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SportsDesk - 06.25.09

It's official. Shaq is a Cleveland Cavalier. Let the Cleveland nickname offerings begin! Here are some thoughts to consider with this move:
  • The NBA East has officially become as interesting and exciting as the West. The Magic, Cavs, Celtics, Heat and Sixers are as fun to watch as the Lakers, Nuggets, Blazers, Mavs, and Hornets.
  • This trade is the last straw for Cleveland to land LeBron in Summer 2010. If the Cavs don't win the title, LBJ will become a NY Knick next Summer. It's a done deal.
  • The Shaq acquisition doesn't solve any long-term problems for Cleveland. He'll be there one year. Shaq doesn't have 3 years of productivity left. If he wins a title next year, he should retire a champion. I don't see Cleveland giving him a 2-year contract at the end of next season. If LBJ and Shaq "leave" Cleveland next summer, which big free agent star comes to Cleveland in the wake of LBJ? I don't see Wade doing it. Bosh doesn't fit the mold. If Cleveland doesn't win the title next year, they'll have to draft young or trade the farm to land another elite talent. But that elite talent won't be LBJ. I repeat, this trade is the last straw for Cleveland. If they don't win it all, LBJ is gone.
  • If Cleveland wins the title next year, locks LBJ up for 8 more years, and lands an elite talent like Chris Bosh, the Shaq trade will go down as one of the best NBA trades ever!
It's 2010 or bust for Cleveland. They know it, Shaq knows it, LeBron knows it, and New York knows it. The real winner in all of this is the NBA. It makes them more relevant in more places.

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