FanHouse SpeedyClaxton

There was a lot of activity in the NBA this week, and we're not just talking about the draft. Some of the NBA's big names and better teams were in on it.

Here's a quick look at the trades that went down and what they mean:

The Deal: Phoenix sends Shaquille O'Neal to Cleveland for Sasha Pavlovic, Ben Wallace, a second-round pick in 2010 and cash.

The Thinking: The Cavaliers get an aging O'Neal, with the hope that he can have a productive year playing alongside LeBron James. The only way this trade is a success is if the Cavaliers are the 2009-10 NBA champions. For the Suns, trading O'Neal means that they are beyond tinkering and are leaning toward turning over the personnel of a team that missed the playoffs last season.

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Speedy Claxton's tenure as Atlanta's point guard hasn't been terribly exciting. Claxton missed half of last season with nagging injuries; when he did play, he was terrible, putting up only 8.4 points per 40 minutes on 32% shooting. This year has not been entirely different, except Speedy hasn't been able to get on the court at all. As Claxton turns 30 a few weeks after the end of the regular season and the Hawks owe him $17 million over three years, it's a problem he's not playing.

And he won't be playing this year: Sekou Smith of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports Claxton will likely undergo season-ending microfracture surgery this week. Smith introduces the topic of medical retirement, which Claxton and Atlanta brass seem to have at least discussed. Under league rules, if Claxton did retire for medical reasons this year, he'd still get paid. The Hawks would be off the salary cap hook for the final year of Speedy's contract (about $5.2 million) and in real terms would escape 80% of Speedy's paycheck the next two years. Insurance would pick up that amount.

Given Speedy's not-ancient age and his relatively minor cap pressure (this isn't Allan Houston's $19 million, and the Hawks aren't exactly luxury tax threats), retirement might not be the answer. But with microfracture and all Claxton's other health problems (plus the fact he's a small, fast PG who has gotten slow), it might be the middle of next season before Speedy can help again. It might come down to the psychological benefits for Claxton in erasing this dark period in his surprisingly good career.