Icon SMI

When Shaquille O’Neal was traded to the Cavaliers last summer his goal was simple: “Win a ring for the King.”

Things didn’t quite work out like Shaq planned.

O’Neal and the rest of the Cavaliers have already been bounced from the playoffs, while his former team, the Suns, are still fighting for a trip to the Finals. Although it wasn’t the storybook season the 38-year-old center was hoping for, he has no regrets, at least personally.

“Obviously everyone is disappointed,” O’Neal said after the Cavs’ Game 6 loss to the Celtics. “But as a person, as a professional, I think I did everything that they asked me to do. [I] got injured and came back in better shape.”

The Cavaliers acquired O’Neal last off season for the primary reason of guarding Magic center Dwight Howard in the postseason.

Howard was a nightmare for Cleveland’s front line during last season’s Eastern Conference Finals. The now 24-year-old Howard averaged 25.8 points and 13 rebounds in the series, including a dominating double-double (40 points and 14 rebounds) in Orlando’s series-clinching Game 6 win.

O’Neal had some success against Howard during the regular season — the Cavaliers were 2-1 against the Magic this season with Shaq in the lineup — but the Celtics’ upset in the Conference Semifinals made the point moot.

O’Neal put up solid statistics against the Celtics — averaging 13.5 points and 5 rebounds in the series — although that doesn’t tell the whole story. He had trouble getting deep post position against the Boston defenders and the Cavaliers’ offense seemed to stall when the ball was in his hands.

“They just wouldn’t let me get my normal spot up but [in] playoff basketball that’s what teams are going to do,” O’Neal said. “They’re going to take away strengths.”

Now both the Cavs and O’Neal have to decide whether a continued partnership is in their best interest.

O’Neal is the oldest player in the NBA but has ruled out retirement this summer.

“I missed 360 games due to injury in my career so by my calculations I still have 3.7 years left, which means I am going to play until I am 41,” O’Neal said. “I’ve been here 17 years but I’ve missed a lot of games and I’m still feeling good. I still can play this game.”

Although it is a near certainty that Shaq will be on an NBA team next season, whether he wears wine and gold will likely depend on the eventual destination of LeBron James.

If James decides to sign with another NBA franchise this summer — such as Chicago, New York or Miami — the Cavaliers title hopes for next season would appear to leave with him. Without championship aspirations, bringing back a center who will turn 39 next March wouldn’t seem to make much sense for the organization.

If James resigns with the Cavs, however, O’Neal chances of returning will skyrocket.

With the reigning MVP on their roster the Cavaliers would still need someone to stop, or at least slow down, Howard during the playoffs. With no selections in the upcoming draft and limited cap space to work with, resigning O’Neal would appear to be the only viable option, outside of a trade, that would fill that bill.

The three-time Finals MVP made $20 million this season. It was the final year of a contract extension he signed while still playing with the Heat in 2005. His production has dipped considerably since then, meaning he will be looking at a major pay cut on the contract he signs this summer.

For now O’Neal will wait for July 1st, when free agency officially begins.

“We just have to sit back,” he said. “I’m sure everybody is going to do what is best for them.”

Icon SMI

You can count the number of games Antawn Jamison and Shaquille O’Neal have played together as teammates on one hand.

Although that may seem like a concern, Jamison isn’t worried.

“The one thing about Shaq is he is always in constant communication with you,” the two-time All-Star said Tuesday after practice at Cleveland Clinic Courts. ”We talked before and during practice as far as when he gets the ball what he wants me to do. Some things he had done with Amare in Phoenix that he thought could help me out as well.”

The two veterans seem to be on the same page, and the playoffs are nothing new to either one of them.

O’Neal has four NBA Titles to his credit, three with the Lakers and one with the Heat. Jamison has been to the playoffs five time before, although his teams have never been farther than the second round.

The Wizards reached the postseason each of Jamison’s first four years with the team, but they were never true title contenders.

“Championship was never a discussion [in Washington] whatsoever,” Jamison said. ”… That’s what made it so tough for me is that I wanted to get one before it was all said and done.”

Jamison is in a good position to be hoisting the Larry O’Brien Trophy at the end of this season, especially now that O’Neal will be back in the Cavaliers’ lineup.

The 7-foot-3 center missed the final 23 games of the regular season, but is reportedly in the best shape he has been all season.

“He has kept his weight down, stayed in shape,” Jamison said. ”To be honest, you couldn’t even tell that he had missed some time. It’s a good sign as far as a veteran player who has won championships and is trying to win another.”

In Jamison’s third game with the Cavaliers, O’Neal went down with a thumb injury that required surgery. The two haven’t had much time together on the court, but the 33-year-old forward has an idea of how to play around the man in the middle.

