Shaquille O'Neal a 'slam dunk' for the Cavaliers
by John Bena (aka CavsBlogger) on Jun 25, 2009 9:24 AM CDT
in Roster Moves
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Shaquille O'neal wearing the Wine and Gold. No matter what you think about Shaqtus, the fact that he will be playing for the Cavaliers has to excite you, at least a little bit. O'Neal gives the Cavaliers exactly what they have been missing, a true force at center that wants to stay in the paint. As much as I respect Zydrunas Ilgauskas and Anderson Varejao, their games are predicated on staying away from the rim, especially on offense.
Shaq also provides the Cavs a legitimate scoring threat inside as well. Don't believe me? Just look at the numbers --
Now, here are the numbers for Z and Andy --
Shaq can still bring it on offense, especially when he is motivated. O'Neil knows he is in the final year of his contract, and he has already talked about wanting an extension. Oh, and he knows that his legacy will receive a huge boost by playing with the three best wing players of this generation - Kobe Bryant, Dwyane Wade and now LeBron James. If he could win a Title with all three, that would do that much more.
From a risk standpoint, for the Cavs, this is a slam dunk - pun intended. Shaq has one year remaining on his contract at $20 million. That gives the Cavaliers incredible flexibility, this season and beyond. The deal has done nothing to effect the contract situation heading into next summer, and should the Shaq/LeBron partnership not work the Cavs have a HUGE expiring contract to dangle at the trade deadline.
Does anyone thin it won't work, though? LeBron James is the most UNselfish player in the NBA. Shaq, nearing the end of the line, knows who is in charge in Cleveland. He also knows that Kobe Bryant just won his 4th NBA Title, tying Shaq. This is Shaq's best chance, perhaps last chance, to get his 5th ring. A motivated Shaq is still a dominating Shaq.
Of course, from a pure entertainment stand point, the Cavs are assuredly must see TV. Even before the game starts. As a friend of mine put it, "The Cavs are now the greatest team in NBA history...at Intro's. Can't wait to see what LeBron and Shaq do during the introductions at the Q. I'll check out your blog for your thoughts on the trade. The best thing I read about it is they wanted a 1 year deal so they are free to go after Chris Bosh when he's a free agent in 2010. If (hopefully when) LeBron re-signs, I think Bosh is a great #2 star on the team"
Thanks, Andrew, I couldn't have said it better myself!
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WHEW!!!!
I thought Jamison or Chandler was coming to the Cavs…
Some people swear they down as can be
Turns out those same Homies Sit down to pee
by I blocked Patrick Chewing on Jun 25, 2009 9:32 AM CDT reply actions
Yeah, me too. What a relief that we got a much better player with a bigger expiring contract!
Ride on ye fearsome Horsemen of the Basketball Apocalypse. We got this.
by Turkmenbashi on Jun 25, 2009 10:21 AM CDT up reply actions
We definitely got Shaq for very little and I’m excited about the trade.
One small issue I’d have with your assessment: I would say that Anderson Varejao’s offensive game is EXCLUSIVELY about playing close to the rim. Yeah, he made some jumpers, but for the most part, his points were made at the rim.
I'd agree....
to a point. I know what you are saying. Andy is definitely not the jump-shooter that Z is. The problem is, he WANTS to be. He would prefer to stay away from the rim in any other situation OTHER than a pick and roll with LeBron when he gets an easy dunk or lay-up.
Neither guy wants to post up. Hopefully that clears it up.
FTS
SBNation's Cleveland Cavaliers Blogger
by John Bena (aka CavsBlogger) on Jun 25, 2009 9:37 AM CDT up reply actions
I’ll agree that neither guy wants to post up (back to the basket style), but looking at the shot chart on NBA.com for AV, it shows he took 316 of his 504 shots attempted on the season in the immediate basket area. That’s around 63% of his shots which, oddly, he made at a 63% clip.
If we were to extend the area to just outside the paint (it’s hard to say exactly, but it looks like 12 feet and closer), we’re up to 78%.
AV shoots far fewer jumpers than Boozer “he who should not be named” did when he was here and most of the jumpers were probably taken in an attempt to keep the defense honest. He certainly shot more last year then he did in previous years, but I don’t know if you can say that he “wants” to be the jump shooter that Z has become.
