THE SHAQ EFFECT

     IF this was 1997 the people of Cleveland should start saving money for playoff tickets and at least a NBA EAST Finals series. Yes IF it were somewhere between 1995 and 2003.

There is no question that Cleveland has needed a big man of consequence ever since LeBron became a Cavalier. Yes the services of Zyldrunis Ilgauskis has been greatly appreciated and he has had some memorable seasons. However his days of solid and sometime All Star performances are long gone. No disrespect but his age has rendered him mediocre at best. Additionally his skills have always been displayed away from the basket. These are 2 major reasons that Ilgauskis has not provided LeBron with a second tier star to compliment him.

The Cavaliers in an effort to fix this dilemma brought in Ben Wallace in the middle of 2007 - 2008 after his dominance in Detroit and a regression of his skills in Chicago. Although it was in Chicago that he last averaged double digit rebounds. But since he has been in Cleveland he has clearly been done, as in he should retire already. Now he his a Phoenix Sun. Maybe Amare Stoudamire can help him have a role. Although Big Ben reportedly wants a buyout so he can retire, which as I mentioned is probably his best move. Amare is also said to be on the trading block.

It is obvious also that Cleveland's 6'11" Anderson Varejao is a back up Center. He is still a young man and may improve. Thus that opened the door for the trade.

The Cavaliers and Phoenix Suns announced the deal today (6/25/09): O'Neal for Ben Wallace, Sasha Pavlovic, a second-round pick in 2011 and cash, reportedly $500,000. If the Suns cut Pavlovic and get Wallace to accept $12 million of the $14 million due him, they would save $5.5 million.

So back to the start of our discussion. As I hinted at, Shaq is not even close to his glory days. That said, Shaq did give Phoenix 75 games, an average of 30 minutes, 17.8 points, and 8.4 rebounds a game. Not bad for a guy in is late 30's. And the beauty of his contribution is that he is a legitimate low post presence at 7 + feet and 325 pds. He is not any faster than Ilgauskis at this point in life, but he is a mountain of a man and players will not just blow by him or around him. His defense is still respectable. And not only is he a presence in the paint but his points come from around the rim, which is unlike Zyldrunis.

Verajao will also have a chance to grow as Shaq's back up. Hopefully Shaq can help the young Brazilian Center. Ilgauskis will still have some role to play here, but I don't know what that will be. Maybe early on Shaq can play slightly reduced minutes and as the season progresses Shaq can enter the playoffs fresher. He has done this before but his teams did not always have a reliable back up. Cleveland won over 60 regular season games with Big Z and Varejao manning the middle.

What does this all mean? I would have to say it is an upgrade. For instance Dwight Howard or any other Center in the East will have their hands full, even with an older version of Shaq. But it will not be as intimidating as years past. If he can duplicate his Phoenix production and maybe bump up the Rebounds to double digits, this may be a great short term move. All things considered, this may work for Cleveland. Only I seem to recall some Phoenix fans thinking the same thing when Shaq came over from Miami. Nevertheless Cleveland is more a balanced team than the Suns and play a style more conducive to Shaq's skill set.

Well I know LeBron is happy. Cleveland fans better be patient for awhile though, they never had an inside/outside game before. Mo Williams is most likely glad to have a low post player who knows what to do with the ball, but there will be a time of adjustment.

Time will tell.