“When he has the ball in the box I’m pretty much spread out anyone,” Jamison said. ”I don’t think it will be that big of an adjustment as it was when LeBron had the ball and where I need to be at, what spots I need to find.”

The philosphy with O’Neal is simpler than you might think.

“With Shaq, give him some space when he gets the ball and communicate with him on both ends of the floor,” Jamison said.

Shaq’s 12 points per game this season is his lowest since he came into the NBA in 1992. He isn’t the focal point of the Cavalier offense, that distinction goes to LeBron James, but the fact that he can still demand a double team in the paint will be of great value to the team during their postseason run.

The Cavs will look to run their offense through O’Neal at times, something the team is more than ready for.

“We know when he is in the game we try and get him the ball in the post and that might slow us up a bit,” Jamison said. “Other than that, you got so many unselfish guys that are willing to play the right way and play off eachother as well.”

Icon SMI

When the Cavaliers begin their much-anticipated postseason run this weekend, it could be nearly two weeks since LeBron James last played for the team.

That doesn’t seem to be worrying the 6-foot-8 forward.

Although the Cavs have lost all three games since James sat down, the 25-year old superstar has enjoyed the time off.

“Anytime I can take advantage of some rest during the season it’s great,” James said. “We all know it’s a long, hard season.”

There is still a chance James could suit up on Wednesday, mainly because of the possible return of center Shaquille O’Neal.

O’Neal was cleared to play on Monday and could be activated before the season finale against the Atlanta Hawks.

Although it would obviously be beneficial to get O’Neal and James on the court together before the playoffs begin, Cavs coach Mike Brown is not sure if one game is worth taking James off the bench.

“They probably wouldn’t play the whole game on Wednesday, so are we going to be that much better if they each played 20 minutes together?” Brown said. “Maybe they will, maybe they won’t. I don’t know. I keep going back and forth.”

It doesn’t matter to the reigning league MVP whether he suits up against the Hawks or not.

“For me I’m ready for the playoffs right now, whether I play on Wednesday or not,” James said. ”It’s not urgent. I’m going to see what the team feels and we will go from there.”

O’Neal has not played since he was injured against the Boston Celtics on February 25th. He sprained his thumb in that game when Glen Davis blocked his shot and made contact his hand.

Before the injury O’Neal was playing some of his best basketball of the season. He averaged 13.6 points, 6.4 rebounds and 1.6 blocks in February.

The team has adjusted to playing without the 38-year-old O’Neal, winning 16-of-22 games since he went down. But the size the 7-foot-1 center brings to the table will be useful, especially if the team plays Dwight Howard and the Orlando Magic in the postseason.

“I think Shaq is going to fit himself back into the lineup,” James said. ”He will fit himself back into the grove of things, and he will work around us.”

One possible negative of the return of O’Neal is the impact it could have on young J.J. Hickson.

Hickson has started 71 games this season for the Cavaliers and has improved his game dramatically from a year ago. He will now have to adjust to coming off the bench behind O’Neal and power forward Antawn Jamison.

Even though the forward’s minutes will decrease in the playoffs, it is crucial that Hickson knows how important his “athleticism and above the rim presence” will be to the Cavs the rest of the season, James said.

“He knows when Shaq is back he is going to be out of the starting lineup,” he said. ”What I’m concerned about is that he doesn’t get discouraged about him not playing because we need him.”

Icon SMI

Last season the Cavaliers had no answer for Dwight Howard. He dominated their front court in the Eastern Conference Finals, leading to an early exit for the top-seeded Cavs and the realization that a change needed to be made. Enter in Shaquille O’Neal, the original Superman, this past off season to try and contain the new Superman on nights like Wednesday.

It didn’t take long in the Cavs’ first game of the season against the Magic to feel Shaq’s impact.

The Cavaliers went to O’Neal early, throwing the ball to him in the post several times over the first couple minutes. Howard got his first foul against O’Neal just over a minute into the game and his second with 9:41 remaining. Magic coach Stan Van Gundy quickly went to his bench, subbing in Marcin Gortat for his star center.

Impact felt.

With Howard out of the game, Mo Williams and LeBron James went to work. James scored 13 points in the opening quarter and Williams pitched in nine to give the Cavaliers a seven-point after the opening 12 minutes. Although Howard returned for the second quarter, the Cavaliers continued to control the game. They ran their offense as smoothly as they have all season and headed into the half up 66-51, led by a perfect 9-9 shooting half for Williams.

The presence of O’Neal continued to be felt as the second half began. Van Gundy decided to start both Howard and Gortat, allowing his top player to avoid guarding the Cavaliers veteran center. Although the move did help to keep Howard out of foul trouble, Cleveland continued to outplay and outshoot Orlando and headed into the final quarter up 88-68.

