Commentary

Four months later, Cavs land Shaq

Shaquille O'Neal gives the Cavs the big man they need to slow down Dwight Howard

Updated: June 25, 2009, 4:37 PM ET
By John Hollinger | ESPN.com
You rarely see a trade that's partially an admission of error by each side, but that's what happened in Wednesday's late-night trade that sends Shaquille O'Neal from Phoenix to Cleveland for Ben Wallace, Sasha Pavlovic, the No. 46 pick in the draft and $500,000 in cash.

For the Suns, it's an admission that they goofed by trading Shawn Marion for Shaq in February 2008. At the time, they were in first place in the West and coming off a 60-win season; since then, they've won one playoff game.

For the Cavaliers, it's a trade they're kicking themselves for not consummating this past February. At the time, the Cavs were riding high with the league's best record and were reluctant to mess with a good thing, but they could have used Shaq in the Eastern Conference finals when Orlando's Dwight Howard steamrolled the Cavaliers' frontcourt.

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