THE
TEAM
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PHOENIX — Like many of the Suns' recent NBA draft days, this one will be more about who the Suns are sending away with Phoenix agreeing Wednesday night to a trade that will ship center Shaquille O'Neal to the Cleveland Cavaliers.
In exchange for the 37-year-old, 15-time All-Star, the Suns will get about $10 million in savings by acquiring Ben Wallace and Sasha Pavlovic and then releasing Pavlovic, who has only $1.5 million of his $4.95 million salary guaranteed.

Phoenix also gets the 46th pick in Thursday night's draft and $500,000. A buyout of Wallace's contract is also possible after injuries reduced his effectiveness and caused him to ponder retirement. He is due to make $14 million this season and had to be in the deal to match O'Neal's expiring $21 million salary-cap number.

The Suns could also trade Wallace and have not ruled out the possibility that the 34-year-old former defensive star could play for them.

In Cleveland, O'Neal could be the missing piece for James to win a first championship. The 7-foot hoops icon certainly gives the city a surge of star power.

FIND MORE STORIES IN: Yahoo! | Phoenix Suns | LeBron James | Shaquille O'Neal | Cleveland Cavaliers | Dwight Howard | Steve Nash | US Airways | Mike D'Antoni | Ben Wallace | Ohio State University | Shawn Marion | Antawn Jamison | Tyler Hansbrough | Caron Butler | Tyson Chandler | Brad Miller | Jason Richardson | Leandro Barbosa | Terry Porter | Gerald Henderson | Danny Ferry | Marcus Banks
O'Neal's addition gives Cleveland some much needed size in its frontcourt. The Cavs couldn't stop Orlando center Dwight Howard in the Eastern Conference finals, losing the series in six games and seeing a 66-win regular season and deep playoff run come up short.

O'Neal can still bang inside, which is why Cavaliers general manager Danny Ferry tried to acquire him before the trading deadline in February, according to the Associated Press.

Phoenix and Cleveland have discussed an O'Neal deal since February. O'Neal was a third-team All-NBA pick this year after playing in 75 games and averaging 17.8 points and 8.4 rebounds with career-best 60.9% shooting.

O'Neal was acquired from Miami for Shawn Marion and Marcus Banks in February 2008 to put Phoenix over the top against the West's size but the Suns won one playoff game with him, missing this year's playoffs altogether with the NBA's sixth-highest payroll.

The Suns were looking for payroll and luxury-tax relief but also questioned whether O'Neal's demand for a post-up game fit the return to a high-paced system and if they could succeed with O'Neal and Steve Nash in pick-and-roll defense situations frequently.

O'Neal had drawn consistent interest, including a recent inquiry from Chicago that involved Brad Miller, and earlier talks with New Orleans until the Hornets balked at giving up Tyson Chandler.

The deal will become official Thursday, giving the Suns four picks in Thursday night's draft at Nos. 14, 46, 48 and 57.

This draft deal did not involve losing a top pick, as the Suns did in dumping five of their first-round picks on draft day from 2004 to 2007.

Dealing O'Neal could mean the Suns look at the only center option at No. 14 in Ohio State's 20-year-old B.J. Mullens. He would be an athletic, offensively skilled balance to Robin Lopez but he is raw.

The Suns also are interested in point guards Jonny Flynn of Syracuse and Jrue Holiday of UCLA if they tumble, and could take North Carolina power forward Tyler Hansbrough if their top 10 targets are gone.

"We have lots to consider," Suns General Manager Steve Kerr said. "We've pared our list down to players we're very comfortable with drafting."

The Suns planned to go the "best player available" route, which might lead them to a batch of wing players. Duke's Gerald Henderson could slip and would be of interest but has to be a long-term plan with shooting guards Jason Richardson and Leandro Barbosa on the team.

Wake Forest small forward James Johnson's balance of physical play and skill may have separated him from Louisville's Earl Clark, a playmaking offensive fit who defends, and Gonzaga's Austin Daye, who faded from favor.

Point guard Brandon Jennings could be a risk-reward opportunity at No. 14 but the Suns also like Wake Forest's speedy point guard Jeff Teague.

Defense and tenacity will be targeted with the three second-round selections with one of the choices figuring to make the team.

Teams recently have inquired about every returning Suns starter, including Golden State's ongoing interest in Amaré Stoudemire (with a package involving Andris Biedrins being revisited). Washington looked at Stoudemire, too, but backed away when Caron Butler and Richardson were added to the mix.

Those talks started with Antawn Jamison and the Wizards' fifth pick being offered for Stoudemire. The Wizards traded that fifth pick Wednesday.
[Edited 6/25/09 9:51am]

Make me puke

I know what team I'm not cheering on next season.

^^^

The mumbling, bumbling uncle Tom..lol