Yakkety-Yakk, Don't Talk Shaq! (SLAM Magazine)

[John-John Joe]

By Shaquille O'Neal (as told to Russ Bengtson)

You just don’t trade Shaquille O’Neal.

It’s that simple. Isn’t it? When you have the most dominant player in the League (and he’s still very much that), you don’t deal him. Nothing against Lamar Odom, Caron Butler and Brian Grant, but for Shaq? Are you kidding? These things simply don’t happen.


Only it did. The Lakers blinked, and so Shaq will start the season with “HEAT” and his age on his chest, revenge on his mind and motivation in his heart. This is a far different Shaq than the one who left Florida eight years ago, and the difference is more than 20 (or 30, or 40) extra pounds and three NBA championship rings. He may have averaged a career-low 21.5 ppg last season, but keep in mind that was on a career-low 14 shots a game.

The MDE will still be plenty dominant, though, due to the fact that the only other truly great centers around these days are in their 50s and 60s. The fact that Erick Dampier could be given credit for a great season after averaging 12 and 12 on a bad team—well, let’s just say Bill Russell was probably cackling his head off when he heard that. And this crazy summer should serve as extra fuel for the Diesel. But hey, why don’t we let him tell it? The rest of this story, like the world, is his.


Moving back to the East is actually a good change for me mental-wise, business-wise and personal-wise. Mental-wise, I just got kind of burned out in L.A., you know. With me in my last five or six years I just want to have something smooth, not this guy and this guy. Ever since I got there with young fella, it’s been one thing after another. So now I get to start all over and raise me another young point guard. You know what it’s like? It’s sort of like ancient karate movies. Think about it—the master trains his young disciple. Then when the young disciples get some balls, they think they can do better. I raised Penny, things happened, and I didn’t want to put up with it, so I wanted to start all over.

I got with this guy, same thing happened, so now I’m startin’ all over. But I think Dwyane Wade is gonna be a little bit different, because he wasn’t as noticed as these other guys. Dwyane Wade was a player that everybody slept on, but now they know he can play, and now I think it’s my job to get over there and teach him little secrets.

The Heat being able to get me and keep Dwyane? That’s how good I am—you know I have great general manager skills. I told them if I go somewhere, I’m going to a good team. I’m not a dummy. And then, business-wise, in the words of my boy Scarface, Miami is a city that’s waiting to get…You know what I mean? So I’m ’bout to bring about 10 to 15, 25 fitness centers out there. I’m about to get in the club business, get a club right on South Beach. I’m about to blow up. This is the kind of stuff that I wanted to do in L.A., but business-wise, real estate was way expensive out there, and everything was just overdone out there. I got a little production company, and American Airlines Arena doesn’t get used that much, but I’ve got people I can call—I can call up the Fat Joes and the Commodores and UFC and tell ’em to come down, I’ll be the promoter. Business-wise, I’m gonna take care of a lot of stuff.

Personal-wise, the wifey and them, they always wanted a house on the ocean in Florida. We always used to take a trip to Boca Raton. Boca Raton is like 20 or 30 minutes from Miami. So I was always contemplating whether to buy a vacation home in Boca, or even Vegas. I got to take care of all my needs in one whole summer.


And then, I think by coming to the East, I can add two to three more years to my career, because the West is loaded right now. Very loaded. I think I’ve got one or two centers that’ll give me—well, nobody’s gonna give me a problem—but one or two guys I really gotta get up for. Jermaine O’Neal and…uh…uh, shit, that’s about it. Bein’ that I’m back in the East, more mileage for the Diesel. And I get to come over here and dominate. There are, like, 15 seven-footers in the East and, like, one of ’em averaged over 10 points? I look forward to starting all over, I look forward to coming home and being home, and just going down there and taking over.

