Look out NBA!!! Shaq to Cleveland! This is the missing piece, just go ahead an hand Cleveland the 2009-10 NBA Championship, and while your at it pencil Lebron in for a career in gold and wine (their official colors).

Wow. The media is now enamored with the idea of Shaquille walking on the court beside Lebron James next year. It’s like throwing a McNugget at a fat kid…take it and run. Let me set this straight, I don’t think it will change much if anything.

Now to be fair, Cleveland made a good deal, they gave up the basketball corpse of Ben Wallace, another player, and cash for something that might work out. But this isn’t a 24 year old Shaq going to Los Angeles, this isn’t a 32 year old Shaq going to Miami, this is a 36 (turning 37) year old man whose numbers have dropped considerably from the days he was dominating the court.

In fact many centers really start to hit the wall at the age of 37. Check this out:

SHOCKING! As centers get older, they slow down. They take beatings. They are more susceptible to injuries. And then they just don’t have it anymore. There rare exceptions, Kareem put up great numbers into his 40s. Likewise, Robert Parrish didn’t really have a fallout until he was 39. But throughout NBA history, most big men retired before they were even close to 37 years hold, including Wilt.

Remember the Patrick Ewing experiment in Seattle? Similar to Shaq he was sent to Seattle for a bunch of bodies worth nothing more than cap space. Seattle,  didn’t improve one bit, and the experiment lasted only a season.

Hakeem Olajuwon in Toronto? He was supposed to give a pretty good Raptors team a big man to help get over the hump, instead they got knocked out in the first round and he retired.

Which brings us to Cleveland. Their problem wasn’t so much the big man, it was the guard play. Orlando won that series because they were able to take it offensively and defensively to Cleveland’s guards with a much bigger lineup and the use of the pick and roll. Sure Shaq will prevent someone like Dwight from just dominating the paint as he did at times, but can Shaq really step out on those pick and rolls and switch up easily? Probably not.

What about the Celtics? Is Shaq really going to be able to match the speed of Kevin Garnett mixed with the power of Kendric Perkins? Not likely.

You see the reason the Suns were willing to deal Shaq for so little is the same reason New York and Toronto traded local legends, Ewing and Olajuwon.

1) They got salary space and draft picks

2) The player added nothing to their team

If you recall Phoenix actually got worse once the big man arrived. This season they missed the playoffs for the first time since 2003, and last year they were taken out in the First Round by the Spurs.

Shaq didn’t fit in. He slowed things down on offense at times, his defense wasn’t what it used to be, and he caused problems within the team (namely Amare Stoudemire). The whole point of Shaq to Phoenix was defeated.

So I ask the media, Cavs fans, and just fans of the NBA. Don’t treat this trade like some blockbuster Eastern Conference dominating shift, because it’s not. The Cavs got a solid body who will provide them with some big plays at times, but won’t be someone that guarantees anything. Especially if history holds.

Plus…it’s Cleveland.

Popularity: 1% [?]