Shaq, LBJ Transform Cleveland Into Hoops Hollywood

Editor's Note: This column has been updated from Thursday's original version.

He's accustomed to the NBA's sunniest and most extravagant addresses, from Disney World to Hollywood to South Beach to the Arizona desert. Ontario Street in downtown Cleveland? Put it this way: Shaquille O'Neal will have to buy a thick winter coat, assume a less gaudy nickname (The Big Smokestack?) and watch courtside celebrities such as Jack Nicholson and Ludacris suddenly morph into Drew Carey.

But there's nothing ludicrous about this new development in his fascinating journey through basketball and life. Shaq is intelligent enough to realize, at 37, that even one season with the Cavaliers could have a profound impact on his legacy -- and that of LeBron James. If Shaq wins his fifth NBA championship in a town that hasn't won a title in a major sport since 1964, and he succeeds in keeping an ambitious native son in his native northeast Ohio, his work will be done.

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Understanding that the current roster surrounding James is too soft for glory, management struck quickly. Not a month after losing to Orlando in the Eastern Conference finals, owner Dan Gilbert and the front office grasped the meaning of James' discontent after the Magic collapse -- uh, why do you think he was wearing his Yankees cap the day after he stalked off the court without shaking hands? -- and acquired the one-man entertainment extravaganza in a trade with the setting Phoenix Suns. If it doesn't assure the Cavs of a title, the deal certainly gives them a better chance of surviving Orlando and Boston in the East and possibly reaching what would be an all-time compelling NBA Finals: Shaq and LeBron vs. Kobe Bryant and the Lakers, in what finally might award a winner in one of sport's most antagonistic feuds. Sure, Kobe demonstrated he could win a championship without Shaq two weeks ago.

But can he beat O'Neal ... and LeBron?

"Shaq is an incredible player and a four-time NBA champion," James said Thursday. "I have a lot of respect for him and his game. It will be a real honor to play with Shaq as my teammate, and I look forward to another great season with the Cavs."

As for Shaq, he didn't have an immediate comment on his Twitter page, but he did offer up an Akon song under the heading "this is how i really feel about the trade, enjoy.'' The tune is called Crossroads. Screamed Shaq, while driving down a tree-lined road in his SUV: "Don't let me down! I'm standing at the crossroads!"

That, he is.

Later, during the NBA Draft, he elaborated. "I'm elated because I get to play with one of the greatest players to ever play the game in LeBron James," O'Neal said. "They already had a damned good team without me. Hopefully, we can go there and get it done. I expect a lot of just having a good time and a lot of smiling, and a lot of winning."

The Magic countered with amazing urgency, acquiring a still-potent Vince Carter from New Jersey to give Orlando, on paper, the league's most imposing lineup. Are you kidding? Dwight Howard, Rashard Lewis, Jameer Nelson AND Carter? That would seem to rule out re-signing Hedo Turkoglu, but they're better off with a re-energized Vince. In the Finals, when Bryant was doing his thing, the Magic needed players to create their own shot and couldn't. Carter can.

"Vince gives us a veteran, go-to scoring presence, especially at the end of games," Magic general manager Otis Smith said. "Our goal remains the same -- to win a championship. Any time you can add an All-Star to help you reach your goals, you have to do it.''

Not long ago, the East was the least, weak and ridiculed. Now, the East is a beast, with Washington and Chicago also among clubs that can be considered dangerous. And how often has NBA trade news not only trumped the league draft -- boring, except for the fall of potential Eurobust Ricky Rubio to Minnesota, which probably will trade him -- but everything else happening in sports?

This isn't the monstrously dominant Shaq of a decade ago. But as he demonstrated in Phoenix, he's still an inside force who will give Cleveland the post presence it sorely lacked against Howard and other big men. He proved he can stay healthy and in optimum shape, playing 75 games for the Suns and producing 17.8 points and 8.4 rebounds a game. He'll continue to be motivated playing with James, whose leadership and desire to win a title is contagious and borderline psychotic. O'Neal has only one year left on his contract, meaning the Cavs still can participate in the 2010 talent free-for-all and aim for a long-term solution like Chris Bosh. And what did it cost them? Not much -- Sasha Pavlovic, an over-the-hill Ben Wallace, a second-round draft pick next year and $500,000. They also considered acquiring Tyson Chandler from New Orleans, but while he's an imposing defensive center, he doesn't have the offensive firepower of O'Neal.