When I first started playing, I always thought that a guy like Shaquille O’Neal would be untradeable. However, if you look at the history of the game, sometimes it happens to the best of them. When Dominique Wilkins got traded, I was sick. When Patrick Ewing got traded, I was really sick. You know what I’m sayin’? When Jerry Krause didn’t want to take care of Mike, and fired Phil, I was very sick. So this tells me there’s no loyalty in sport, and I understand that. And being that you understand that, you know how to deal with it. I’m an Army brat—I’m used to movin’, I like movin’. And I just like to look at it like this: Agent O’Neal did a great job for the FBI in Los Angeles. His time is up there, and now he just has to relocate to Miami. I’m gonna miss all the friends and the family and all that, but this ain’t gonna break me, brother—it’s just gonna make me stronger. Nothin’ can break me.

I just want to win. I’ve always been a winner. When I first came in I did a lot of stuff, and the knock on me was that I wasn’t winning. But then I got three, and I’m just tryin’ to work on number four. So when I’m done playin’, hopefully I have five, six or seven. Right now my name is all over the NBA bible, so it’s just my opportunity to get a couple more pages. I mean, I can look in a book now and show my son stuff that makes me feel very proud, and makes them feel proud, too. ‘Look, I got 21,000, I did this, I did that, I got three rings.’ So, I don’t have really anything to prove, however, I’m gonna come in and do what I gotta do. Because when you doubt the Diesel? He puts it in fifth gear and he cuts his brake line. And I’m crashin’ through everything. And whoever’s in my way, they will get crushed. It doesn’t matter. So I like being doubted. Everything that’s happened to me this summer, ain’t nothin’ but motivation, baby. And everything happens for a reason.

Everything happens for a reason. I admit, I had it good, and I got kind of cute. We had our three rings and got kind of cute and all that stuff. But I don’t have any rings now. And you know what? I was ordered by the powers that be to get the MVP. And the last time I was ordered by the powers to get the MVP? I got it. So I’m just looking forward to starting over. A lot of people always ask, “Are you mad?” It’s not that I’m mad, it’s just that I figure a guy like Shaquille O’Neal would have gotten more respect in the way they dealt with that. I understand the business, I understand this, I understand that. All you need to do is come to me and say, “Hey, we’re looking to go in a new direction,” and I’ll say OK, this is where I want to go. Don’t try to have a conversation with me like I don’t know what’s going on.


And then they want to say, “He mad because he ain’t get the money.” Money ain’t got nothin’ to do with it. But when it comes to money, I know how much you are makin’, and I know how much to ask for, you know what I’m sayin’? And when it comes to money, if I’m gonna go in the office and do a deal for myself, I’m never gonna lowball myself. You know what I’m sayin’? If I feel that I’m worth a hundred, I’m askin’ for two hundred. So they tried to lowball in certain instances, and I was like, No, I’m not takin’ that. Then they [in gruff voice], “Well we’re gonna do this and we’re gonna do that.” But there’s no loyalty in this game.

But Goliath, baby. I am the modern-day B.I.G., the modern day Goliath. I am Shogun loved by no one.

But like I said, it’s all motivation. The one thing that I got is a big-ass head, with a big file cabinet in it. I file all that shit, baby. I sit here and I watch ESPN, and I know what you said, I know what you did, I know what you thinkin’, and I remember that. And I will get the last laugh. You know why? ’Cause I’m good, I’m righteous. I do everything right. And for them to do what they gotta do with a player like me, it just wasn’t done right.

My thing is, if you’re gonna be on the front line with me, and I’m gonna take the blame, you’re gonna have to do what I tell you to do, homie. All that, Hey, I need you to do this—I’m not like that. I’m not, You gotta blah blah blah, because I know what I gotta do to get you to fight. It’s just that when I was doing that in L.A. I didn’t have the backing from the organization because they were scared or something. I don’t know what they were scared of. Some guys are so smart that they’re dumb. Like, Mitch Kupchak will never be remembered for anything but what? Trading me. That was the dumbest move in sports history. Congratulations, Mitch.

