After much speculation , it is official; Shaquille O'Neal is now a Cavalier. Cleveland acquired the future Hall of Famer from the Phoenix Suns in exchange for Ben Wallace, Sasha Pavlovic, their 2nd round pick at the 2010 entry draft along with cash considerations.
In the 37 year old center, the Cavs receive the dominant inside presence they lacked last year. In the conference finals loss to the Orlando Magic, Orlando big man Dwight Howard pounded the Cleveland forwards for 40 points and 14 rebounds in the deciding game of the series.
O'Neal is a fifteen time All-Star, and a four time world champion. Since being the first selection in the 1992 NBA Draft to the Orlando Magic, he has average 24.7 points, 11.2 rebounds in 1117 career games.
It appears to be a good deal for Cleveland because they didn't give up much to get him. Ben Wallace has been frequently injured lately and even hinted at retirement after the Cavaliers third round loss to the Magic. Pavlovic wasn't seeing much playing time with the Cavs and will be a better fit in Phoenix's offense. For Phoenix, the deal provides much needed relief from O'Neal's multi-million dollar salary.
For the first time in his career, LeBron James will get to play with a player as well known as himself. The two stars relationship goes back to James' playing days at St. Vincent-St. Mary where Shaquille attended games to watch LeBron play.
“It is a really unique and rare opportunity to bring in a player of Shaq's caliber," said GM Danny Ferry. "We are excited to see how his presence, experience and play positively impacts our team. We truly appreciate all that Ben and Sasha gave to this team and community in their time here. They were good teammates and we wish them nothing but success.”
Shaq has only one year remaining on his contract, but according to his Twitter, he does not plan to retire after the '09-'10 season. "My numbers are not good enough to retire 3 more yrs left," he tweeted.
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