Welcome to Shaqland, Ohio: Meet Shaquille O’Neal, Your Newest Cavalier

If LeBron James is the most famous player to ever put on a Cleveland Cavaliers uniform, then he’s about to get a run for his money.

Big time. As in, BIG time.

Our friend Brian Windhorst at the Cleveland Plain Dealer broke the story that the Cavs and Phoenix Suns have agreed to a trade that will send Shaquille O’Neal to the shores of Lake Erie in the Rock ‘n Roll city for Ben Wallace’s expiring contract and Sasha Pavlovic’s non-guaranteed contract. This is the trade that Danny Ferry wanted from the very beginning — back in February when this deal was first reported — and now, four months later, it’s in the books:

According to multiple team executives, the Cavs have aggreed in
principle to a trade with the Phoenix Suns to bring the four-time
champion and future Hall of Famer to Cleveland. The team is hoping he
is the biggest missing piece alongside LeBron James in a quest to win
their first NBA Championship.

The Cavs will send the Suns veterans Ben Wallace and Sasha Pavlovic in
a deal plus the 46th overall pick in Thursday’s NBA Draft. It is a
trade that has mostly financial incentives for the Suns as they stand
to save around $9 million in salary and luxury taxes while the Cavs
take on the final year of O’Neal’s contract at $20 million. The Suns
could save even more if Wallace accepts a retirement buyout as he
hinted at the conclusion of the season.

The trade could be finalized on Thursday.
The Cavs and Suns have been talking about this
swap for the last six months off and on and couldn’t get it done ahead
of February’s trade deadline. Talks re-started last week and became
intense Wednesday.

A 37-year old Shaq isn’t as enticing as, say, a 27-year old Shaq. But the fact that a guy who could go down as the greatest center of all time and is a Hall of Fame lock is going to be wearing a Cavalier jersey and teaming with LeBron has to be the biggest thing to hit Cleveland. Ever.

If nothing else, this definitely makes the Cavaliers as visible as they have ever been. They are no longer “The LeBrons.” They are no longer just a one-man team. LeBron isn’t the only reason that other teams’ fans would want to go watch the Cavs.

And a motivated Shaq is a good Shaq. After missing the playoffs this past season for the first time since his rookie year, O’Neal definitely would rather go out in a better way. He also has the motivation to break the 4-4 tie between him and Kobe Bryant as far as championship rings are concerned.

Trust me, Shaq isn’t okay-ing a trade to Cleveland so he can party. He wants to win. He wants to win big, and he wants to win now. And no other team gives him the opportunity to stick it to Kobe, Dwight Howard, and Stan Van Gundy quite like the Cavs do.

Another development in this entire story was that Tyson Chandler was Ferry’s backup plan in case the Shaq deal did not go down. Per ESPN.com’s Chris Broussard (a lovable Cavs homer):

The Cavaliers were also in talks with New Orleans about obtaining Tyson Chandler. If they had not made the trade for O’Neal, they would have traded for Chandler, according to a source.

One of the bigger reasons that Chandler, who is just 26, was option #2 behind a 37-year old Shaq was due to contracts. Shaq’s deal ends next year with $20 million off the books. Chandler is signed for eight figures per year through the 2010-11 season. It’s becoming more and more apparent that Chris Bosh is the big fish in the sea for Ferry, as the Cavs will still have ample cap room to make Bosh a max offer next summer.

Shaq in Cleveland with LeBron also will make Cleveland a more appealing place to play for future free agents. Hey, if Cleveland is big enough for LeBron and Shaq, then it’s definitely big enough for you.

Stay tuned for more of this as we’ll continue to have round-the-clock coverage on Shaq being traded to the Cavs.

(Oh, and I almost forgot: Good riddance, Sasha Pavlovic. Don’t let the door hit ya where the good lord split ya!)