"On the first day of Christ-mas, Kobe gave to me....."

http://slamonline.com/magazine/features/Shaq82/

[J@3]

Good article but I think Shaq's gone certifiably insane

[John-John Joe]

Good article but I think Shaq's gone certifiably insane

I agree, he sounds absolutely ridiculous like some sort of professional wrestler. Funny thing is, everyone else seems to be buying into the whole "poor Shaquille" thing and eating this all up like salisbury steak while ripping Kobe to pieces.

Never once do they question the character of an athlete who gets in shape only when he wants to "prove something", that's just a lack of professionalism.

I will always be a Shaq fan deep down for everything he's done for the Lakers, in 1996 I was absolutely giddy when the big annoucement was made that he'd be our new center. Heck, I was calling him "The Big Savior" and that he was.

But complacency ended up being his worst enemy not Kobe. Sure, Kobe's as arrogant, pompous and selfish as a professional athlete can be but he is and always has been the consumate professional. He talks all this garbage about what he "taught Kobe" he could have learned a thing or two from Kobe had he not been so self-consumed and excuse-ready.

December 25th, 2005 is starting to look more and more like it might end up being a landmark day in NBA history, for better or for worse..............

[Jackal]

Insane? Why?

I love Shaq, I love Shaq for his game, I love Shaq for his personality & I love Shaq because he tells it like it is. I love Shaq because I see the will of a warrior, it doesn't show up all the time like Garnett's does, but when it shows up, it shows up big time.

I see too many similiaraties between him and me it's scary, now I'm nost saying this because I'm his fan, I'm saying this because it's true. He was disrespected in his way & the school I'm in disrespected me in a way. It was this disrespect that motivated me towards what they said was the impossible, it motivated me to achieve what they said I would be unable to achieve. The reward? Passing? Partially, yes...the biggest satisfaction camed from the dazed look I got from every fucking teacher that straight forwardly sat my ass down & said, it can't be done, give it up. Fuck you asshole.

Anywho, I see that same thing happening with Shaq. "He's passed his prime."
Alot of stuff has been going on around Shaq, he's one of the most arrogant players I've ever seen and he under-rates his opponents. He is lazy & unmotivated at times. This is that Shaq I've seen in the last 2 orso years, the years in which LA didn't win a Championship. The hunger was gone from Shaq, damn those Mickey D's in LA for stuffing him full of their burgers. Damn Shaq for gaining weight like a pig. Damn Shaq for not working his ass off. Damn Shaq for being a lazy bum whilst Kobe's hard work swooped LA away from right under his nose. Had Shaq played as the Shaq of old, the motivated Shaq, Jerry Buss would never had doubted giving him that extension. (Well, maybe just his age.)

On the other hand I thank Shaq for gaining all that weight, I thank Shaq for not working off that fat, I thank Shaq for being un-motivated. It gives me entertainment to watch all of this happening. It's like watching a movie. First we saw the young & hungry Shaq, he got LA 3 championships. Then we saw the un-motivated & old Shaq. Now a new chapter has come, now we will be able to enjoy a very motivated Shaq, we will see a Shaq driven by many many factors, we will see a Shaq who's hell bent about proving the world of disbelievers wrong, we will see a Shaq who is hell bent on showing what he is STILL capable of without a Kobe. Shaq will show that a Kobe is replaceable, a Shaquille O'Neal isn't.

We will see Shaq carry Miami on his shoulders, we will see Shaq thrive in a way we've never seen before. We'll see Shaq put up MVP like numbers.

Every Laker/Kobe fan has been pondering the question: Will this be Kobe's season? I ponder a different question: Will Shaq squash Kobe's dreams? Will Shaq put up the numbers he's implying he will? Will Shaq be the big man we (I) long to see?

Alot of great players have had to prove themselves time & time again, Shaq's time to prove himself yet again has come.

This Shaquille O'Neal is very different Shaquille O'Neal we've seen these last few off-seasons. The difference between this Shaq & that Shaq is what Andrew has been mentioning alot of whenever Shaq is brought up, Hunger & Motivation.
From the article it shows he's pretty much made up his mind about wanting to win. From the article we can also make out that he's motivated. Hell, I'd be motivated if I was put in such a situation, especially after years of having my ego stroked by everyone around me. What else do you think LA did? Hell, they practically begged him to recruit Malone & Payton. They stroked his ego till they felt he was expendable, after that they just dropped him. You can't be put on a pedastle for all that time & bam just knocked off of it because your second fiddle just took up your spot.

