Cleveland Cavaliers Off-Season Thread

[harley2001]

CLEVELAND (June 25) -- LeBron and Shaqfu: Two of the NBA's biggest stars are now teammates

The Cleveland Cavaliers completed a blockbuster trade Thursday, bringing superstar center Shaquille O'Neal from the Phoenix Suns to play with current MVP LeBron James, two people with knowledge of the deal told The Associated Press. The people spoke on condition of anonymity because the trade had not been officially announced.
The Cavaliers hope they are creating a basketball duo with the drawing power of Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen, Magic Johnson and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar — or even Shaq and Kobe Bryant.
Each of those pairs won multiple NBA titles. The Cavs would settle for their first.
The Cavs are sending center Ben Wallace and swingman Sasha Pavlovic to the Suns, along with a second-round pick in the 2010 draft and $500,000 in cash, one of the people close to the deal said.
O'Neal has won four championships during his 17-year career — three as member of the Los Angeles Lakers with Bryant and one in Miami with Dwyane Wade — and will now try to get yet another with James, the league's reigning MVP, who is only missing a title ring from his personal resume.
The trade is a gamble for the Cavs. They are hoping that the 37-year-old O'Neal, who is past his prime and has one year left on a $21 million contract, can be the missing piece that helps James deliver his first championship to a city that has waited since 1964 for one of its major sports teams to win it all.
For sheer star power, the O'Neal-James tandem rivals any on the sports landscape today. And if it works, and lasts, the pairing may one day belong in the same company as some of the all-time combinations like Maris-Mantle, Koufax-Drysdale or Montana-Rice. But it could also be a one-year gambit.
Cavaliers general manager Danny Ferry and Suns GM Steve Kerry have been discussing the deal for months and finally reached a preliminary agreement early Thursday morning. The teams had to get league approval before the swap could be announced.
James could have used Shaq during this year's playoffs. The Cavaliers' frontcourt of Wallace, Zydrunas Ilgauskas and Anderson Varejao couldn't contain Orlando center Dwight Howard, and Cleveland and lost in the Eastern Conference finals — a devastating blow for a team that won 66 games in the regular season and coasted through the first two rounds without losing a game.
O'Neal is coming off an All-Star season with the Suns — averaging 17.8 points and 8.4 rebounds in 75 games — but doesn't move as well as he once did and slowed Phoenix's high-powered offense. Still, the 7-foot-1, 325-pounder is large enough to take on a player like Howard by himself.
The Cavaliers' urgency to win a title is greater than ever with James entering his final season under contract. The 24-year-old came up short this season and stormed off the floor following Game 6 in Orlando without shaking hands with any of the Magic players, including Howard, his U.S. Olympic teammate.
Cleveland can offer James an extension this summer, but there's no quarantee the Akron native, who has always maintained he wants to stay in his home state, will sign it.
Bringing in O'Neal may soothe James' concerns that the Cavs wouldn't be able to get him enough help to make a run at numerous titles. Ferry still wants to re-sign Varejao this summer and may look to add another perimeter player through a trade or free agency.
The trade gives the Suns financial flexibility in the future. All told, they will save $10 million. Phoenix freed itself of O'Neal's $20 million contract, and the 34-year-old Wallace, who after the season said he may retire, is in the final year of a $14 million deal. The Suns plan to buy out Pavlovic, who has $1.5 million of his $4.95 million contract guaranteed.
Phoenix owner Robert Sarver, whose banking and real estate interests have suffered greatly in the economic downturn, said earlier this month he didn't mind paying a luxury tax for a good team. But Phoenix failed to make the playoffs, and the Suns are in the midst of what amounts to a rebuilding effort and now will be under the luxury tax threshold.
The Suns won one playoff game in O'Neal's season and a half, and this spring they failed to qualify for the postseason for the first time since 2004. Soon after the season ended, speculation began to grow that the club was looking to deal O'Neal while his trade value was still high.
The Suns might not be finished with big trades. All-Star Amare Stoudemire, who can opt out of his contract, also is being mentioned prominently in potential deals.




What you think about Selby???

