Remember the Phoenix Suns and Dallas Mavericks panicking after the Los Angeles Lakers got Pau Gasol and breaking up their teams?

Now it's the Cleveland Cavaliers, swallowing hard as the once-thin arch-rival Boston Celtics got Stephon Marbury and Mikki Moore.

The Cavaliers had already passed up the biggest splash of all, walking away from Phoenix's Shaquille O'Neal, whom they could have gotten for J.J. Hickson and Wally Szczerbiak's expiring $13.8-million deal.

Instead, the Cavaliers offered Ben Wallace's contract, which runs another year, and Sasha Pavlovic.

Despite their talk of chemistry and finances, it came down to liking their chances the way things were, rather than rolling the dice — and losing LeBron James if they got snake eyes.