Cavs have little to lose by adding Shaq

In a late-developing story on Wednesday, the Cleveland Cavaliers reportedly acquired aging center Shaquille O’Neal from Phoenix.

O’Neal, 37, won’t necessarily carry LeBron James to his first NBA title. But it’s a low-risk move for the Cavs because they’re giving back little in return and O’Neal has just one year left on his contract.

According to reports, Cleveland will send Ben Wallace, Sasha Pavlovic and a second-round draft pick to the Suns. Wallace, 34, threatened to retire after averaging 12.6 minutes per game during the playoffs. In fact, between Big Ben and Pavlovic, the Cavs are giving up two players who averaged just 3.2 points and 4.1 rebounds during the playoffs.

Whether O’Neal deserved to be a Western Conference all-star ahead of Kevin Durant and Al Jefferson is questionable. But Shaq did have some diesel left in the tank, averaging 17.8 points and 8.4 rebounds for Phoenix last season. O’Neal is due $20 million next year and mentioned recently that he’d want a contract extension if he were traded. The Cavs won’t want to jeopardize their cap room in 2010, though.

Cleveland should be better off next year in the playoffs with O’Neal on the floor. After coasting through a 66-win season and the first two rounds of playoffs, the Cavs couldn’t match up with Orlando in the Eastern Conference finals.

Between Wallace, Zydrunas Ilgauskas and Joe Smith, the Cavaliers were too old and slow on the inside. Every team has trouble guarding Magic center Dwight Howard. But with Anderson Varejao focused on defending Howard, the Cavs had no one left to match up with 6-10 forward Rashard Lewis.

With the new lineup, Cleveland could try matching O’Neal against Howard and Varejao against Lewis – assuming Varejao doesn’t opt out of his contract and leave as a free agent. That’s also assuming Shaq and Varejao don’t foul out before the fourth quarter.

If the Cavaliers get to the Finals next year, they should also be in better shape if they have to contend with the Lakers’ tall front line.

Of course, it’s possible Shaq could have a negative impact since he’ll have trouble guarding mobile players. The Cavs should be better equipped to contend with Orlando in the playoffs with O’Neal. But they could also be vulnerable against teams with smaller front lines.

Like the Bulls? I wouldn't go that far yet.

CRAWFORD HEADED TO ATLANTA?
Another potential trade that surfaced Wednesday was Jamal Crawford moving from Golden State to Atlanta for Acie Law and Speedy Claxton. This one is supposed to become official on July 1.

Warriors coach Don Nelson wasn’t a fan of Crawford, so it makes sense for Golden State to get out from the $19 million left on Crawford’s deal.

It will be interesting to see how Atlanta approaches free agent Mike Bibby. Will the Hawks see Crawford as a supporting piece or the new starting point guard?