My point is that AV’s prime offensive space just got 350 pounds more crowded. That’s not to say he won’t adjust, it’s just that it’s not a matter of AV wanting to become a jump shooter.
andy’s points in the paint were more a result of rolling to the hoop in pick-and-roll situations than any kind of post-up game. i think you can still get that going w/ shaq on the floor w/ proper play calling and spacing.
by DontCallMeJoey on Jun 25, 2009 12:28 PM CDT up reply actions
Anyone who doesn’t think this is a great trade is crazy. I mean that. The Cavs got rid of Wallace, who wasn’t really doing anything at the end of last year and Pavlovic who also wasn’t doing much of anything last year. Add on the fact that Wallace is going to retire (not play) and Sash is supposedly going to be cut by the Suns (not play) and you have the Cavs getting Shaq for a 2nd round pick and some cash.
Great deal.
Shaq for a 2nd round pick and cash
how the mighty have fallen…
Some people swear they down as can be
Turns out those same Homies Sit down to pee
by I blocked Patrick Chewing on Jun 25, 2009 9:34 AM CDT up reply actions
"I thought Jamison or Chandler was coming to the Cavs…"
Yeah, two players who are better than Shaq!
This move...
Is ALL ABOUT maintaining financial flexibility this season and next off-season. Chandler had more time and dollars on his deal.
Not to mention, the last thing the Cavs needed, in Chandler’s case at least, was another defender with no offensive game in the playoffs.
FTS
SBNation's Cleveland Cavaliers Blogger
by John Bena (aka CavsBlogger) on Jun 25, 2009 9:43 AM CDT up reply actions
It’s going to take some seriously creative work for Ferry to get Bosh here without him demanding a trade. With the salary cap not going up, they’re going to be borderline to have enough room to sign a max contract with just Lebron-Williams-West-Gibson-Hickson-Jackson-and draft picks the next couple of years. A multi-year deal to Varejao ends any chance of signing a max contract FA.
I think this is true and also a bit misleading.
Assuming LeBron’s max contract starts at 20 million in 2010:
LeBron 20mil
Mo Williams 9.3
D. West 4.7
Gibson 4
Hickson 1.5
Jackson .8
-
That brings me to 40.3 million, which is far lower than the cap this year. If you sign Varejao for 10+, that brings you up to 50-53. The salary cap for the season that just ended was 58.68 million. It may not go up this season or next season, that’s true (although I think it’s unlikely to be frozen for two consecutive years), however, the Cavs will still be under the cap as long as it didn’t go down.
Granted, it is not enough to sign another max contract as it stands right now, but trading for Shaq had nothing to do with that. That said, um… I don’t really want Chris Bosh [DUCKS]
They can still sign a max contract in 2010. The key is to sign Bosh/Wade/Stoudemire before resigning LeBron. You can go over the cap resigning your own guys. Really the Cavs will only be at 20 mil once LeBron opts out (and yes he will opt out).
The only concern is that you sign Bosh, and then LeBron leaves to join the Knicks/Heat. Kind of what happened to the Clippers with Brand. But I don’t think LeBron would do that.
In order to do this, though, the Cavs would have to renounce their Bird rights to LeBron, thus making the whole thing not feasible.
As detailed in question number 30, free agents continue to be included in team salary. By renouncing a player, a team gives up its right to use the Larry Bird, Early Bird, or Non-Bird exceptions (see question number 19) to re-sign that player. A renounced player no longer counts toward team salary, so teams use renouncement to gain additional cap room. After renouncing a player, the team is still permitted to re-sign that player, but they must either have enough cap room to fit the salary, or sign the player using the Minimum Salary exception.
but you’d only count the last year of LeBron’s deal in this scenario, not the 20mm that he would presumably get in a max situation. so you have to adjust your math above for LeBron’s $15.8mm in 09/10. it’s hard to predict the cap, obviously, but this gets you an awful lot closer to being able to add a bosh max deal…and if AV signs for $8mm instead of $10mm (which is being rumored), you just saved $6mm off of your $50-53mm number.
i’m curious, why you’re anti-bosh? i feel like he’s a perfect 2 for LeBron, the kind of guy who would thrive by not having the pressure of the franchise on him.
by DontCallMeJoey on Jun 25, 2009 12:41 PM CDT up reply actions
My understanding of the salary hold on the cap of a Bird rule free agent is 150% of the free agent’s previous salary. However, I could be wrong.
