Shaq Trade Won’t Help Lebron’s Legacy

Posted by James Seaman on June 29, 2009

LeBron James may get his NBA Championship now that the Cleveland Cavaliers have paired him with Shaquille O’Neal. But in doing so, James might forsake his opportunity to match the legacy of the truly great ones: Magic, Bird, Jordan. With a year left on LeBron’s contract, Cleveland has adopted a win-now-or-die-trying attitude heading into the 2009-10 season. In truth, Cleveland gave up relatively little (Ben Wallace and Sasha Pavlovic) to acquire Shaq. The Cavs certainly didn’t mortgage their future like Dallas did when it gave away Devin Harris for Jason Kidd. But given Shaq’s advanced age, his acquisition makes Cleveland similar to the recent Miami and Boston one-hit wonders, as opposed to the dynastic teams we saw from Magic and Bird in the 80s and Jordan in the 90s. In other words, Cleveland hopes to win next year then look in the mirror and reevaluate itself.

Maybe that’s okay. Certainly, most Jazz fans would do just about anything for even a single championship. And if Cleveland wins one title with Shaq before letting the big man plod off into the sunset, they should have plenty of cash to sign someone else in the wake of O’Neal’s expiring contract. Given the uncertain nature of LeBron’s future, obtaining Shaq might be the best way to squeeze a title out of The Chose One now before he skips town next summer. Perhaps these are just the times in which we live. Instead of building something to endure, we want immediate results—real-time updates, eight-second sound bites, and meals in a box. Like Iris Dement said, “Nothin’ good ever lasts.” But even if it reflects the times, winning a championship with Rent-a-Shaq will not cement James’ legacy.

Compare some of today’s fast-rising, fast-falling teams to the Chicago Bulls of the 1990s or the Boston Celtics and Los Angeles Lakers from a decade before that. The Showtime Lakers built their squad around Magic Johnson and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and appeared in the NBA Finals eight times over a decade-long span, winning five titles. Only twice during the 1980s did the NBA Finals not feature the Lakers. The Bird-McHale-Parish Celtics, meanwhile, went to the Finals five times, winning three, during the 1980s. Boston represented the Eastern Conference in the Finals four straight years during the middle of the decade. These teams didn’t rent a player for a year or two in order to win. They built themselves to compete at an elite level season after season. While Magic had the good fortune of walking right into a marriage with Kareem in Los Angeles, I like the Bird example because the Indiana State star came to a horrible team in Boston. The Celtics won just 29 games in the season before Bird’s arrival. Boston’s first year with Larry Bird? 61 wins. The team won the NBA Championship a year later when Kevin McHale was only a rookie. Acquiring Robert Parish from Golden State, Boston assembled a front line that would play together for the next decade. The LeBron-Shaq era will end before anyone in Cleveland knew it even began.

While Magic won it all as a rookie and Bird matched the feat in his second year, it took Michael Jordan until his seventh NBA campaign to become a champion. During that time, he never demanded a trade or threatened to leave. Sure, he bullied the front office and requested more help, but he committed himself to winning for the team that drafted him. And when Jordan and Scottie Pippen finally claimed their first crown in 1991, the rest of the league found itself hard-pressed to prevent the duo from winning again…and again…and again. Contrast this with Dwayne Wade who won a title with a bunch of one and two year rentals in Miami: Shaq, Alonzo Mourning (his second go-around in South Beach), Gary Payton, Jason Williams, and Antoine Walker. The year after winning it all, Miami got bumped in the first round by Chicago. Two years after hoisting the trophy, they won a pathetic 15 games. Never really able to defend his title or establish a dynasty, Wade now finds himself surrounded by an ever-changing cast of characters in Miami.

Tim Duncan has won four titles over the course of a decade with San Antonio, though his most recent winner looked very different from his first. It seems the last chance for a true dynasty might have ended when Shaq and Kobe decided Hollywood just wasn’t big enough for both of their over-sized egos. Both men have since won a title—Shaq as a mercenary with Miami in 2006, Kobe most recently after the long and arduous task of building a championship caliber club around himself. But imagine what the two could have done had they just stayed together in Los Angeles.

Maybe dynasties aren’t good for the NBA. After all, how interesting was it that only five different teams (Los Angeles, Houston, Boston, Philadelphia, Detroit) even got to play for a championship in the 1980s? Compare this to the last ten years when 11 different franchises took a crack at winning it all. Nonetheless, when it comes to cementing one’s legacy as an all-time great, winning multiple championships certainly counts for something. Doing it in the same city, year after year, by building a dynasty counts for even more. Lebron might win now with Shaq. But the big fella isn’t going to be around to help defend that title for very long.

| Tweet This | Share on Facebook | Join the discussion in our Forums

Lakers-Magic Story Began 14 Years Ago

Posted on June 3, 2009

0 comments

Trade, Fade, or Gatorade

Posted on February 7, 2008

4 comments

My Picks for the All Star Starters

Posted on January 19, 2008

2 comments

Clutch City

Posted on November 7, 2009

1 comments

Happy Halloween: NBA Costume Party

Posted on October 29, 2009

8 comments

14 Comments

Boondock Saint on June 29, 2009 said:

I miss dynasties personally.