Shaq is often labelled as dumb & is treated accordingly, he mumbles, he looks like an ape, why wouldn't they treat him like a dummy, right?
Shaq isn't that dumb, heh, Phil Jackson had enough god damn faith in him to center his whole fucking play around that one big lump of corruption. He can't be that dumb, can he?

The Shaquille O'Neal we'll see this season will be a very very different Shaquille O'Neal from the last seasons, I hope he does get that MVP award just to be able to smirk at the "teachers", they say it can't be done, heh...if they have dreams of Kobe winning it, I too shall dream of Shaq winning it. I too dream of Shaq proving all his disbelievers wrong, I too long to see Shaq succeed. Winning isn't the bottomline here, satisfaction is. Satisfaction will come from proving them wrong, that's what I got out of the article & his mindset atleast, the satisfaction will come from him achieving great stats without Kobe. It will be him rubbing Mitch's face all through the mud. How does he achieve that satisfaction? By winning.
One thing will lead to another & Shaq will prevail above Jerry, Mitch & eventually Kobe.

This is going to be a kickass season. Get it on with bitch.

Edit:

I agree, he sounds absolutely ridiculous like some sort of professional wrestler.

I'm sure if Kobe would have said this you would have encouraged him & praised him for his braveness. You would have praised his will to prove everyone wrong. All of you already do that.

Funny thing is, everyone else seems to be buying into the whole "poor Shaquille" thing and eating this all up like salisbury steak while ripping Kobe to pieces.

Why wouldn't they? Didn't Kobe give them an indirect ultimatum? If Shaq plays I'm gone. Wasn't that the case? If it wasn't, he sure didn't try to say anything about keeping Shaq. Nopesie. Did you see his big ass grin at the photoshoot with Lamar, Caron & Brian? Spare me the bullshit that Kobe had NOTHING to do with this.

I'll rip Kobe as much as I feel like it, he's replaceable, the other fatso isn't.

Never once do they question the character of an athlete who gets in shape only when he wants to "prove something", that's just a lack of professionalism.

And I'd say it takes courage for him to fess up & say he fucked up. He's not the first player to fuck up. Instead of applauding him for his courage to critisise himself (something Bryant is yet to learn) you keep looking at it from the negative side. Ofcourse you would. Duh.

But complacency ended up being his worst enemy not Kobe. Sure, Kobe's as arrogant, pompous and selfish as a professional athlete can be but he is and always has been the consumate professional.

Being an asshole myself, I pick to have a person I like & can relate to instead of a cold hearted son of a bitch who can not connect to anyone on a personal level. At the end of the day that's all basketball is, a game. It's not life & death. I admire Shaq more for the type of person that he is & the fact that he's like opposed to Kobe who is labelled as a "professional" but cannot get along with his team-mates. Is this professionalism?

Oh, it was real professional when he went and fucked some cheap girl whilst he was about to receive or was rehabilitating from a knee-injury. Real professional to put the future of you franchise at the mercy of a fuck. Real professional.

He talks all this garbage about what he "taught Kobe" he could have learned a thing or two from Kobe had he not been so self-consumed and excuse-ready.

Learned what? To be a professional? Gehehe...

[J@3]

Insane? Why?

Read it. He's constantly speaking in the 3rd person and the entire article basically turns into some incoherent rant about how great he is.

I see too many similiaraties between him and me it's scary

... I dont see them, but awell.

[Jackal]

Read it. He's constantly speaking in the 3rd person and the entire article basically turns into some incoherent rant about how great he is.

Ofcourse, that right has been patented & reserved to be used by Bryant solely.

:lol: ... I dont see them, but awell.

You don't know me.

[J@3]

Fair enough, Steel

[Jackal]

Hardy har har Jae?

