bold moves in the East

GEOFFREY C. ARNOLD

The race for supremacy in the Eastern Conference and the NBA gained momentum Thursday.

Cleveland and Orlando, last season's Eastern Conference finalists, each added a big-name star. Cleveland acquired Shaquille O'Neal and Orlando added Vince Carter. The moves immediately raise the stakes in the teams' bids to win the conference title and reach the NBA Finals.

The trades by Cleveland and Orlando, along with the return of injured Kevin Garnett to Boston next season, Heat up the competition to dethrone the Los Angeles Lakers as NBA champions.

"The East is going to be very competitive," said James Jones, the Miami Heat guard who once played for Portland. "Having great players playing against each other is going to be fun and make everybody better."

The Cavaliers finally acquired O'Neal after a long-discussed deal. Talks started in February, and when it was finalized Thursday, Cleveland sent Ben Wallace, Sasha Pavlovic, a 2010 second-round pick and $500,000 to Phoenix to land O'Neal. The clear hope is that the 15-time All-Star will help LeBron James win an NBA championship.

"They're an even tougher opponent because now they have one of the best players in the league on the perimeter and one of the most dominant centers of all time," Jones said.

Part of the impetus for Cleveland general manager Danny Ferry making the trade was that James can opt out of his contract and leave the Cavaliers after next season.

"They're trying to show LeBron that they're doing everything they can to get him to the Finals and get that championship," said Mychal Thompson, a Lakers radio analyst and former Trail Blazers player. "But I don't know if that's going to be enough. If they don't win it (next) year, he might be gone."

The 7-foot-1, 330-pound O'Neal certainly possesses a championship pedigree. He has won four NBA titles (three consecutive titles with the Lakers from 2000-02, one with Miami in 2006) and has reached six NBA Finals.

What O'Neal, 37, brings to the Cavaliers is an inside presence they have lacked. O'Neal, who will enter his 18th NBA season, proved that he still could produce by averaging 17.8 points and 8.4 rebounds in 75 games last season.

"Shaq will take up some space in the paint. You still have to help guard him in the paint," Thompson said. "And he can still score around the basket. He can't do it for 40 minutes anymore, but for 28 minutes, he can still hurt you."

Defensively, the Cavaliers were exposed by Orlando center Dwight Howard in the Eastern Conference finals. With O'Neal, Cleveland will no longer need double-teams to guard centers like Howard, allowing it to play the team's normal defense, which allowed a league-best 91.3 points a game during the regular season.

"Everyone saw last year that Shaquille was still a force in this league," Jones said. "He'll be re-energized. He brings another dynamic to Cleveland."

For all the talk about O'Neal teaming with James, a title is no guarantee. The Suns' experiment with O'Neal was a failure. Phoenix won one playoff game in O'Neal's 11/2 seasons with the Suns, and they failed to make the playoffs last season for the first time since 2004.

"Phoenix played a different way when they had him. It was a drastic change," Ferry told the Associated Press. "We're more of a half-court team. We play more of the tempo that fits Shaq's game."

Not to be outdone, the Magic bolstered its roster by acquiring All-Star guard Carter, along with forward Ryan Anderson, from New Jersey in exchange for Rafer Alston, Tony Battie and Courtney Lee.

Carter, 32, is an eight-time All-Star who grew up in Daytona Beach, Fla., and lives in Orlando. Carter averaged 20.8 points, 5.1 rebounds and 4.7 assists in 80 games last season.

"Vince gives us a veteran, go-to scoring presence, especially at the end of games," Magic general manager Otis Smith said in a written statement. "Vince has been a bonafide scorer in this league for 11 seasons."

Carter has averaged at least 20 points for 10 consecutive seasons.

"For a team that is right on the brink of a NBA championship, you can never have too much talent," Jones said. "From that standpoint, I think Vince Carter can help them tremendously. It will help Vince because he'll have pieces around him that will allow him to be even more efficient than he already is."

Carter's game has become more perimeter-oriented in recent seasons. He doesn't penetrate to the basket as often as he did early in his career, and he is willing to settle for jumpers. That could mesh well with the jump-shooting Magic.

The acquisition of Carter could be an indication the Magic might not be able to re-sign forward Hedo Turkoglu, who is expected to opt out of his contract in July.

"Turkoglu is their playmaker. Carter is a guy who when he gets the ball, everything stops because he wants to go one-on-one," Thompson said. "Carter is way past his prime (and) is a one-dimensional player who takes horrible shots."

Insiders say Turkoglu wants a deal similar to the $50 million, five-year package Golden State small forward Corey Maggette signed last summer.

Geoffrey C. Arnold: 503-221-8556;

geoffreyarnold@news.

oregonian.com.