Ira Winderman

The Big Rental got his way, again. That no longer should come as a surprise.

In the end, Shaquille O'Neal has turned into the very man he mocked for a transient end of a career. Now, he is Patrick Ewing in a Sonics uniform and then a Magic uniform.

The Big Sidekick, of course, also gets to ride again.

He milked his relationship with Phil Jackson as long as possible to maintain his edge as the featured attraction in Los Angeles, until it became evident his days as a leading man were numbered with the Lakers. No, the Lakers never were going to choose an aging Shaq over in-his-prime Kobe.

Then Shaq attempted to play the main-man role in Miami, even as it was Dwyane Wade who lifted the Heat to that 2006 championship, the one that ended with Shaq grabbing the Finals MVP trophy from David Stern before handing it himself to Wade.

When that soured, the backdoor dealing began, first to get close to Mark Cuban's millions in Dallas, and, if that didn't work, to land alongside two-time MVP Steve Nash in Phoenix.

As we know by now, that certainly didn't work out very well. Total playoff series won by Shaq during his two-season tenure in Phoenix? Zero.

Now he latches on to LeBron James in Cleveland. Because when you no longer can be the best, then at least play alongside the best.

But is Shaquille O'Neal now too much of The Big Liability?

Let's get this straight: the reason the Cavaliers saw their NBA-best record end in an Eastern Conference finals demise against the Orlando Magic was not because of Dwight Howard's interior dominance. Even with Howard's scoring, the Cavaliers were right there.

It was not about establishing a post-up game. Orlando was packing the paint against LeBron, so it's not as if there was plenty of room to maneuver in the lane, anyway.

It was about defending the pick-and-roll.

And, if you haven't noticed, it's not as if Shaq has deteriorated into one of the worst defenders in the league against the pick-and-roll. He was awful even when he was winning his three consecutive championships with the Lakers. It's just that there was enough talent available to mask that deficiency.

Exactly what difference is Shaq going to be able to make against the length and skill of Hedo Turkoglu (assuming the Magic retains him in free agency) and Rashard Lewis on those sets?

No, this has very little to do with the Xs and Os and all the other studious elements of the game that Shaq has such little patience for.

No, this is about the Big Interim Prayer.

As with everything Cavaliers, this is about nothing more than keeping LeBron happy until the fateful Summer of 2010, when James can otherwise bolt as a free agent by invoking his opt-out clause.

This is about making LeBron feel good enough for the next 12 months until the true overhaul can be accomplished. This is not about getting LeBron to commit this summer to an extension. A one-year rental of Shaq does not inspire five more years of confidence.

Without enough expiring contracts, without anything tangible to deal, without cap space, Cleveland was in no position to offer a legitimate overhaul this summer.

This is not like Joe Dumars and his cache of cash in Detroit.

This is not the Heat, which is in position to immediately flip Michael Beasley for Chris Bosh this summer.

This is not even as big as last summer's acquisition of Mo Williams that pushed the Cavaliers to the top of the standings.

Cleveland had nothing. So it packaged nothing — in this case Ben Wallace and Sasha Pavlovic — to the Suns for the league's ultimate rental.

Understand, for the Cavaliers to get to where they ultimately want to get — a sense of long-term stability — Shaq can't be here a year from now. That's when there will be enough cap space to seduce a Wade or Bosh or any of the other prime 2010 free agents.

Instead, this is merely buying time. Can Shaq occupy Dwight Howard in the lane more than jump-shooting Zydrunas Ilgauskas? Certainly. Does he move better than Ilgauskas defensively? Yes, he is more agile than a sofa.

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