Those theater plans for Jan. 21 in New York? Change 'em.

You'll need to be at the Garden.

That dinner reservation for the CN Tower Jan. 18 in Toronto? Reschedule.

Attendance could prove mandatory at Air Canada Centre.

Those Kennedy Center plans Jan. 26 in D.C.? Find an alternate date.

Verizon Center could provide a particularly meaningful moment.

No, the Shaquille O'Neal retirement tour is not scheduled for this season, at least not according to the contract, which provides a $21 million final year in 2009-10.

But make no mistake, after what transpired this past week with Allen Iverson, another 30-something on the downside, this well could be the final season that Shaq is held in esteem because of what he might possibly deliver on the court.

Starting next season, The Big Whatever-He-Happens-To-Be-Calling-Himself-These-Days will turn into the Big Cap Relief.

Such is the NBA world, where an expiring contract is valued more than the career contributions of an undeniable superstar and first-ballot Hall of Famer.

Think Joe Dumars ultimately dealt away Chauncey Billups for the championship promise of Allen Iverson, a player who has appeared in a grand total of nine playoff games over the past three seasons?

Iverson instead has been reduced to paper, an expiring $21 million contract.

If you thought tensions were highest when Iverson had his moments with Larry Brown, Randy Ayers or Jim O'Brien in Philadelphia, consider the chaos that could ensue in Detroit if Rodney Stuckey emerges as the preferred backcourt partner alongside Rip Hamilton.

Nonetheless, for a season, Detroit will deal. Because it then will be able to deal with the NBA's ultimate commodity, cap space. Thanks for stopping by, A.I.

Which brings us back to O'Neal, and, more to the point, brings us back to how Shaq wound up in Phoenix in the first place.

As negotiations with Heat owner Micky Arison reached the 11th hour last February, Suns Managing Partner Robert Sarver needed convincing about taking on the final two-plus years on O'Neal's contract.

Arison reasoned that the final months of last season essentially would be a transition period for both his team and the Suns.

Then, during this season, the Suns could see if they could make it work with O'Neal, just as the Heat would see if it could make it work with Shawn Marion.

The difference was Marion's contract expires after this season, with $17.8 million to come off the Heat's books.

O'Neal had an additional year. No matter, Arison said, teams always are looking for expiring contracts, particular big ones, as a means of cleanly clearing cap space. If the O'Neal experience didn't work out for the Suns, Shaq surely could be written off to another team in 2009-10. Mark Cuban, after all, certainly pushed hard enough to get O'Neal for his Mavericks just before the Heat's deal with the Suns was consummated.

If anything, the Iverson deal added credibility to Arison's logic.

That could have Shaq someplace next season where Shaq might not want to be. The last time that happened, O'Neal played the too-disinterested-to-suit-up card in Miami last December and January. He became arguably the most oversized out-of-sight, out-of-mind commodity in NBA history.

And that could make next season's O'Neal this season's version of Eddy Curry, a big contract paid not to play.

Playoff success by the Suns certainly could change that thinking, making O'Neal a keeper. But there also might be thought about reloading with a more complementary talent for the final year of Steve Nash's contract, especially with Amare Stoudemire in position to opt-out in 2010.

Indeed, that well could make these coming sixth months the final meaningful minutes of Shaquille O'Neal's storied career.

While O'Neal certainly isn't braced for a farewell tour, the reality could hit home at midseason.

That's when the Suns will host the All-Star Game.

That's also when O'Neal could be reduced to hometown mascot.

No longer in the Eastern Conference, where Zydrunas Ilgauskas can pass for a dominant big man, O'Neal almost certainly figures to be trumped by Yao Ming in the fan balloting for the Western Conference's starting berth at center, thanks to the worldwide clout of balloting on the web.

That's when conference coaches will take over, naming one or two reserve centers. Now, perhaps Greg Oden won't be up to speed by then, but Andrew Bynum could be. If the voting is strictly by the numbers, that would make a case for Al Jefferson. Team success? That could open the door for Tyson Chandler. Productive post play? Chris Kaman would have that edge.

A year ago, when O'Neal looked old and clearly had grown disinterested in playing for Pat Riley in Miami, there was speculation about him stepping away from the game while still under contract. That was followed by guffaws from those who grasp that O'Neal hasn't met a dollar he didn't appreciate.

