Sports Radio Interviews

Danny Ferry: Game Planning For Shaq And LeBron Won’t Be Easy

I’m not sure the Cavs are done wheeling and dealing after obtaining The Big Aristotle from Phoenix.  As many pundits have pointed out, they could use a scoring power forward to help create some more space for Shaq down low – your Robert Horry, if you will.  People are questioning this deal, but if Shaq was a member of the Cavs when they lost to the Magic in the Eastern Conference Final, I’m pretty positive the script would have been flipped.  Shaq would have contained Dwight Howard pretty well, not allowing him to have his way underneath the rim.  No doubt, Shaq can’t move like he used to and has always had problems defending the pick and roll, but I think he would have been enough of a factor.  The Cavs are gunning for the Magic, Celtics, and Lakers as Danny Ferry pointed out below – this trade sets them up much better for those teams.  Financially, it doesn’t hurt either, but there’s likely another move on the horizon.  Cavaliers’ general manager, Danny Ferry, joined Tirico and Van Peltto discuss if he talked this move over with LeBron, if this deal was close to happening in February, and on Shaq and Zydrunas Ilgauskas playing together.

On trading for Shaq:

“First of all, we built a team.  I think Mo Williams going into his prime, LeBron going into his prime, we have Varejao, we have some good young players overall.  But, I think adding a player like Shaq for us, for example, the stature that he brings, the presence that he brings on the court and in the locker room; we watched a lot of tape, he was impressive last year and if can continue to do what he did and create that presence and be a force, it’s not something that exists too much in basketball.  Having that with us going into the playoffs and going into a seven game series and having a team to prepare for us in the force that LeBron brings and also the force that Shaq can bring, hopefully it makes us a very, very tough team to play against.”

How close was this to happening at the trade deadline?

“Not as close as everyone thinks.  Steve and I definitely talked about it, neither of us denied that, but it was not as close as many people think.  Doing a trade during the year often times with roster spots and the number of bodies that would have to go back and forth that time of year to make the numbers work, to get to Shaq’s number for example, it would really change the complexion of what both Phoenix and Cleveland were doing.  It was probably not the right time.  Right now, it was more of a simple trade in the offseason and we’re looking forward to having the summer to get ready for it from a coaching standpoint and what they need to work on.  With the big personalities that Shaq and LeBron will bring, we’re going to be getting a lot of attention.  We’re going to be on TV a lot, I think.”

On consulting LeBron before making the trade:

“We talked to LeBron about a lot of what we’re doing but we talk to several of our players and we talked to several of our players about this trade.  That’s kind of normal operating procedure for us just from a communication level.  We want all of our guys to feel some level of ownership and to buy into what we’re doing from a basketball team standpoint.  Ultimately, it’s their team and it’s something they all have to feel good about and I think in this particular situation this is one, to a man, everyone was excited about it.  We’re really happy to have Shaq with us now and we look forward to getting into the season next year.”

On playing Shaq and Ilgauskas together:

“It’s possible.  It’s something that we did talk about and we looked at different team.  With the Lakers with Bynum and Gasol, I think maybe we could probably play these guys together some.  Celtics, with Garnett and Kendrick Perkins, for example, I think it’s something that we could do a little bit.  Honestly, those are the types of teams we’re focused on.  We’re focusing on Orlando, we’re focusing on the Lakers, we’re focusing on Boston, we’re focusing on the top teams because if we get into a seven game series, we feel like we have to be ready to go.  If we stay healthy throughout the regular season, we’ll be a playoff team – I think we’re all comfortable with that., but when you get into a seven game series, you can match up with who you’re playing against and cause some real problems with it… The Shaq’s of the world and the LeBron’s of the world, there’s not many of them but they make the game a lot better for everyone else.”

Listen to Danny Ferry on Tirico and Van Pelt on ESPN Radio

Tags: Basketball, Cleveland Cavaliers, Danny Ferry, LeBron James, Mo Williams, NBA, Shaquille O'Neal, Zydrunas Ilgauskas