Shaquille O’Neal is among the most accomplished basketball players of all time.
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Shaquille O’Neal is a 4-time NBA champion and was the best player in the latest three-peat in NBA history. Superman was every bit of Superman while being a Kryptonite for many an NBA franchise.
No one had an answer to Shaq as he pranced to the basket and crushed dreams and basketballs aside with great power. O’Neal became one of the premier NBA players of his era and a perennial all-star with his combination of size and skill.
However, after his stints with the Lakers and the Heat, Shaq was on a downhill trajectory. Or at least, such was talk around Shaq.
True, Shaq wasn’t pulling up trees or in the best shape of his life to do so. But Big Diesel was far from being done. Big Shaq was still putting up 17.8 points, 8.4 rebounds, and 1.4 blocks per game with the Phoenix Suns in what was his 17th NBA season.
What would a 37-year-old Shaq be worth in such a scenario? Well, the Cavs made an offer which the Suns accepted albeit with an extra $500,000 in cash considerations.
What did the Cavaliers have to move to get Shaq?
The Cavs parted ways with a veteran Ben Wallace, Sasha Pavlovic, and a 2nd round draft pick for O’Neal. This, is in addition to an additional $500,000 in cash considerations for the services of the veteran big man.
LeBron James needed a star and was clamoring for improvement. The Cavs’ star wing was the most prized asset in the league and had to be kept happy if he was to stay past his impending free agency.
Alas, the trade did not work out for the Cavs. Shaq was a shadow of his prime and LeBron ended up carrying a much bigger offensive load. The Cavaliers crashed out in the Playoffs again and hastened LeBron’s decision to not stay.
LeBron had afforded the Cavaliers with an opportunity to build around him, and they failed. While LeBron did return to gift his homeland a ring, the relationship between the franchise and player had been burnt to rubble at least temporarily.
The idea of a peak Shaq and young LeBron combining seems absurd and scary. But it was closer to becoming a reality than we think.
Also read: Shaquille O’Neal lost $400,000 while performing a nice gesture for 25 y/o LeBron James
