Shaq + Lebron = FAIL? Probably

Penny & Shaq- It worked because Penny didn't mind playing 2nd fiddle. Penny was a classic Scottie Pippen type of personality.

Kobe & Shaq- It worked for a little bit, but once Kobe wanted to spread his wings the relationship headed for divorce quicker than Jon and Kate.

D Wade & Shaq- It worked for a little bit because Wade was still realizing he was a Mega Superstar and deferred to Shaq at the beginning very similar to Kobe. Once Wade shine was too bright Shaq started to get mysterious injuries before being shipped out.

Nash & Shaq- Run and gun didn't mix well with slow and prodding, but some excellent Shaq quotes came out if his time in Phoenix.

Which bring us to Lebron and Shaq.

Unlike Penny, Kobe & Wade when Shaq was on their team Lebron has firmly been established as the man in Cleveland from Day 1. The #1 Alpha male and the undisputed leader of that team. The Cavs players follow Lebron like soldiers follow Colonels in war.

Chemistry was a big reason Cleveland won 66 games last year. The reason they lost against the Magic had more to do with the matchup and Mike Brown's inability to run more than one offensive set than the Cavs being a bad team.

So are they making a mistake with bringing in such a high profile player like Shaq?

In my opinion they have panic in trading for Shaq. The traded for him because he is a big name and it is a big splashy headline. They assume (probably correctly) that most in the media will hear the name Shaq and automatically think it is a good trade. Luckily for you I am not most in the media.

The Cavs run everything through Lebron and the majority of the time Lebron is barreling down to the post, drawing fouls or kicking to open shooters.

Shaq takes up a lot of space in the lane, so this in reality helps teams trying to defense Lebron because without as much room in the lane to operate, that will force Lebron to take and make more jump shots.

Another assumption is that Shaq will help defend Dwight Howard. The reality is Shaq's defense has been suspect for years and Howard has been destroying O'Neal routinely over the past two years based off his athleticism. Shaq defending Howard at this point in his career is not that much better than Ben Wallace. Speaking of the Magic the Cavs still don't have anyone who can guard Rashard Lewis and Hedo (if he resigns with Orlando).

Lastly bringing in Shaq makes a slow offensive team slower. In the East the Cavs will have to contend with the Magic, Bulls, Celtics & Hawks. What do all these teams have in common? They can score in a variety of ways. As we saw in Phoenix Shaq is not good in transition, how is he going to be able to keep up with these young and athletic forward s and centers?

Even if they make it out of the East they are still going to have to deal with a team out West who will be better coached and more athletic than them.

I am not saying that it can't work. Shaq is better than the two players he was traded for and he desperately brings them a low post presence that they needed. He will be motivated knowing that he mortal enemy Kobe Bryant just won a ring and this will be his final shot to win one himself. But is motivation enough for an aging center whose quotes have been a lot better than his game lately.

Then there is the "X" factor which is how will Lebron handles all of this. As stated before he is use to being the main attraction and the only show in town. No matter how well or poorly Shaq plays he is going to take some of that shine away from Lebron. Will Lebron be cool with that, will he embrace it or will he bristle at it like Kobe and Wade did?

The chances of this succeeding are low in my opinion while the chances of implosion are very high.

On the bright side can't wait to see Shaq show up in a Puppet Commercial.