In the game’s final period the Cavaliers saw their lead begin to shrink as the Magic started hitting perimeter shots, but it was too late and the Cavs won 102-93.

Even though O’Neal scored just 10 points in the game, he was crucial in holding Howard, who played just 32 minutes due to fouls, to 11 points.

“We’re just in attack mode,” said James. “All game we put pressure on their defense. Shaq put pressure on (Howard) and we were able to get him into some foul trouble.”

Cleveland rarely found a way to get Howard in foul trouble last season, mainly due to the lack of a post presence. It was obvious that Mike Brown wanted to feed his 37-year-old center to start the game, hoping to expose the 6′11″ Howard, which would in turn allow the Cavaliers more freedom on offense.

That freedom helped them to shoot 10-14 from beyond the arc, compared to just 4-18 for the Magic, who rely heavily on three-point shooting. Williams hit four of the Cavs three-pointers en route to a season-high 28 points. It was a good bounce-back game for the seventh-year pro after averaging just 11.5 points over the previous two games.

“You never know how the ball is going to fall,” said Williams. “Some nights are better than others and tonight was a good night.”

James also had a good night for the Cavaliers as he scored 36 points on 13-23 from the floor, but seemed most excited about the play of his teammates.

“It was an all-around good performance by the team,” said James.

Both teams did play without a vital piece in the game. Delonte West was inactive for the Cavaliers for an unknown reason, and Magic forward Rashard Lewis is still out because of a suspension for using a performance-enhancing substance.

Although an early regular season game can only mean so much, the Cavaliers have to feel confident about their future against the Magic, especially with O’Neal manning the middle.

Icon SMI

The top center in the NBA isn’t Pau Gasol or the injured Yao Ming, or even Dwight Howard. No, the best man in the middle the league has to offer is Shaquille O’Neal/Zydrunas Ilgauskas.

At least if you ask Shaq.

“I said it before, that myself and him, we are the best center in the game,” said Shaq.

It might sound a little cocky, or even flat-out absurd. But maybe, just maybe, the wily veteran is on to something.

Ilgauskas has been a steady force at the center position for the Cavaliers the past seven seasons after battling foot injuries for the first several years of his career. The 34-year-old Lithuanian has averaged 14.3 points in his career and is the Cavs all-time leading rebounder.

O’Neal is a four-time NBA champion and was the Finals MVP on three of those title teams. For his career he has averaged a double-double and is the fifth-leading scorer in NBA history.

Together the two seven-footers equal a very complete center, especially on the offensive end.

O’Neal makes his living in the post, where he has dominated opposing big men for the past 17 years. Ilgauskas is mainly a jump shooter and even hit 15 three-pointers during the 2008-09 season. The two complement each other so well that Mike Brown has begun to play them together for a portion of many games this season.

“(They have) The ability to make that paint look really crowded and that’s what we get,” Brown said. “And then Z has the ability to space the floor with the way that he shoots it. There’s some positives to it.”

Brown used a decent dose of the “Twin Tower” lineup on Thursday against the Chicago Bulls, with mixed results. O’Neal and Ilgauskas were on the court for over four minutes in the second quarter and for nearly three minutes in the game’s final quarter. Overall, the Cavaliers were outscored 13-11 with the two centers on the court in the 86-85 loss, although the team did lessen the fourth-quarter deficit with the two playing together.

The biggest weakness of the lineup is the lack of mobility and quickness. Neither O’Neal or Ilgauskas has ever been known for their speed, and the fact that they have now combined to play 28 years in the NBA does not help.

Brown has acknowledged that the combination makes the Cavaliers more susceptible to pick-and-rolls than they are with J.J. Hickson or Anderson Varejao at the power forward position, but said he “will continue to play them together some once in a while.”

The length that the Shaq/Z lineup gives Brown could be valuable, but the pair may be better served to substitute for one another exclusively, with each helping to limit the wear-and-tear on the other’s aging body.

“I realize that we are going to share minutes, so it’s vital that we just go out there and give it all we got,” said O’Neal. “It’s good to have an excellent big man like him as a backup.”

So far this season the two have combined for 18.1 points, 13.3 rebounds and 2.8 blocks per game, while Dwight Howard is averaging 20 points, 11.1 rebounds and 1.7 blocks.

Maybe Shaq is on to something.

Icon SMI

The 2009-10 season marks the 40th year of the Cleveland Cavaliers, although the team has yet to win an NBA championship. Shaquille O’Neal is entering his 18th NBA season and has four championship rings to show for his efforts.

Let’s just say the Cavaliers wouldn’t mind adding a fifth ring to his collection this season, which in turn would get them off the 14-team list of NBA franchises without a title.

