Some quick basketball hits....

Word on the street is that Cleveland and Phoenix are trying to work out a deal that would send Shaquille O'Neal to Cleveland in exchange for Ben Wallace's expiring deal and another player that is completely irrelevant. In other news, my psychic powers are predicting that Cleveland will won't be able to get through Boston or Orlando to get to the NBA Finals next year.

I was musing over how Cleveland was going to handle losing in this year's Eastern Conference Finals and the conclusion I came to was that they were going to completely overreact in an effort to convince LeBron that they were doing something. I had no idea that I was going to be this correct. Bringing back Ricky Davis would have been better.

Cleveland, you really don't need to do this. You're like the dude with the girl that's out of his league: You're taking her mother to the doctor, getting McDonald's for her little brother, spending your rent money on a pair of shoes from her favorite store. You're completely overcompensating and it's not necessary. How do I know this? Because you're Cleveland, a city that ranks below Baghdad when it comes to "desirable places to live." And the rest of Ohio is no great shakes.

Seeing as how he's from Akron and has never left the state for any longer than two months in his life, I don't think he's going anywhere. Just reel it back a little bit. Don't do this to yourself.

I know Shaquille O'Neal had a career resurgence of sorts this season. Still, you've got a team built around LeBron James that is dying to run and the one thing that's keeping them from running like horses all the time is Zydrunas Ilgauskas.

Now, I assume this move would be made to counter Dwight Howard, who Cleveland had nothing for in their matchup.

Consider this: Earlier this season, Dwight Howard outplayed the Big Cactus so badly that Shaq was forced to flop and then throw Stan Van Gundy under the bus for it. What, Shaq is the solution to your Superman problem? You're gonna counter Superman with a Superman?

Before you finalize that marketing plan, consider this, as well: Shaq couldn't keep up in Phoenix, and most of that team is about three degrees away from a nursing home. So, he'll basically just be slowing down another team. Because that's genius if I've ever seen it: Speeding up a team by adding another big, slow, center.

Marcin Gortat PWNS Reebok

What's gotta be a bigger kick in the teeth for Reebok: The fact that they were reduced to signing backup Orlando Magic center Marcin Gortat to a deal or the fact that he told them that he wasn't removing his "Air Jordan" tattoo from his leg?

First things first, what's the big deal with it? It's on his calf and, even though the bright red tattoo stands out on his pale white skin, it's doubtful than anyone is going to see it without the benefit of high-powered photography. Secondly, if this little incident prevents a single person on Earth from buying a pair of Reeboks in favor of a pair of Jordans, then Reebok should just go ahead and sell themselves to adidas.

Oh, they already did that in 2005? Wow, what a healthy brand Reebok is.

People aren't buying Jordans over Reeboks because of Marcin Gortat's calf tat, they're doing it because...well, I don't know, exactly. In my mind, there's nothing appealing about a line of shoes that starts at $129. You could by three pairs of Reeboks for that. The Reebok name has certainly seen better days.

And clearly, those days are way behind them, because if you don't have any leverage over Marcin Gortat, then you're in trouble. He's not even the biggest sports star in his own country, and Poland has about 600 people in it. Andrew Golota probably has a higher national profile there, and the only thing he's known for is punching other guys in the crotch.

Speaking of Orlando...

Hedo Turkoglu is opting out of his deal which is another way of saying that he's probably leaving. Not because he wants to, but more because General Manager Otis Smith completely failed Negotiating 101 when he signed Rashard Lewis. Mostly, the part that says "Don't pay someone what they want when no one else is really checking for them."

No, it wasn't the smartest thing to commit $118 million to a guy who isn't a franchise player. In Game 4 of the NBA Finals, Rashard Lewis only had six points, and he's getting paid $17 million in 2009. LeBron James doesn't make that much. Dwight Howard has already signed an extension for $85 million. Jameer Nelson's on for another $30 million. Hedo's making about $7 million, I believe, and it stands to reason that he's probably going to want $10 or $12 million next season.

It all comes down to whether or not the DeVos family is willing to pay the luxury tax and if so, for how long? They seem to be okay with it if they're winning, but at some point, they're probably going to get tired of overpaying Lewis. I'm tired of them overpaying him and I don't even like Orlando.