piece for keeping Lebron in cleveland.The Cavs didn't give up anything to get Shaq. They gave up two worthless bench players with expiring contracts for a valuable player with an expiring contract. If Shaq doesn't work out early on, they can use his expiring contract as a trading chip before the trade deadline in February, or they can simply let it expire in Cleveland, which at worst leaves them in exactly the same position they would have been before the trade. In addition, they still have Big Z's large expiring contract as another trading chip.


BANG ON!

Getting Shaq to beat Orlando is well and good, but Orlando isn't the only team in the East that are capable of winning it all. Shaq stayed healthy last year I think because PHX medical staff do an amazing job. Im not totally convinced that Cleveland staff will be able to keep that up.Cleveland doesn't really need Shaq to do anything other than match up with Dwight Howard. The Cavs don't need Shaq to do anything to get a Top 3 seed, and they already matched up well with every other team in the East. The Cavs will play Shaq no more than 20-25 minutes per game as they coast through the regular season just to keep him fresh for the playoffs, a luxury Phoenix did not have. When you're a contending team, you make personnel moves with specific matchups in mind. The Cavs got a big body to put on Howard, and now they need to get a big forward who can guard Lewis or Turkoglu and make those guys work on the defensive end as well.

[slimjimzv]

I see your points, Dwight. What I'm a little confused about is how signing Shaq as a one year mercenary and using him to get past Orlando helps convince Lebron to stay long-term. I just don't see much of a future for that team. Which is too bad because I really, really like Lebron.

[thunderquest]

Cleveland is in a lose lose situation. They have no capspace, they have a bunch of old vets and they have no draft assets to speak of. Their only chance as a franchise is to resign Lebron. They think they can do this by winning a championship, but if they won the title next year there is just as good a chance Lebron walks . . . he can say I love you Cleveland, I gave you a championship which the town hasnt had in 50 years, now I have to make the best business decision which is New York. But if they lose next year, he still can likely walk, because the franchise has no flexibility or bright spot other than him . . . there is no way to assure him things will be better in the future.

[slimjimzv]

Cleveland is in a lose lose situation. They have no capspace, they have a bunch of old vets and they have no draft assets to speak of. Their only chance as a franchise is to resign Lebron. They think they can do this by winning a championship, but if they won the title next year there is just as good a chance Lebron walks . . . he can say I love you Cleveland, I gave you a championship which the town hasnt had in 50 years, now I have to make the best business decision which is New York. But if they lose next year, he still can likely walk, because the franchise has no flexibility or bright spot other than him . . . there is no way to assure him things will be better in the future.

Which is amazing. If he does leave, then everyone in the Cavs management should be fired. How do you screw that up? You get the number one pick when the best player in a decade who happens to be from your town is on the board. He loves cleveland, he's the face of the NBA . . . and they can't get enough talent around him. Horrible.

[DwightSchrute]

I see your points, Dwight. What I'm a little confused about is how signing Shaq as a one year mercenary and using him to get past Orlando helps convince Lebron to stay long-term. I just don't see much of a future for that team. Which is too bad because I really, really like Lebron.I don't think it necessarily does much to convince LeBron to re-sign. It gives the Cavs a better chance of winning a title for this one season while neither helping nor hurting their chances of keeping LeBron.

However, there is a way in which I could see it helping. Shaq has recently stated that he would like to play three more seasons (2009-10, 2010-11, 2011-12). Suppose Shaq plays well and the Cavs win the title next season. The Cavs could give Shaq a two-year extension and convince LeBron that they still have a great chance of repeating for at least the next two seasons.

[clippersgm]

I see your points, Dwight. What I'm a little confused about is how signing Shaq as a one year mercenary and using him to get past Orlando helps convince Lebron to stay long-term. I just don't see much of a future for that team. Which is too bad because I really, really like Lebron.

they have a better chance to win the title next year, and got heap loads of money coming off the books, shaq included, to go after the FA crop of 2010, starting with Lebron of course...if amare, d.wade, or bosh, etc. can be lured to Cle, then Lebron would likely stay, coming off a title especially..

If they did nothing this offseason, and Cle gets knocked out again next year, Lebron would be pissed and wouldn't care who they brought in in 2010...

just my $0.02

[DwightSchrute]

Cleveland is in a lose lose situation. They have no capspace, they have a bunch of old vets and they have no draft assets to speak of. Their only chance as a franchise is to resign Lebron. They think they can do this by winning a championship, but if they won the title next year there is just as good a chance Lebron walks . . . he can say I love you Cleveland, I gave you a championship which the town hasnt had in 50 years, now I have to make the best business decision which is New York. But if they lose next year, he still can likely walk, because the franchise has no flexibility or bright spot other than him . . . there is no way to assure him things will be better in the future.The Cavs aren't in that bad of shape. For next season, they will be well over the luxury tax, but Dan Gilbert is fine with it. However, they have big expiring contracts in Shaq and Big Z meaning that A) they can trade for quality players with longer contracts by using those contracts to offer cap relief to other teams seeking to dump salary, or B) they keep those guys and let their contracts expire. If they keep the players they have now, and add in a re-signing Varejao for a reasonable sum as well as the salary of their 2009 1st round pick, the Cavs will have a ton of cap space in 2010. Even after re-signing LeBron, they should be at least $10+ million under the cap.