Ken Berger of CBSSports.com: “For Cleveland, which hasn’t won a pro sports championship in 45 years, this was the biggest no-brainer since Ted Stepien was barred by the NBA from making any more stupid trades. The Cavs have the player who will be the best in the NBA for the next decade. They do not know how long they will have him, but they know they will have him next season. They won 66 games last year, and in the proud tradition of Cleveland sports, had nothing to show for it. If the opportunity presents itself to acquire the greatest center of his era — albeit an aging alpha male — in exchange for empty contracts and the 46th pick in a draft that will go down as having fewer than a dozen legit first-round picks, you do it. You don’t ask questions — except the following question to the owner: ‘Mr. Gilbert, can we pay a 37-year-old, 15-time All-Star $20 million this season if it gives us a better chance of winning the gold-plated trophy?’ The question was asked, and the answer was yes. As it should have been. The cost of not getting LeBron a championship-caliber running mate and losing him as a free agent in 2010 would’ve cost the franchise $20 million twice over.”
Steve Aschburner of SI.com: “If you were circling the political wagons in South Carolina, an aide to humiliated governor Mark Sanford hoping to achieve some small measure of damage control, would you bring in Eliot Spitzer and Rod Blagojevich for counsel? Similarly, if you want to convince LeBron James that his dreams of winning multiple NBA championships and his opportunities to be not just BFF with Warren Buffet but neighbors on the Forbes 400 list can be realized by staying in Cleveland, do you want to plant Shaquille O’Neal at his side, sharing random thoughts about career arcs on locker-room stools, buses to the arena and late-night flights? Really? The Cavaliers’ latest, greatest maneuver to encourage James to stay put beyond the summer of 2010 has the surely unintended result of plopping down beside him the man who reigns as the biggest, most crushing free-agent departure in NBA history. … This is the guy, now, who is supposed to persuade James not to leave, by deeds if not words. Trouble is, O’Neal’s words speak a lot louder these days than his deeds.”
John Krolik of Cavs the Blog: “Mike Brown has taken a lot of criticism for not being able to give opposing defenses any threatening looks without LeBron driving to the basket or playing pick-and-roll, but the fact is the Cavs never had a player other than LeBron who was able to take a defense out of its normal rotations on a regular basis. But now, for the first time, the Cavs have a guy other than LeBron who they can dump the ball to and will get a basket more often than not if the other team doesn’t bring a second defender. Defenses are going to have a much tougher time dealing with this team than ever before-now the Cavs have two guys who are all but unstoppable when they only have to deal with one defender. Before, when teams decided to create a wall on LeBron, the Cavs were forced to hit jumpers to break the defense, which often led to prolonged slumps. Now they can dump the ball down. With Shaq in the post, it’s going to be much harder to load up the strong-side against LeBron when he has the ball.”
Charley Rosen of FOXSports.com: “Here’s the most significant bad news for the Cavs: With Shaq stationed in the paint, there’ll be precious little room for LeBron’s powerhouse drives. In fact, the presence of Shaq will mostly limit LBJ’s offense to the least efficient aspect of his game — his jump-shooting. Also, if Shaq is such a desirable player, why did Miami trade him 16 months ago, and why is Phoenix so willing to deal him now? In sum, since it’s virtually inconceivable that even with Shaq the Cavs can total more than the 66 wins they posted last season, this trade is exclusively geared to enable Cleveland to beat Orlando in the playoffs. It’s also tempting to picture what might occur should the Cavs face the Lakers in the Finals. How about this scenario? Pau Gasol turns, faces, and routinely beats Shaq with jumpers, drives, and spins. Because Lamar Odom and Andrew Bynum are much quicker off the floor, they will beat Shaq to the top of numerous rebounds at both ends of the court. And Shaq winds up shooting two dozen free throws per game.”