[Andrew]

A lot of that is Shaq being Shaq; or at least his competitive side. I don't necessarily like it or agree with the approach, but he's speaking his mind and telling it how he sees it. He's not exactly being diplomatic about the whole thing, but he's been given the opportunity to vent, so he's venting. Who am I to criticise him for something most of us would do under the same circumstances?

Having said that...

I raised Penny, things happened, and I didn’t want to put up with it, so I wanted to start all over.

I can't quite remember what happened there because any ill-feeling between the two wasn't given as much press as the whole Shaq/Kobe "feud". The departure from Orlando seemed more like Shaq advancing his movie career, taking a bigger offer and abandoning the Magic. Of course, that's the picture that was painted. I don't think Shaq's ever offered a detail rebuttal or his version of events so we can't say for sure. But I can't remember ever reading anything that suggested he had problems with Penny that were anything like his dispute with Kobe in recent years.

[Amphatoast]

lol you can never insult Shaq with Jackal around. But shaq for MVP and finals MVP ( ok maybe pushing it) would be nice to see.

[John-John Joe]

On the other hand I thank Shaq for gaining all that weight, I thank Shaq for not working off that fat, I thank Shaq for being un-motivated. It gives me entertainment to watch all of this happening. It's like watching a movie. First we saw the young & hungry Shaq, he got LA 3 championships. Then we saw the un-motivated & old Shaq. Now a new chapter has come, now we will be able to enjoy a very motivated Shaq, we will see a Shaq driven by many many factors, we will see a Shaq who's hell bent about proving the world of disbelievers wrong, we will see a Shaq who is hell bent on showing what he is STILL capable of without a Kobe. Shaq will show that a Kobe is replaceable, a Shaquille O'Neal isn't.

How's it going Jack? The above quote has to be one of the most ridiculous things I have ever read.

- first off, you thank him for being a professional athlete who doesn't do the most rudimentary thing possible? Stay in shape?

- "it's like watching a movie" that's so indicative of today's fan unfortunately. Equating everything in sports to some sort of blockbuster film or a new DVD, what is so entertaining about seeing somebody underachieve and not reach their true potential?

- what is so entertaining about seeing someone get hurt during the course of the season (''01-'02) , knowing they need surgery and to wait until Sept 11th to get the surgery? That's about as unprofessional as it gets, his absence really hurt us. No surprise we never recovered from him missing training camp, November and December.

- what is so entertaining about seeing that person getting taken to task by Ralph Wiley about him waiting so long to get the surgery and for him to respond: "I got hurt on company time, so I'll recover on company time."

- yes, and now we see the "motivated Shaq" are you surprised? Fellas, NLSC, are any of you surprised? Most superstars are motivated by the will to win and the love of the game. Shaq is motivated by "proving people wrong" and "showing people up." tsk, tsk, so very indicative f his childish ness and misplaced priorities....

- what this nonsense about who's replaceable or not? You guys absolutely have to stop acting like one man wins a championship. Never in the history of team sports has this occurred, it takes several factors including:

1. Ownership
2. General Manager
3. Coaching staff
4. Star player(s)
5. Role players

If anyone of these elements are not up to snuff, there will be no ticker tape. You'd think the way you talk he drew the x's and o's, brought the ball down, took over in the fourth quarter, and ran the popcorn vending machine. Stop buying into media propaganda and cliches designed to raise viewership and sell newspapers, it makes you sound utterly foolish. TEAM sports, not even Mike did it alone!

This Shaquille O'Neal is very different Shaquille O'Neal we've seen these last few off-seasons. The difference between this Shaq & that Shaq is what Andrew has been mentioning alot of whenever Shaq is brought up, Hunger & Motivation.
From the article it shows he's pretty much made up his mind about wanting to win. From the article we can also make out that he's motivated. Hell, I'd be motivated if I was put in such a situation, especially after years of having my ego stroked by everyone around me. What else do you think LA did? Hell, they practically begged him to recruit Malone & Payton. They stroked his ego till they felt he was expendable, after that they just dropped him. You can't be put on a pedastle for all that time & bam just knocked off of it because your second fiddle just took up your spot.
[/color]

Your new name is Stacey Dash because you are absolutely CLUELESS. Put in what situation, let's look at the facts shall we?