James Seaman on June 29, 2009 said:

I miss them too, Boondock. The Ming Dynasty and the Han Dynasty were my favorites. Oh wait, I accidentally thought I was on the blog spot for history geeks…

Pelon on June 29, 2009 said:

Won’t he? His contract expires but that doesn’t mean the Cavs can’t re-sign him. The Cavs would probably be inclined to do just that, especially if he and LeBron get along famously. (Although, it will be a bit less from the 20 mil he makes this coming season.)

tman11 on June 29, 2009 said:

I didn’t like dynasties. I hate knowing who was going to win every year or at least be in finals. I like a little bit of mystery and, where an 8 team beats a number one team. Nothing better then upsets instead of knowing who is going to win every year.
With that said Shaq is only in the league for one more year. He has always said when he was playing down here in AZ and LA that he is playing until he is i think 39 and, then he is done and that is after this year. So if he is going to help Labron win a championship it’s this year and, that’s it. To be honest the Suns got the best deal in this trade getting Sasha and Ben. They fit more with there style, well Sasha does and ben helps out with the defence. He maybe old but he can still block shots and plug up the paint.
With Labron and Shaq I think it’s just going to be to much. Shaq is going to stop labron from drivin so much and, it’s going to slow the fast pace game that cleveland plays way down I don’t think they will even win a championship this year with the team they have right now.

this guy... on June 29, 2009 said:

Shaq will set a new standard for “something” in Cleve-Land, mark my words…

JayD on June 29, 2009 said:

I am not so sure that Shaq can play to many more years . It showed when he was with Pheonix . I also think that there might to much ego for Shaq and Lebron to be on the same side as was the case with Shaq and Kobe . I would be surprised if the Cavs win it all next year , but I geuss you never can tell these days .
Besides I am rooting for our beloved Jazz anyway .
Go Jazz !!!!!!
Jay

Boondock Saint on June 30, 2009 said:

My history degree has focuses in Russian history James and they had many a battle with the Asian powerhouses. Seriously though, that is why I love your blogs. You never neglect the history and/or historical impact. I feel ya tman. There is something great about upsets and not knowing who is going to be in the finals but for me…I guess it was all about the idea of playing for your team, building something great, becoming a dominant force and then not just disappearing. The idea now, fyi it does work sometimes, is through enough money at the problem of no title, bring in big names even for a season and presto hello title. I don’t think one is wrong and the other right but personally I like the building, the playing for YOUR team not just any team that can win, there is just something to it for me. I think that is what James was trying to get at. One is not better than the other they are just different and there is some positives and negatives to both.

Chris Estey on June 30, 2009 said:

Great post James. Keep up the good work.

DallinT on June 30, 2009 said:

Before he got traded, Shaq said the next season will be his last. That doesn’t really mean anything, though, he could always stick around (see Brett Favre, Michael Jordan). Phoenix, however, knows it won’t be getting the old Big Ben Wallace that was Defensive Player of the Year with the Champion Pistons, and Wallace himself said he’d retire this season after the Cavs got knocked out by Orlando. As far as I know, the Suns aren’t planning on keeping Pavlovic, although he may be a good fit in their system. In any case, Phoenix is definitely in a re-building mode now. Exactly who they’re planning on re-building around, though, is still a question mark, as rumors abound for Amare to be traded as well.

So, can Shaq give the Cleveland LeBron a title? Sure, why not? But wait, wasn’t Shaq suppossed to win a championship with Steve Nash? Hmmm….

Trent on June 30, 2009 said:

I would love to see a Jazz dynasty! Otherwise, I don’t care too much for them…

Linda Kay on June 30, 2009 said:

Anyone else excited about today and tomorrow? Who is going where and who will end up staying because no one has more money to offer them? What about Boozer, Memet, and Milsap? I would really, really hate to see Milsap go!!!!!!!!!

Annie on June 30, 2009 said:

James are you kidding me? You throw an Iris Dement mention into a Jazz blog? I thought I was the only one to do that kind of thing, but hey “let the mystery be.” Email me for a great Iris story.

I love the dynasties when you’re a fan of one of those teams, but I think it’s a lot more exciting and engaging for fans around the league now because there’s always that chance that a small market team can make it to the top. And what’s better than an underdog story?

tman11 on June 30, 2009 said:

Shaq said the same thing after his contract expires he is gone. I believe he is too, he doesn’t have the love for the game like MJ or Brett have. He is a screw ball he’s fun to watch but, he like to have fun to and, not just play basketball. He will go off and be an anouncer or some thing like that but, i believe he is liek big ben after this season he is gone. The Suns got all the upside in this deal I like what they did. All shaq is goin to do is hinder Lebrons play I believe they wont make it to the championship series next season. Shaq takes up to much space and slows to game way down and Lebron can’t play that slow walk it down game it’s not his thing. SHaq can’t play D very well either they are going to eat them alive on pick and role basketball. They took a step in the wronf direction getting Shaq, a big step backwards.
Now as far as dynasties go I agree building your team and stuff. Wich makes me think how cool would it be to go back to liek the 40s when players didn’t move around. You built up your team by the draft picks you got and, how you played. I think that would be very neat to see again . That way you would grow to like the player more on your team and, the games would be won a pure skill and coaching instead of how much money a gm has in his pocket.

donnie brown on July 02, 2009 said:

has anydody thouht about some diffrent plays the jazz can run? because the ones they been using for the last 20 plus years dont work.they push the ball to slow even worst on the road.and someone needs to take shoots with out pulling it back All great nba teams have multi guys pushing the ball.

Leave Your Comment

How do I get an avatar for my comments?
It is easy and completely free. Just go to Gravatar.com and sign-up with your email address. Gravatar is globally recognized, so your avatar will show on every Gravatar-enabled website or blog.