Waitingfornextyear.com is taking a poll asking for a vote on LeBron's best dunk. I pick the one against Boston, a spine-tingling moment if there ever was one.

These plays are something … even when they happen to the local guy.

My first inclination when LeBron James said he wouldn't talk anymore about free agency was to think, good for him, he shouldn't. Especially if he meant what he said about not doing so for his team.

But then you get to thinking, and you realize that James has done nothing but talk about his impending free agency for some time. He talks about it in New York, he has conversations with Dwayne Wade about it, he talks about it in Cleveland … and he has Cavs fans wondering what will happen.

It's a little disingenuous to think it's not worth asking about, no? This is going to be the greatest glut of free agent talent in NBA history. Players could almost collude to make one team into a title team, be it in Cleveland or Miami (I don't think James and Wade would join Chris Bosh in Toronto) or elsewhere. James was asked at the team's media day how he would not let this be a distraction, and he basically said, "I just won't." Wednesday night he grew weary of questions about Wade and him and said "No mas."

Yahoo's Adrian Wojnarowski really took James to task.

"This has been a game to James, an exercise in self-love that finally transformed into sheer loathe at Amway Arena," he wrote. "'He can’t feed the monster, and then get pissed when the monster wants more,' a Western Conference executive said Wednesday night."

There are some pretty good points in this column, including: "Around the league, rival executives, coaches and players have considered James’ willingness to enthusiastically play out his free-agency scenarios in public as disrespectful, if not a distraction, to his Cavaliers. Around the Cavs, they mostly considered it the price of doing business with the game’s greatest young star."

And: "James’ balancing act between his coy and downright overt suggestions on a future elsewhere has been both a public and private embarrassment to the organization. But the Cavs never dared to tell James to stop with the 2010 talk. They don’t tell him anything."

Three thoughts about James:

—If he says he won't talk about it anymore, he won't talk about it. He'll be asked, for sure, and how he reacts will be interesting.

—It is understandable he'd grow weary of the questions. They come often and everywhere. But perhaps the best time to make this stance was prior  to the season. Just my opinion.

—James is going to do what he wants to do. I've kind of learned that all the guessing and speculation with him is nothing more than guessing and speculation. He's going to analyze the situation, make the decision is best for him and that will be that. In the offseason, I wrote a lot about James giving up money if he didn’t re-up with the Cavs, and that the cap might get lower … now I imagine him hearing those things and laughing. It doesn't mean squadoosh to him. He's going to do what he wants to do.

Well, for one night the Cavs changes all paid off handsomely. They looked like a championship-caliber team with depth in Wednesday's impressive win in Orlando. LeBron James was his usual self, Shaquille O'Neal got Dwight Howard in early foul trouble and played Howard well, and the entire team seemed into the game. The play of Mo Williams was vital. He was the polar opposite of the guy who struggled in the playoffs against the Magic. Orlando was without Rashard Lewis, but the Cavs treated this game with the importance it deserved.

Some other takes:

ESPN's John Hollinger: "While the Cavs used this game to show they may have overcome some of the early hurdles that plagued their offense, the Magic demonstrated that their early 5-1 start may be something of a mirage."

Interesting how James acted when the game ended.

Tim Povtak, a friend who wrote Shaq would be embarrassed against Howard before the game, had to change his tune after: "If Dwight Howard wants to keep that Superman moniker — if he wants to deliver on his promise to bring an NBA title to Orlando — he better turn his game up another notch real soon. Playing Shaquille O'Neal — who is well past his prime and 14 years older — to an uninspired standstill like he did Wednesday night won't get his team anywhere close to the Finals again."

Chris Tomasson of AOL hyped Mo Williams' big game.
 
Finally, prior to the game, SI.com's Chris Mannix wrote this of Shaq: "I spoke to an executive from one of O'Neal's former teams last week and he warned that if things stay status quo in Cleveland, Shaq will start to divide the locker room. 'It happened to us,' the executive said. 'It will happen to them.'"

"It" would be the upcoming NBA summer of free agency.

The Cavs are playing quite a game against Orlando tonight. Mo Williams has been outstanding, and the Cavs have played a very strong overall game. At this point it's 81-64 Cleveland, so don't yell at me if they lose the lead.

Oh … by the way … LeBron James said before the game that he was tired of answering free agent questions and was done talking about it. Good for him. That's a no-win situation. The more he talks about it, the more he'll be asked. Nothing's going to change until the offseason, so he may as well put a stop to it now.

Last I checked there is a very big Cavs game tonight in Orlando. There we get our first glimpse to see how much of a difference the addition of Shaquille O'Neal will have on the Cavs.

Shaq has promised he will handle Dwight Howard man-to-man, but said the Magic will have to double him. He has been dismissive of Howard in the past, and has bristled at Howard's stealing his "Superman" mantra.

Tim Povtak of AOL thinks Howard will dominate, saying "there will be some sadness in seeing (O'Neal) get destroyed on his former home court Wednesday night by Dwight Howard." Yet 62 percent of those taking part in an online poll with the story think the Cavs will win (I voted once, and picked the Magic).

Me, I'm worried about Shaq — for a different reason. Tonight's game is one game, and the Cavs are more than candid about admitting that they are not playing at their peak at the moment. If they win, it would be great. If they don't, well they're not playing at their peak right now (Remind me I used this before if I'm still using it March).

I'm worried about Shaq because of off-the-court concerns. This week, his wife Va'Shaundya O'Neal (Shaunie) filed separation papers in a California court, with intent to divorce.

Your first thought in this is to extend a lot of thoughts to O'Neal. Because any time children are involved it's got to be painful. The O'Neals have four kids, who evidently were moved to LA the day before the legal proceedings were filed.
Clearly this is serious stuff. Potentially painful stuff. And if O'Neal has one thought on LA tonight and one in Orlando, well it would be understandable.

Just as clearly, what happens with his kids is prime importance. But divorces can be difficult — see Kosar, Bernie — and they can affect a player's mental well-being and ability to concentrate.

Shaq might have the experience and mental fortitude to plow right through it, but this might be a situation that stays with the Cavs as this season continues.

Michael Wilbon writes that Allen Iverson would be perfect for the Cavaliers. To which I say: Oh Lord. Please. No

Chris Broussard of ESPN.com reports that the Cavs were very close to getting DeJuan Blair in the draft, although it still would have come after they selected Christian Eyenga with the 30th pick. One might still ask: Why not take Blair at 30, then trade to get Eyenga?

Which calls for at least one "where is LeBron going to play" next season link.