Shaquille O'Neal and LeBron James Officially Team up in Cleveland

Gambling News - June 25, 2009 - Written by Jimmy

Well, it is official, Shaquille O'Neal is now the newest member of the Cavaliers. News just came down a little bit earlier that Shaq would be traded, to Cleveland, from the Phoenix Suns, to play with LeBron James. This is part of a multi-player deal that will send Shaquille O'Neal to Cleveland, in exchange for Ben Wallace and Sasha Pavlovic. It is also speculated that the deal will also involve the 46th pick, of the 2009 NBA Draft, and $500,000 in cash.

This is a salary dump move by Pheonix, which will save them around $4.5 million next year. The $5 million contract due to Pavlovic is only guaranteed to $1.5 million, which is a huge upside of this deal. Speculators believe Amare Stoudamire will be the next man out of Pheonix.

For the Cavaliers, this means a presence in the middle, which they did not have against the Magic. Dwight Howard was able to have his way with the Cavaliers big men, and the addition of Shaquille O'Neal should even that out some. For Shaq, he will be able to get back to playing a much lesser tempo game, than the system he was in out in Phoenix. The Cavaliers need someone to help LeBron James, someone that will push them over the hump, and they feel that can be Shaq. Dubbed "The Shaqusition", Cavaliers fans are sure to eat this move up, and give support to another Cleveland sports team, that just recently disappointed them.

When the 2009-2010 NBA Season gets underway, sometime in November, the Cleveland Cavaliers are going have a much different look. They will again have to compete with the likes of the Orlando Magic with Dwight Howard, and the Boston Celtics with a health Kevin Garnett. Many in Cleveland will be on the edge of their seats, to see just how this move works out and how well the Cavaliers can rebound from a disappointed 2009 NBA Playoffs.