ESPN: Suns won't trade Shaq just to save cash

Chris Broussard of ESPN, who broke the "story" during the finals that a deal between Cleveland and the Suns to trade Shaq for Ben Wallace and Sasha Pavlovic is "not immenent" is now saying that "a deal is not imminent, but it does have a legitimate chance of coming to fruition." Hmmm, so I guess in the off-season it's news that a trade is "not immenent" and a few days later is "still not immenent" but "still could happen." Anyway, the article says that while the Suns would stand to save about $10 million in the deal, they also want to gain basketball value in any trade involving O'Neal and are not willing to just give him away solely for financial gain. So, Cleveland would likely have to strengthen its offer to get O'Neal and apparently the Suns have interest in Delonte West but the Cavs are reluctant to part with him. The article goes on to state that the Suns have "fielded calls" from Dallas, New Orleans, Portland and New York about a Shaq trade and that "While getting talent in return is a priority, the Suns' desire for financial relief is real, which means they will likely trade O'Neal and his $20 million contract this offseason." The article also states that Cleveland is Shaq's desired destination if he is to be traded (which it looks like he will at this point). I, for one am very relieved to hear that the Suns are not going to give Shaq away for no return in talent – they should be able to find a deal that nets both financial relief and some young talent, but it looks like a deal will most likely go down before the start of the season.