[selby92]

This was what I said in my NBA Pre-Draft Trade Rumor topic:

I love the trade, we gave up basically nothing for Shaq, but I do think the Cavs will need one more thing, and that is a solid bench. Last years Cavalier team was good enough to win a Championship, but we didn't have any bench players that could step up, Wally, Gibson, Ben, Sasha, none of them did much in the playoffs. While the starters look great, if we can just get another good shooter to come off the bench, this team is unstoppable. That is all we need, and I think that maybe the Cavs could get a solid shooter in the draft tonight or they could trade their pick for one, all they need a good shooter that stands in the corner and waits for the ball, and you can find players like that for a dime a dozen in the NBA. They just need someone that can make open shots while Mo and Delonte rest, it is that simple. Make it happen Ferry.

[selby92]

According to the Cavaliers message boards, Jason Kidd has said that he wants to come to Cleveland. Here is what Jason himself apparently has said:
"I could sit and watch from the bench. Lebron is so talented, he's going to get guys wide open shots. So we'll look at free agency and what happens for me next year."

I'm not sure if they are making this stuff up or anything since they don't have a link to the story, nor did they say where they heard Kidd say this, but if he said it, I'll welcome Jason with open arms if he is willing to sign for the Vet min. then all we have to do is resign Varejao, sign Charlie Villanueva with our MLE, and maybe even see if we can keep Joe Smith for cheap. I'm getting excited just thinking about the possibilities.

[jp39]

That would be hard to imagine!!!

[selby92]

Imagine if Kidd did sign the Vet Min, if we got Villanueva or Sheed with the MLE, and if Varejao resigns. Scary looking lineup:

PG: Mo and Kidd
SG: West and Gibson
SF: Lebron and Hickson
PF: Sheed and Varejao
C: Shaq and Ilgauskas

And here is another idea if Kidd signs, we could possibly have him start at PG and move Mo over at SG, then Delonte can come off the bench and bring energy. That would be perfect. We would have two good shooters start, we could have two good shooters in Delonte and Gibson come off the bench, and we have Ilgauskas for a change of pace to go in for Shaq. Not to mention Sheed or Villanueva and Varejao will be a change of pace too when Varejao comes off the bench. We would have a perfect matchup for every team, we can arrange and get a perfect lineup for everything.

Lockdown defense lineup:
PG: Kidd
SG: West
SF: Lebron
PF: Sheed/Villanueva
C: Shaq

If we want to have some shooters with range on the floor, we could go with this lineup.

PG: Mo
SG: Gibson
SF: Lebron
PF: Sheed/Villanueva
C: Z

If we want a lineup that can get up and down the floor fast, we could use this lineup:

PG: Kidd
SG: Mo
SF: Lebron
PF: Varejao
C: Villaneuva/Sheed

There are so many other lineups we could use to beat any team by simply signing Kidd, Sheed or CV, and Varejao. Make it happen Ferry!

[17nut]

I always liked Kidd in NJ

[gogordon24]

Wow, the Cav's have to win a championship or two in the next 5 years.

[jp39]

Elite team of the leage for sure!!!

[gogordon24]

The Cav's might look good but might not be good. Look at the Yankees this year. They looked scarey at the beginning of the year but they are not that scarey any more. That's how the Cav's might be because their system might not work with these guys. All of them wan't the ball every play.

[selby92]

Originally Posted by gogordon24

The Cav's might look good but might not be good. Look at the Yankees this year. They looked scarey at the beginning of the year but they are not that scarey any more. That's how the Cav's might be because their system might not work with these guys. All of them wan't the ball every play.

The only people that will want the ball are Lebron and Shaq, and we got Shaq for that reason, so we could give him the ball down in the post. I think it will work out, but our weak bench might be what gets us. That is why Danny Ferry isn't done yet, he is pursuing Jason Kidd as our needed back-up PG, we are trying to get him at Vet Min, then we are trying to get Matt Barnes as our SG that is tall, can shoot and play defense, which no one besides us is interested it appears, so if we offer BAE, we should bag him, and lastly, if Villanueva becomes unrestricted in the next 2 days, we are going after him with our MLE, which he has already said he would take if he becomes unrestricted, and that would make him our new starting PF. The only questionable one there is Jason Kidd, because the Mavs will be offering him some crazy money this year I've heard, and he wants a ring, but he would probably rather sign for 9 million with them. If CV31 becomes unrestricted, I'll get my money together to preorder a Charlie Villanueva jersey, probably a blue swingman, because he is going to be a Cavalier.