Shaq to Cavs? Phoenix Suns center Shaquille O'Neal, who played for the Orlando Magic and Los Angeles Lakers, popped back in the news with talk at the NBA Finals he might be traded to the Cleveland Cavaliers.
If that happened, O'Neal would have played with stars Penny Hardaway in Orlando, Kobe Bryant in Los Angeles, Dwyane Wade with the Miami Heat, Steve Nash with Phoenix and LeBron James with Cleveland. ESPN Radio's Jack Ramsay and Hubie Brown were unequivocal the Cavaliers would benefit with such a deal.
"It makes them stronger with a presence in the middle," Ramsay said. "He's not the same Shaq from Los Angeles or Miami (where he won titles), but he's still a force."
Brown added: "You still have to double-team" him.
O'Neal, 37, averaged 17.8 points and 8.4 rebounds last season. Would a pairing with James work out? "Anybody can play with LeBron James," TNT analyst Kenny Smith said.
Fine time: The NBA fined Lakers coach Phil Jackson $25,000 and the club $25,000 for his on-air comments about the officiating between the first and second quarters of Game 4.
Jackson told ABC's Doris Burke some calls were "bogus."
"Those inter-quarter discussions are quite unusual, seeing that they're an opportunity for a coach to give some candor to the game. So, I'll have to watch my candor," Jackson said, smiling.
Magic coach Stan Van Gundy said, "You have freedom of speech in the NBA with everything except the officiating. You can criticize players. You can criticize coaches. We can even criticize (the news media). But the one group that can't be criticized is the officials. It's a difference in philosophy of our league."
*Longtime Jackson assistant coach Tex Winter, 87, who suffered a stroke in April, is watching the Finals but hasn't been able to speak with Jackson.
"I just get reports that he's enjoying the game, he's watching it (and) very close to what's going on," Jackson said.
