This deal has been talked about for months and for most of today we’ve heard it was any minute now. Apparently Stephen A. Smith broke the news and Yahoo! is running with it, so there’s little reason to doubt the legitimacy of the deal. There’s also little reason to analyze the deal. The Cavaliers just gave LeBron a great big presence in the middle for literally nothing. The question is, will Shaq really matter to James staying in Cleveland after this year, even if they win a title? I can guarantee you that will be a major plot point on ESPN all day tomorrow.

For Portland, this could mean the Suns are entering rebuilding mode so Steve Nash might be available after all, but that’s just speculation right now. The road to the playoffs got a little easier, too, but if we’re worried about the 7-9 spots in the West next year, something went wrong.