Shaq & Lebron United in Cleveland

It's official- the Diesel is now a Cleveland Cavalier. The Cavs are not only working to solidify their championship run for 2009-10, but they're also looking to keep megastar Lebron James in town. So to do this they decided to bring another superstar to town to appease the King. That superstar is the very large and still in charge man in the middle, Shaquille O'Neal. On Thursday AM it was made official in a multi-player deal that would bring Shaq to Cleveland. Cleveland center and former defensive player of the year, Ben Wallace was one of those traded to Phoenix. NY Times explains just how the move might keep Lebron true to his original team, the Cavs:

The trade could reverberate right into next summer. James is expected to become a free agent in July 2010. At least a dozen teams — including the Knicks — have been clearing salary-cap space to pursue James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh, among others.

If O’Neal, who won titles with Kobe Bryant in Los Angeles and Wade in Miami — can help James secure his first ring, it will make it harder for James to leave his home state. At a minimum, the Cavaliers’ owner, Dan Gilbert, and General Manager Danny Ferry have again demonstrated to James that they will go to great lengths to win a title and keep James happy.

Read more about the trade, Shaq and Lebron at NyTimes.

The Cavs make for Shaq's fifth team in 17 years time. He started with Orlando, made the big move to Los Angeles Lakers to win 3 titles, then teamed up with Dwyane Wade to win #4. From there he was dealt to Phoenix to attempt to propel the Suns to their first Finals, but it never worked, despite Shaq putting up impressive numbers at this late stage in his career. Thursday night will be the 2009 Draft and could make several teams into 2009-10 playoff contenders, but most likely the Cavs will remain in the upper eschelon now with Lebron and Shaq able to contend with the likes of Dwight Howard of the Magic and the Big 3 of Boston.