As for Bosh, I’m not sure exactly what I don’t like about him. The couple times I’ve seen him play in person it seemed like he played timid and refused to take anyone to the hoop. His post game seemed to be very finesse-oriented, which is fine and would probably be suitable to LeBron, but I’d like to see him use his strength more. It could be because he’s been on bad teams, but I never feel like he commands a double team. Note that this is all subjective and rather limited criticism.
All that said, I think my biggest problem with acquiring Bosh is that he’s a max contract free agent big man and, therefore, is probably the worst value you can get in the NBA. It might be the best option, sure, but it’s just not something I like to see the Cavs get locked into.
i think it’s 150% of his salary…not to exceed the maximum salary allowable for that player. since LeBron is a max player, the salary cap hold ought to be the $15.8mm number. not stating that as fact, but i feel pretty comfortable with it.
as for bosh, i’m perfectly willing to admit i don’t know a TON about his game, but what i’ve seen i’ve liked. he may not be the most physical guy in the world, but his athleticism and skill-levels seem pretty high. as well, i believe signing a guy as young as he is (just turned 25) to a max deal is a pretty high reward prospect for the risk factor.
by DontCallMeJoey on Jun 25, 2009 2:39 PM CDT up reply actions
WOW
Okay, let me explain to you the gargantuan amount of flexibility this gives the Cavs… Shaq-$21M, Wallace-$14M, Sasha-$5M. Now tell me how there isn’t any money to shop next year? We only gained $2M!!!!! Not only that, but the Cavs sold partial ownership to the largest financial firm in Asia, making them the RICHEST team in the NBA.
Now, Lebron and Shaq are going to be amazing to watch!!! This might be the best move in Cleveland Sports History!!!
the Cavs sold partial ownership to the largest financial firm in Asia, making them the RICHEST team in the NBA.
a little thing called the salary cap makes this all but irrelevant.
by DontCallMeJoey on Jun 25, 2009 12:43 PM CDT up reply actions
NO SUPERSTAR, NO RING FOR SHAQ
Finally Kobe got that monkey off his back! No more excuses from the critics! Actually being critized all year long helped motivate Kobe & the Lakers win that championship! So I hope the “haters” keeps it coming every year! Cause Kobe & his fans got the last laugh!
PS: Shaq Who? Going to Cleveland? Now riding on Lebron’s nuts…lol (Kobe, Wade, Lebron) <—I’m starting to see a pattern here. It maybe that Shaq can’t win a ring without a superstar player..lol
Now it will be Shaq has five rings can Kobe win a second with out Shaq and I hate to rain on the Kobe bandwagon but IT WAS THE MAGIC a team who got very lucky with the 3 point shot in the previous round and really had no business being in those finals. The Lakers won because it was such a mismatch The Magic provided NO CHALLENGE and the one game that the Magic did win wasn’t because they out played the Laker but because the Lakers gave it to them.
More than anything, I’m just excited to see LeBron and Shaq together. It’s not even fair to other teams.
Ride on ye fearsome Horsemen of the Basketball Apocalypse. We got this.
The big difference between the Suns and Cavs is the Sun’s had a lot of talent that didn’t pull it’s weight to back Shaq up and the team as a whole was SERIOUSLY mismanaged by it’s coach. In Cleaveland Shaq will have solid roll players and King James will get one of the top five centers in NBA history yeah there’s a thought “Superman” and “King James” be afraid be very afraid.
Good writeup from the enemy. Although I do think it’s funny that they assert the Cavs need to “leapfrog” Orlando in the East. Anyone who thinks the Cavs aren’t still the team to beat in the East is deluding themselves.
Ride on ye fearsome Horsemen of the Basketball Apocalypse. We got this.
I'm so sorry...
but no Cleveland team in all of sports history has ever been “the team to beat.”
First of all, this is factually incorrect. The Browns dominated the NFL for almost a decade in the 50’s and the Indians won a record 111 games in 1954 (and were probably “the team to beat” in the AL a few times in the 90’s). Secondly, even if that was true, that would have nothing to do with Cavs team next year.
by Buckeye Brad on Jun 25, 2009 3:07 PM CDT up reply actions
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