- he wasn't getting his ego stroked anymore? Awww, poor Shaq!

- put in a situation? FACT: Shaquille recruited Malone and Payton to play for pennies and what does he do? Start screaming at owner Jerry Buss to "pay him" during a pre-season game. No one begged him to do a damn thing Jackie.

- it's Shaq who has been whining about needing help down low for years now. Who do you think went over Jerry West's head to Jerry Buss to recruit Dennis Rodman in 1999? Yup, that's right, "The Big Arrogant Toddler!" oops-I mean, "The Big Aerostotle."

- FACT: Shaquille had a grandfathered contract signed before the CBA that made him easily the highest paid player in the league, not to mention the extension he received before the start of the '01-'02 season. Now he was whing for yet another one.

- FACT: Jerry and Mitch made a significant offer in Jan 2004 that would have made Shaq a Laker until he retired as well as the highest paid player in the league. (Remember, the contract is grandfathered!) Shaq refused because he found out it wasn't the MAX and felt disrespected.

- Who knocked Shaq off of any pedestal? Shaq did, that's who! You're right in saying that you're alot like him, deflecting blame instead of accepting responsibility for one's actions. His own complacency and lack of respect for the organization and his own physical fitness did it. Let's keep it real.

PART 2 to be continued next post......

[John-John Joe]

This is going to be a kickass season. Get it on with bitch.

Edit:

I agree, he sounds absolutely ridiculous like some sort of professional wrestler.

I'm sure if Kobe would have said this you would have encouraged him & praised him for his braveness. You would have praised his will to prove everyone wrong. All of you already do that.

Funny thing is, everyone else seems to be buying into the whole "poor Shaquille" thing and eating this all up like salisbury steak while ripping Kobe to pieces.

Why wouldn't they? Didn't Kobe give them an indirect ultimatum? If Shaq plays I'm gone. Wasn't that the case? If it wasn't, he sure didn't try to say anything about keeping Shaq. Nopesie. Did you see his big ass grin at the photoshoot with Lamar, Caron & Brian? Spare me the bullshit that Kobe had NOTHING to do with this.

I'll rip Kobe as much as I feel like it, he's replaceable, the other fatso isn't.

Never once do they question the character of an athlete who gets in shape only when he wants to "prove something", that's just a lack of professionalism.

And I'd say it takes courage for him to fess up & say he fucked up. He's not the first player to fuck up. Instead of applauding him for his courage to critisise himself (something Bryant is yet to learn) you keep looking at it from the negative side. Ofcourse you would. Duh.

But complacency ended up being his worst enemy not Kobe. Sure, Kobe's as arrogant, pompous and selfish as a professional athlete can be but he is and always has been the consumate professional.

Being an asshole myself, I pick to have a person I like & can relate to instead of a cold hearted son of a bitch who can not connect to anyone on a personal level. At the end of the day that's all basketball is, a game. It's not life & death. I admire Shaq more for the type of person that he is & the fact that he's like opposed to Kobe who is labelled as a "professional" but cannot get along with his team-mates. Is this professionalism?

Oh, it was real professional when he went and fucked some cheap girl whilst he was about to receive or was rehabilitating from a knee-injury. Real professional to put the future of you franchise at the mercy of a fuck. Real professional.

He talks all this garbage about what he "taught Kobe" he could have learned a thing or two from Kobe had he not been so self-consumed and excuse-ready.

Learned what? To be a professional? Gehehe...

- you stupidity knows no bounds. Bitch? - *sigh* I refuse to stoop to your level.....