It’s probably just a one-year rental, as O’Neal will earn $20 million dollars this season in the final year of his current contract. But if the team wins that elusive championship the acquisition will be well worth it, especially since they only gave up Sasha Pavlovic, Ben Wallace, a second round pick and cash considerations to the Phoenix Suns for the “Big Diesel”. (In case you were wondering, neither Pavlovic nor Wallace will play for the Suns this season as they were both bought out of their contracts.)

Aside from championship experience, O’Neal brings a long history of low-post domination. He is the leading active scorer in the NBA, with 27,619 points. To put that in perspective, 34-year old center Zydrunas Ilgauskas has 10,142 points in his career, over 17,000 less than Shaq.

Even though he is a future Hall-of-Famer, O’Neal is in Cleveland for the chance to win, not to pad his stats.

“I’m not really here to grab any individual accolades,” said O’Neal. “I’ve been here 17 years and I’ve won almost every award you can imagine.”

His list of personal achievements would make even Wilt Chamberlain sweat a bit. O’Neal is a 14-time All-Star, former Rookie of the Year, a three-time All-Star game MVP, a one-time league MVP and, most importantly, a three-time Finals MVP. Not much left to accomplish for the 7′3″ center, but a fifth ring would give O’Neal one more championship than fellow big man Tim Duncan and would help his case for being the best player of his era.

Although he has been limited to just 19.2 minutes per game in the preseason, O’Neal has played fairly well for the Cavs. He is averaging 10.2 points and 6.2 rebounds in the team’s five games and has looked in sync with fellow superstar LeBron James.

The question of how the two top-notch performers would mesh together has been thrown around throughout training camp, but Shaq insists he and James will co-exist just fine.

“He’s a great player and a very very unselfish player,” said O’Neal. “We’re not gonna have any problems.”

James was ninth in the NBA in assists per game last season at 7.2, which was good for first among non-guards. That number could climb even higher this season with a 58 percent shooter like Shaq around the basket. O’Neal has led the NBA in field goal percentage 10 times in his career, including last season when he shot over 60 percent from the floor with the Suns.

Last season’s high field-goal percentage was part of an All-Star season for O’Neal in which he averaged 17.8 points and 8.4 rebounds in 75 games.

Don’t expect the 37-year old center to play 75 games again this season or average near the 30 minutes per game he was playing a year ago. The Cavaliers won a franchise-record 66 regular season games last season and should be able to capture one of the Eastern Conference’s top seeds no matter how little O’Neal plays. Having Shaq fresh for the playoffs is the team’s main concern, where he will be expected to slow down each opponent’s center, especially Orlando’s Dwight Howard.

The NBA season is often referred to as a marathon, as opposed to a sprint. Think of Shaquille O’Neal as a distance runner, pacing himself until it is necessary to break away from the pack. He will reach a sprint during the postseason, at which point he will look to bring history to the city of Cleveland.

Namely, an NBA title.

Icon SMI

The Cavs made the biggest move of the NBA offseason on Thursday when they traded for one of the best centers the league has ever seen in Shaquille O’Neal.

O’Neal spent the past season and a half in Phoenix playing for the Suns and has one year remaining on his contract. He is set to earn $2o million dollars, a price tag the Suns were looking to get off their payroll for the 2009-10 season.

The Cavs gave up an aging Ben Wallace, Sasha Pavlovic, their 2010 second-round pick and $500,000 dollars cash in the deal.

The two teams had talked about a trade involving O’Neal at the Feburary trade deadline, but nothing was accomplished.

Center Zydrunas Ilgauskas will now come off the bench while Shaq takes over the starting duties.

Icon SMI

Rumors are swirling about a trade involving the Cavaliers and Suns. The deal would send Shaquille O’Neal to Cleveland in exchange for Sasha Pavlovic and Ben Wallace.

The Cavs talked about acquiring O’Neal in February at the trade dealine, but nothing was finalized.

Shaq, a 17-year NBA veteran, was the eighth highest paid player in the league this season, earning 20 million dollars. He is schedule to make the same amount during the 2009-10 season in the final year of his current contract.

O’Neal saw a resurgence in play this season, shooting a career-high 60.9% from the floor and also averaged 17.8 points after a career-low 13.6 points in 2007-08. His strong play earned him third team All-NBA honors as well as a spot on the All-Star team for the 15th time in his career.

The addition of Shaq would move aging center Zydrunas Ilgauskas to a reserve role, which would probably suit him better at this point in his career.

The trade would help the Suns and owner Robert Sarver cut payroll. They are looking to avoid paying luxary tax and would save almost $10 million in the deal.

Wallace is scheduled to earn $14 million next year, but hinted at retirement after the Cavs lost to the Magic in the Eastern Conference Finals. Pavlovic’s deal has him earning $4.95 million, but only $1.5 million is guaranteed.