Cavs Coulda, Woulda, Shoulda Traded for Shaq Last Season

Before you rave about the Cavs and their recent reactionary move, consider this: Cleveland could have won the NBA championship this year if they acquired Shaquille O’Neal before February’s trade deadline.

The Cavs gave up Ben Wallace, Sasha Pavlovic, a second round pick in 2010, and $500,000 cash for Shaquille O’Neal. O’Neal earns $20 million a year, but the 37-year-old All-Star would have been worth every dime in the playoffs this season.  

This move is too little, too late as the Cavs have already squandered their best season, LeBron James' finest year, and the franchise’s best chance at a title in its history.

The past two NBA champions, Boston and Los Angeles, acquired big men before they won titles.

The Celtics signed Kevin Garnett before the 2007-08 season and won the title in his first season in Boston. The Lakers traded for Pau Gasol in February 2008 and won it all in his first full season with the team.

Maybe the team’s vision was clouded by a NBA-best 66-16 record, a 39-2 mark at home, and an MVP season from LeBron James. Still, it wasn’t enough to bring Cleveland its first championship trophy in 35 years.

Certainly there are those who’ll say the Orlando Magic or Los Angeles Lakers would have defeated the Cavs even if O’Neal was on their roster. If that’s the case why should the Cavs go after Shaq now?

Teams around the league constantly seek O’Neal’s services because he’s a winner and plays well in tandem with a superstar perimeter player.

O’Neal may not be the player he was in the past but he’s still a formidable inside threat and made the All-Star team for the 15th time this year—sharing All-Star game MVP honors with Kobe Bryant.

When Cleveland hesitated to take advantage of a precious opportunity and grab O’Neal last season, they lost to the Magic in a series that wasn’t as close as its 4-2 margin indicates.

Now, Cleveland will face a retooled Eastern Conference that’s looks to be much stronger than recent years.

The offseason is young but the Orlando Magic have already traded for Vince Carter, Boston welcomes back Kevin Garnett next year, and teams like the Hawks, Heat, and Bulls have benefited from playoff runs in 2009.

Did Shaq press for a trade to a place where he could play alongside LeBron James?

We know Shaq would love to win a fifth ring to remain ahead of Kobe and Tim Duncan, and helping LeBron pick up the pieces from a horrible postseason might be the right path to take.

Or did Cavs GM Danny Ferry have a change of heart after the team was ousted by Orlando?  

Cleveland was unstoppable in the regular season and earned home court advantage for the entire playoffs, but the Magic made LeBron and Co. appear ordinary. All-Star Mo Williams couldn’t get his shots to fall and it was obvious the team needed a dependable scoring threat.

Yeah, there was a dependable scoring threat available in February, and obtaining Shaq would have been mutually beneficial.

Shaq’s has issues with both of the team’s which blocked Cleveland’s path to a title.

O’Neal famously feuded with Kobe in Los Angeles, called Orlando Magic head coach Stan Van Gundy the “Master of Panic”, and ridiculed Dwight Howard for stealing his Superman persona.

Great move for Cleveland, but is it a few months and an NBA championship too late?