So Shaq is a Cavalier

The Draft has taken up a lot of my attention, but the headline late Draft Eve (Wednesday) was that the Cavaliers and Suns have agreed to a deal that would put Shaquille O'Neal in wine and gold (those are their colors, right?).

This is something I thought I would only see in my Dynasty on NBA Live 2005 -- where O'Neal signed as a free agent with Cleveland before the 2007-08 season to team up with Vince Carter (on a side note: New York drafted LeBron James in the fantasy draft to start my dynasty).

The Cavaliers were looking for revenge after the Magic ousted them from the Eastern Conference Finals. And they knew they would need front court help. Someone, anyone who could contain Dwight Howard.

Cleveland hopes they got that in Shaquille O'Neal. That's right, this blog's namesake will be playing for Orlando's biggest rival in the Eastern Conference.

O'Neal does give Cleveland the front court depth the team needs to attempt to guard Howard. But this move reeks of desperation. O'Neal is not the Shaq of old. He had a good season in Phoenix last year, but was hardly the dominating Big Diesel.

His offense is much slower and methodical. He is more of a liability on defense than he has ever been. His girth and the memory of his greatness are probably his biggest assets at the moment.

I wonder what this does to LeBron James' ability to drive to the basket. As mentioned above, O'Neal takes up a lot of space in the paint. Space James needs to get to the basket.

Kobe Bryant and Penny Hardaway got away with it because they could shoot jumpers. Dwyane Wade did it by recklessly driving to the hoop without care for his body. He won the title, but paid the price. Is James willing to do that before his big summer? I doubt it, James likes thinking he can shoot jumpers.

I think this move makes Cleveland easier to defend. Centers can stay in the paint and help out on James more with O'Neal anchored to the inside. With Howard now in the paint, maybe focusing more on O'Neal, maybe not, James has less room to drive -- especially if James tries his middle of the court drive that worked so well in Game Five.

This move reeks of desperation, again. O'Neal cannot guard Orlando's pick and roll whether it is going to be Jameer Nelson, Hedo Turkgolu or someone else running it.

It will be interesting to see what this deal does to Cleveland and their team dynamic -- Shaq can be a poison in the locker room and, oh by the way, good bye Mike Brown. It is still James' show, and I think they go as far as he will carry them.

But the Cavaliers needed to do something to show they were not satisfied with losing the title, let alone missing the Finals. So here is their big move.

I don't think it will pan out for them.