Kevin Pelton of Basketball Prospectus: “In terms of post defense, O’Neal remains solid, his strength giving him the ability to establish position. Everywhere else, however, O’Neal has trouble at this stage of his career. The biggest problem for O’Neal for years has been his ability to defend the pick-and-roll, something I watched the Sonics work over and over again in the early part of this decade. At this point in his career, it’s unreasonable to expect him to be able to step out and cut off a ballhandler while getting back to a dangerous roll man like Dwight Howard. Instead, Cleveland will likely be forced to keep O’Neal behind the play at the edge of the paint, giving quicker guards the opportunity to build up a head of steam before blowing by O’Neal. For a team that has prided itself on defense, that is an untenable situation. Even last year, during O’Neal’s bounceback year, the Suns were better defensively when he was on the bench, and it’s hardly as if his backup (primarily Louis Amundson) is highly regarded for his defense.”
Chris Perkins of the Palm Beach Post: “Shaq is the perfect fit for Cleveland, not because of his physical presence but because this is a team that needs mental toughness and confidence. My theory on LeBron James not shaking hands with Orlando Magic players after the Eastern Conference finals and not speaking with the media is LeBron was frustrated with his teammates. They showed no heart. I don’t think LeBron was intentionally displaying bad sportsmanship toward the Magic; I think he was mad at his teammates because they collapsed under the pressure. Shaq, who had a terrific season last year, gives the Cavs an edge. Heat players frequently talked about how good it felt to walk into an arena with Shaq at their side. Expect Cleveland to go through this process and become the most feared team in the East.”
J.A. Adande of ESPN.com: “The dreaded/anticipated summer of LeBron James’ free agency is as nebulous as ever after the trade that brings O’Neal in from Phoenix in exchange for Ben Wallace, Sasha Pavlovic, the 46th pick in Thursday’s NBA draft and $500,000. Even if the Cavaliers win the championship next year, it doesn’t necessarily make them the best team for James in the long term. By the end of next season, O’Neal will be a 38-year-old free agent. If the Cavs re-sign him to a multiyear contract, he’ll be eating up salary cap space while we learn what happens when a guy who’s been carrying well more than 300 pounds for his career turns 40. If the Cavaliers let O’Neal go after one season, they’ll have Mo Williams, Delonte West and Daniel Gibson under contract with plenty of salary cap room to bring back James and one of the prime members of the 2010 free-agent class. But what if there isn’t as much player movement as everyone anticipates?”
Kelly Dwyer of Yahoo! Sports: “This could work. It really could. It probably won’t work, massive elements would have to undergo massive shifts in character, and very quickly, but it can work. As has been rumored since February, with interest from both sides getting hot and heavy during this month’s Finals, Shaquille O’Neal has been sent to the Cleveland Cavaliers for Sasha Pavlovic, Ben Wallace, a second-round draft pick, and a good chunk (though not nearly the maximum allowed, $3 million) of cash. Even with Shaq on the wrong end of a legendary career, the idea of him suiting up next to LeBron James is still an image that tends to astonish. … For one, Shaquille could be a man about this, and replace Wallace’s minutes. Add a few more ticks. He could go for 24 a game, splitting time with Zydrunas Ilgauskas(notes). It would work, if he would be willing to try. And though you may have been embarrassed to watch Big Z work during the last round of Cleveland’s playoff run, understand that he’s just a small step beyond Shaq at this point when it comes to production, once pace and minutes are accounted for. That’s the truth.”
Terry Pluto of The Plain Dealer: “The Cavs have just put together the Most Valuable Player in LeBron James with one of the top centers ever to play the game. This is a trade with sizzle and substance. It’s a signal to everyone from James to the fan sitting near the Quicken Loans ceiling in Loudville that the Cavs are playing for real, playing to win it all — RIGHT NOW. It’s what fans have been demanding from their local teams for decades. If you think the atmosphere at the Q was electric last season, it will go nuclear this year. You have the grace of James, the rim-bending brute strength of the 7-foot, 300-pound O’Neal and the sweet shooting of Mo Williams and Zydrunas Ilgauskas. When the Cavs play on the road, you will see thousands of fans wearing Cleveland jerseys belong to James and O’Neal. They will become like the Lakers and Celtics, a franchise that much of America embraces because of the star power.”
