Shaquille O'neal.. the final chapter?

[kingjames23]

http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/blog/ball_d ... nba-257888

honestly, i see him taking the minimum to go play with Lebron and D Wade. the remark Kobe made about "having one more than Shaq" is a motivation, as well is joining 2 former teammates in a "sure thing" situation. no other team makes sense for him to join. making up with Wade, and rejoining Lebron seems the only option for the big fella. its the only way he gets to go out on top.

either that or he signs with the UFC to fight Brock Lesnar. he's been begging Dana White for years to get into the MMA game... he's even a playable character in the UFC 2010 undisputed game. coincidence? i think not.

[Jackal]

It's a real shame Shaq took so many digs are LA management, ownership & Kobe. It also sucks major nuts he's such a flamboyant character.

Everyone knows I would have loved to see him back in LA. Alas...Shaq's personality decided that's never going to be an option.

I'll miss the big fella once he retires though, I'll miss him a lot.

[Static]

in all honesty, what does shaq have left to achieve? he's not brett favre--he's not going to come back next season and be the crucial decisive factor that propels a team to the conference finals or further. even as far as titles go, he's gotten his. as far as individual accolades and statistics go, he's gone above and beyond in cementing himself as one of the best centers of all time (if not THE best, according to some analysts). and as far as financial considerations go, i think he's probably doing alright.

he could play another season, but really, shaq hasn't been a major influential factor on a team since he was with the heat. so what's the point, honestly?

[kingjames23]

again... to keep up with the Bryants, while he can. plus i think he wants to go out as a champion, so he will try to join the Heat.

[shadowgrin]

as far as financial considerations go, i think he's probably doing alright.

He has to pay alimony to his ex-wife and kids and has to maintain the lifestyle of Gilbert Arenas' (ex)wife.

[dare]

Shaq Wants to Play for the Celtics

Damn he is one desperate big fellow, how could a former Lakers great played for the C's.

[Jackal]

For shame Shaq, for shame.

[Modifly]

It's kind of funny that a lot of players who are coming towards the end of their career wants to play for the Celtics in their final seasons because they think that the Celtics give them the best chance to win a championship/another championship. These guys are mostly players who were once at all-star level too. Eg. Rasheed, Cassell, Jermaine, and now, Shaq.

[NovU]

The Heat isn't interested in Shaq, due to spoiled relationship after his departure from the Heat. Also the Heat doesn't want his presence in the locker room. Seems like he's too much of a character for many teams right now.

The Celtics picked up Jermaine O'neal since Perkins is out for awhile. I think they picked up the right O'neal. The guy's younger and is coming off an OK season.

[J@3]

Shaq's never cashed an NBA cheque, he's made nearly 300 million from Reebok alone so I don't think money is a motivator. Which is why his salary demands are confusing.

[Andrew]

Shaq's never cashed an NBA cheque, he's made nearly 300 million from Reebok alone so I don't think money is a motivator. Which is why his salary demands are confusing.

Pride, I guess. Perhaps he sees accepting the minimum (or slightly more) as confirmation that his career is almost over and that his best days long behind him, his value diminished to the point where he's worth the salary of guys he used to destroy on a regular basis. Understandable I guess but if winning another championship is what he desires and money isn't a problem for him, he'll probably just have to bite the bullet.

[benji]

To be fair, he probably went in looking at the rest of the market and how he could have got what he wanted, but Atlanta who really wanted him dropped a load all over Joe Johnson then realized that "shit, we just gave out a ton of cash" and backed off. Dallas made the Chandler deal to dump some other contracts, and Shaq wisely realized he won't get much time in that situation. Remember only a "contender" would ever be interested in Shaq since he's a "piece who puts you over" now instead of his once dictating the league status so teams like Milwaukee who already have a big guy are definitely not interested, and Shaq doesn't seem like the guy to sign up to man the middle for something like a 35 win Sixers team.

It's more of a circumstance than his actual value plummeting. So I think he's recognized that and realized that since the market got sewn up with shitty contracts, he can either sign with a team for money that's terrible like say the Clippers, or he can take less and try to contribute for a title. Shaq didn't get traded without his consent really, he allowed the trades to Miami, Phoenix and Cleveland because he thought he could help put them over the top. Notice that as he's lessened as an impact he's been traded to higher quality teams with each deal. If he's looking at Boston, it's because he knows he can come off the bench behind Perkins and even Jermaine O'Neal, play himself into shape during the season, have two great games in the playoffs and get talked about all over again if the team of veterans beats Miami, Orlando and the Lakers.

If the Cavaliers had won the title this year, and Shaq had two or three 20/10 games in the playoffs, the media would written a ton of stories about how Shaq sacrificed to LeBron, stepped it up when his team needed, provided champion leadership and blah blah blah.

Hell, he could take half the season off and Boston would still enjoy him being there to check Dwight Howard for 10-15 minutes a game in the playoffs. Like the Pistons did with Elden Campbell in 2004.

It also plays well for those "narrative" people. Assembling a team with all the best players of 2004 to take on the superteam in Miami and whatever the Chris Paul situation might result in. They did something similar last year (Sheed, Finley, Daniels) and came up a few different minutes short of a title.

The Tony Allen thing is going to hurt them though.

As a side note regarding his "legacy" I think denying Shaq a spot in the top five is really doing his career a disservice. No player has dominated the league and a position like Shaq except Jordan, Wilt had that pathological fear of being too dominating (he was afraid of hurting people while dunking ffs), and Kareem imploded during the late-1970s. (And Mikan played in an era I could have played in skill-wise. Although not being stabbed by fans through the metal gate wise.) In their primes, the last thing anyone wanted was to face a pissed-off Shaq or a pissed-off Jordan. Yeah, yeah, yeah, Shaq wasted half of his career playing himself into shape every season, but look at what he did doing that would you really have wanted him completely toned, fully athletic and healthy, and committed every season? At least Jordan gave the impression that a team with a great center could potentially beat the Bulls. A properly conditioned Shaq?

[Modifly]

Well pointed out.

[kingjames23]

the only thing that stopped shaq from being the equivalent of wilt was his conditioning. had he kept in shape for his entire career he would have been even more dominant for a longer period of time... shaq should have cut down to under 300 lbs. he walks around at 350 or so now. and carrying that much mass just makes you gas out. its hard on the joints too. he needs to cut a lot of fat, but i also think he is carrying too much muscle as well. it takes more oxygen to fuel the muscle, lactic acid builds up faster. if he wants to prolong his career and still be a viable asset to any team, he needs to get in shape. like david robinson shape. well, maybe not. he was a freak.
i think if he got his weight down to 285 or so he could be as efficient as he was in his younger years, and be able to get up off the ground and block some shots and snag more boards.

somebody call up Tony Horton to train him lol