This past summer, though, he started a clock on the countdown to the final days of his current contact, hardly what a team wants to hear on the eve of a season.

He then said he was merely talking about the end of this pay cycle, not necessarily the end of his career.

But flash back three years ago when he was coming off what ultimately might prove to be his final championship, when he said of the arc of his career, "I think I still can find a way to contribute. And if I can't find a way to contribute, then I'll be a backup at 37, 38. It'll just be something I have to accept."

He turns 37 in March, just over a month from the start of the playoffs, when the Suns hope to find vindication after last season's five-game, first-round ouster at the hands of the Spurs.

Failing a playoff upgrade, though, the Suns' era for Shaq could prove far shorter than even the Heat era.

Then he becomes a paper loss, an expiring contract auctioned off as an accounting measure.

Next season that could make him Stephon Marbury or Jamaal Tinsley, a mere name on a roster instead of a face of a franchise.

No, he is not looking to reprise the Patrick Ewing era in Seattle.

So you may just want to catch him now. This season. While the league still takes measure of the man, instead of a soon-to-be-expiring contract.

A: The Lakers' bandwagon has nothing to do with who fell off the Celtics' express. The story in Los Angeles is the return of Andrew Bynum, the bulk that was so missing for the Lakers in last season's Finals. With Bynum back, it allows Pau Gasol to get back to his softer side, as a finesse power forward, not someone forced to bang in the blocks. Further, with Bynum in the Lakers' starting lineup, it allows for the shift of Lamar Odom to the bench, where he not only is off to a solid start in his campaign for the Sixth Man Award, but also anchors a second unit that, with the likes of Luke Walton, Sasha Vujacic, Trevor Ariza and Jordan Farmar, rivals the starting units of several lower-tier teams.

That said about Los Angeles, the concern with the Celtics is whether the championship hunger has been sated. While Kevin Garnett seemingly never will be sated, Paul Pierce certainly allowed himself to get drunk in championship success. Does he really think he's the NBA's best player? Yes, he had a remarkable playoff run, but when else has he been that good? As for Ray Allen, he simply is not an elite shooting guard at this stage. And remember, Boston not only lost James Posey in the offseason, it also lost P.J. Brown, who certainly had his postseason moments in stabilizing the power rotation. Boston's bench is thin. Therefore, the doubts.

A: Mo Williams, difference-maker? Hmm. Yes, Williams provides something closer to a scoring point guard than LeBron has had in years, but it's not exactly as if he was the engine that drove the Bucks to playoff consistency. In fact, Williams, in many ways, is more of the same for the Cleveland, which continues to add good-but-not-great supporting players alongside LeBron. He is another Ben Wallace, another Delonte West, another Wally Szczerbiak.

Translation: He is not a player who raises the concern of the defense to the degree that it must consider abandoning the notion of swarming LeBron. That's what Dwyane Wade had in his championship season with Shaquille O'Neal. It's what Kobe Bryant received last season in Pau Gasol. It's certainly what Pierce was bestowed with in Garnett and Allen. What Cleveland needs, foremost, is to get back to featuring Zydrunas Ilgauskas at more than just the start of games. In the East, he remains somewhat of a beast. Then it needs to stop collecting nickel and dime parts and, instead, pool resources for the kind of splash that will prevent LeBron from swimming away in 2010.

A: The real issue is whether the Magic has the "piece." With last year's addition of Rashard Lewis, Orlando found the scoring counterbalance for Dwight Howard. With this summer's acquisition of Mickael Pietrus, there is the defensive stopper necessary against East rivals such as LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, Paul Pierce and Joe Johnson. What Orlando lacks, however, is someone to make it all click. Jameer Nelson may be a lot of things, but the starting point guard for a championship contender does not appear to be one of them, not with his streaky shooting, penchant for the most untimely of turnovers.

That's what made it somewhat confounding this offseason, when Orlando allowed both Keyon Dooling and Carlos Arroyo to depart as free agents. Yes, Anthony Johnson possesses veteran savvy, but it seemingly requires a full shot clock for him simply to make it from one end of the court to the other. A move for a proven point guard would make sense on so many levels for the Magic, who do have the type of assorted pieces that just might allow for a deal to get done (take my J.J. Redick, please?). Can Jameer Nelson take you to the playoffs? No question. Can Jameer Nelson lead you to a title? Nothing he has done on the court to this point indicates such potential.