Which do you think will get more play: Jay-Z or old Shaq joints? Probably Jay-Z. Jay-Z a bad man. And he's the better rapper, probably. But it's cool. ...
From: sports.espn.go.com
This NBA offseason, a slew of elite ballers escaped the league's jalopies for cushier rides. In what amounted to a summer-long arms race among the NBA's top title chasers, no contender landed a bigger whupping stick than the Cleveland Cavaliers with their acquisition of Shaquille O'Neal.
Shaq, who was shipped to Cleveland in a trade that landed Sasha Pavlovic and Ben Wallace in Phoenix, will be counted on to play many roles for the Eastern Conference runner-up. Among them: tutor to a roster void of championship pedigree; viable safety valve during tempo-stunting playoff ball; bruising counter to the Orlando Magic's Dwight Howard; and human flower bouquet in the front office's courtship of LeBron James, who could leave in free agency next summer.
Shaq, who was shipped to Cleveland in a trade that landed Sasha Pavlovic and Ben Wallace in Phoenix, will be counted on to play many roles for the Eastern Conference runner-up. Among them: tutor to a roster void of championship pedigree; viable safety valve during tempo-stunting playoff ball; bruising counter to the Orlando Magic's Dwight Howard; and human flower bouquet in the front office's courtship of LeBron James, who could leave in free agency next summer.
O'Neal's arrival gives James his best shot to date at securing a title, but it inspires questions, too. At 38, does the Big Diesel have the wheels and gas to keep up?