Mike Celizic

It’s always so very, very tempting for teams trying to reach the Promised Land to look longingly at aging stars. Once in a while it works, as when Ray Bourque helped the Avalanche win a Stanley Cup.

Frequently it doesn’t, as anyone who remembers Randy Johnson’s stay with the Yankees or Brett Favre’s Jets tenure.

That’s why the Cavaliers better think long and hard before they settle on Shaquille O’Neal as the last piece to their championship puzzle. Cavs management reportedly is talking to the Suns about trading for the Diesel. The theory is that he’ll be able to negate the Magic’s Dwight Howard, the man who sent LeBron James and company home early in the Eastern Conference finals.

Nice theory, but you have to wonder how likely it is that a 37-year-old Shaq, who last year played more than 70 games for only the second time since 2000-01, can fulfill that assignment. This isn’t 2005-06, when Shaq helped Dwyane Wade and the Heat win their title. It’s four seasons later. Shaq is no longer the agile monster he once was.

You can understand the Cavs’ predicament. None of their three big men — Zydrunas Ilgauskas, Ben Wallace and Andersen Varejao — could stop Superman. Wallace may retire after this season, and when you look at who’s available to pay center, Shaq looms large.

He’s no guarantee, yet the Cavs have to be wondering what choice they have. Howard made them miserable both in the regular season and in the playoffs. To win a title, they have to go through Orlando. It’s only natural to look to a legend to make the difference.

But Shaq is an old legend, not a legend in his prime. He plays just 30 minutes a game, and that’s likely to decrease. He may be a starter, but he doesn’t play starter’s minutes. And he’s no longer a statistical leader.

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He’s also not as good as Howard — not nearly as good. Sign him, and there’s no guarantee he can stop Superman, either. The Lakers are doing just fine guarding Howard with their own assortment of mobile big bodies. Seems as if the Cavs might want to remind themselves of that.

Shaq would make the Cavs better in some ways. But he’s a $20-million ballplayer without a contribution anywhere near that large left to make. Sign him and you put the payroll in handcuffs. Ignore him and you’ve got a lot more flexibility.

There aren’t any alternatives with Shaq’s king of talent — even at this stage of his career. Among the best big men available are Chris Andersen, Denver’s illustrated “Birdman” who plays with such passion and energy, and Glen “Big Baby” Davis, who was one of the Celtics’ best players in their second-round loss to the Magic.

Neither of those guys is Shaq, but both showed a lot of the defensive tenacity that Ilgauskas seems to lack. Either would be an upgrade over the ancient Wallace, who is all but invisible on the offensive end of the court. Both together wouldn’t cost half what Shaq makes.

Keep Ilgauskas or Varejao and add both of those guys and you may have a triple-team that could keep Howard enough in check to give yourself a chance. Add either and you’d be better than you were. The question is, would you be as good as you would be if you signed Shaq?

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The knee-jerk answer is no way. Neither Andersen nor Davis is ever going to be what Shaq was. But either or both together might be as effective next year as Shaq will be. Neither is as likely to spend time on the DL. That’s something else to think about.

The problem with general managers is the same as the problem with fans. They don’t think of a guy named Big Baby or a fellow who looks like he’s channeling Dennis Rodman as championship insurance. Neither was a key starter on a championship team. Neither was a critical part of a championship, though Davis did play minimum minutes during the Celtics’ title run.