And he isn't half as much fun. How does the JabbaWockeeZ Dance play in Cleveland, anyway?

"This move and our goals are aligned with what our players want, including LeBron, to win a championship and win it this year," Cavaliers general manager Danny Ferry said. "We don't want to be patient; we want to be a team that has sustainable success. We want to be a team like we were this year when, if you don't win a championship, you lose some sleep. But at the same time, we want to be more than that. We want to be the team that wins it. This was a move made towards putting ourselves in better position next season."

"We will win a championship in Cleveland, Ohio. It will happen," Gilbert vowed after the playoff loss. "Financially, we will spend what we feel gives us the best risk/return opportunity to win a championship.''

The Shaq deal works financially, competitively and spiritually. And Cleveland's gain is Phoenix's colossal loss, not so much in losing O'Neal but how his short tenure and odd fit with the Suns symbolizes the demise of that team. When he was acquired by general manager Steve Kerr in February 2008, the Suns were the most exciting team in sports, a 34-14 sight to behold. Coached by the daredevilish Mike D'Antoni and operated by two-time MVP Steve Nash, they finally looked capable of winning a NBA title. So why did Kerr bust the formula by trading for O'Neal, whose halfcourt, post-up game didn't mesh with the run-and-gunners? Because Suns owner Robert Sarver, always with both eyes fixed on the bottom line, saw a chance to unload Shawn Marion's long-term contract and create salary flexibility.

In every way, the idea backfired. A disgusted D'Antoni fled for the Knicks. The Suns regressed into a non-contender who hired and fired Terry Porter as coach. Sarver would have saved $21 million and maybe won a championship if he'd let Marion's deal expire this summer, instead of the $5.5 million he saves in dumping Shaq's contract -- perhaps more if Wallace accepts a retirement buyout. Once so close to a championship, the Suns now are in a cheap and pathetic rebuilding mode, with Amar'e Stoudemire next to go, perhaps with Leandro Barbosa in a rumored trade to Houston for the expiring $22 million deal of the injured Tracy McGrady. Wow, to think Sarver actually would dump a scoring/rebounding machine like Stoudemire -- who is demanding an immediate extension, with an escape clause in his deal looming next year -- strictly because of money. Makes you wonder why anyone would remain a Suns fan. Makes you wonder why Sarver, a banker who has been hit hard by the economic crisis, doesn't just sell the team.

"Obviously the last few years, we've had a very high payroll," Kerr said. "We've had a very good team and we've made a big, strong push. Clearly, the last couple of years we've been on the decline, and things have not worked out as well as we had hoped, so now it's time to adjust."



There are no such downer issues in Cleveland ... yet. So give Gilbert credit for recognizing James' bitterness and the importance of improving the roster, though you wonder why he didn't make the Shaq deal when it was presented to him in February. If LeBron ends up leaving for New York, the Cavaliers may not shrivel up and die, but they won't be an elite franchise anymore in a city rocked by the economy. Think of the empty seats in Quicken Loans Arena. There still is no certainty, of course, that James will sign an extension next month, which will ratchet up the heat on LeBron and Shaq to save a franchise and a city next season. When asked to address local fans who are petrified that James is gone, knowing buddy Jay-Z is part-owner of a Nets franchise that is moving to Brooklyn, Gilbert chose gallows humor: "You think you're nervous ..."

But he hasn't lost hope. "We feel very confident that this franchise and the direction we're going, the things we're doing, will make it the best place to play basketball for our current players, LeBron James, future players or anybody else,'' Gilbert said. "That's all we can do -- try to create the best environment, the best culture, create a team that has the best chances of ultimately winning an NBA championship -- or more.''

They just helped themselves by acquiring The Big Smokestack. "He is a force -- always has been, still is,'' Ferry said. "He's a wall that's around the basket -- a tall, long wall. He's a guy that our guys will respect and I think it is going to work very well. On offense, he's going to get double-teamed, but he's a great passer and a great receiver. It is a really unique and rare opportunity to bring in a player of Shaq's caliber. We are excited to see how his presence, experience and play positively impacts our team. There's not many players in the world like him."

The winter nights will be cold, as usual. But Cleveland will be the hottest address in basketball. Forty years after the Cuyahoga River caught on fire, the arena might burn down next.