Cavs in trade talk for Shaq?

By BRIAN WINDHORST

That’s one of the hot rumors going around the NBA this week.

CLEVELAND — Another rumor about the Cavaliers popped up on the national scene this week, but this time there was some fire to the smoke.

The Arizona Republic reported the Cavs and Phoenix Suns have re-started talks about a trade that would potentially bring future Hall of Fame center Shaquille O’Neal to Cleveland. A league source confirmed that Cavs general manager Danny Ferry and Suns GM Steve Kerr have been in touch and discussed O’Neal since the Cavs’ season ended two weeks ago.

However, the talks are believed to just be a part of the preliminary discussions the Cavs are having with many teams leading up to the draft. The Cavs have been in talks with numerous teams in the last 10 days and aren’t close to any deal.

As a matter of protocol, the team did not discuss any sort of roster moves during the playoffs. When the Eastern Conference finals ended, the front office then started checking in with teams they’d spoken to leading up to February’s trade deadline. Not just for summer trades, but also to gauge what movement might be possible in next week’s NBA draft.

The Suns were one of the teams the Cavs talked to back in the winter. They were in negotiations about trading for O’Neal, but the teams never actually came very close to making a deal. According to a source, a sticking point was the Suns’ interest in Delonte West, who at this point is nearly untouchable for the Cavs.

Now the situation is still somewhat the same. The Suns are interested in dumping some salary — they are headed for the luxury tax next season — and also continue to ponder breaking up their big man duo of O’Neal and Amare Stoudemire. The Cavs still have some players and contracts that could help Phoenix do that.

The Cavs are in the market to upgrade their frontcourt. O’Neal is 37 years old, but is coming off his best season in the last three years, being named third team All-NBA after averaging 17.8 points and 60 percent shooting with 8.4 rebounds in 75 games.

As The Republic reported, a package of Ben Wallace and Sasha Pavlovic has the potential to save the Suns nearly $10 million in salary and luxury-tax savings. Pavlovic’s $4.9 million contract for next season is only guaranteed for $1.5 million. O’Neal is going into the final year of a contract that will pay him $20 million.

However, the Suns may be able to attract a better offer elsewhere that includes more talent and less salary dumping. They are expected to offer star point guard Steve Nash a contract extension this summer and simply giving away one of their best players isn’t exactly a good impression.

The Dallas Mavericks, for example, are another team that is believed to be interested in putting in a bid for O’Neal if he goes back on the trade block.

The Cavs, who are trying to get younger with their big men, may end up with some better and younger options as well. Especially with the free-agent season set to begin on July 1.

Which is why re-opening the talks with the Suns is part of a process. But it promises to be an interesting summer.