- cut out that Kobe orchestrated it conspiracy theory. If Kobe supposedly would only resign if Phil and Shaq were gone, why would Jerry make significant offers to both during the season? Phil- 8 million per year shaq- 45 million til 2009

- applaud him for doing what the fuck he supposed to do? You sound like some guys I know: "I take care of my kids!" Well that's what the fuck you're supposed to do! You want me to give him credit for what he supposed to do?

- you're an asshole you say, that's first thing you've gotten right!

- kobe doesn't get along with teammates. He's not the first and he won' t be the last. Suggested reading material: "the Jordan Rules" by Sam Smith of the Chicago Tribune. His teammates despised him!

- kobe's adultery was indicative of unprofessionalism? Hehehehe. imagine that one, an adulterous professional athlete? *GASP* go figure.....

- I would have praised kobe had he sounded like a self promoting, excuse making asshole? No, I wouldn't. and who the fuck is "all of you"? we've never even spoken to each other until this post! dumbass!

- I have no problems citing any athletes indiscrepancies including Kobe.

Jackal, you lack the intelligence, common sense, and basketball knowledge to even think about trying to step to me. Your comments are very telling of what kind of fan and man you are. Just plain ignorant!

BE GONE, POOF! You're not on my level.......

[John-John Joe]

lol you can never insult Shaq with Jackal around. But shaq for MVP and finals MVP ( ok maybe pushing it) would be nice to see.

Wussup Ampha, I'm sorry he deemed my post as some sort of direct attack or insult as you put it. Had he read it properly he would see that I was merely pointing out an issue that I felt warranted some level of discussion amongst the NLSC community.

He then turns it into some sort of personal attack coupled with blatantly racist statements. I'll say whatever the fuck about shaq or any other NBA player I want as it is never my intent to disrespect or put anyone down as it seems to be his....

But I have no problems calling a spade a spade and I don't give a fuck how he feels. He obviously lacks tact, social skills and the overall basketball knowledge to discuss a basketball issue with out the childishness...

Jackal all you're missing is the flower pot on your head, unicycle, and funny red nose, you CLOWN!

[Fresh8]

Yo Dre Naismith- my man how u doin dawg?

I feel ur pain. I can understand that u feeling bad cause I can tell that ur post isn't any attack on Shaq... Jackal needs to actually read and not treat those points as offensive. Dre was only merely pointing out some points about Shaquille. Not paying him out!

Sorry if this is off-topic...

Didn't Kobe give them an indirect ultimatum?

- yes and no. The media said so and I believed it but the Lakers then said that Kobe had nothing to do with Phil and Shaq leaving. Phil decided it was time, Shaq wanted to leave...

Did you see his big ass grin at the photoshoot with Lamar, Caron & Brian? Spare me the bullshit that Kobe had NOTHING to do with this.

- Wat's wrong with bein happy? Did u see him and Shaq's big grins when they won those rings? Does that mean they don't dislike eachother??? I dont understand how if he smiles cause he got new teammates implies he orchastrated this to become the Man???

I'll rip Kobe as much as I feel like it, he's replaceable, the other fatso isn't

- wtf... u called Shaq fat!

Anywho, I see that same thing happening with Shaq. "He's passed his prime."

- none said he has... theyre just saying that if he has it's pretty logical and possible... noone's saying he wont do well in Miami... hell everyone reakons Mimai is better now!

On the other hand I thank Shaq for gaining all that weight, I thank Shaq for not working off that fat, I thank Shaq for being un-motivated. It gives me entertainment to watch all of this happening. It's like watching a movie.

- so Shaq to you is some kind of a freak. You enjoy looking at fat people play basketball??? Get a life man!

Satisfaction will come from proving them wrong, that's what I got out of the article & his mindset atleast, the satisfaction will come from him achieving great stats without Kobe.

- just wanted to point out that satisfaction comes from the bedroom! oh yeah!

I'm sure if Kobe would have said this you would have encouraged him & praised him for his braveness. You would have praised his will to prove everyone wrong. All of you already do that.

- no we wouldnt say Kobe's cool if he says that. Alot of people would call him real cocky!

At the end of the day that's all basketball is, a game. It's not life & death. I admire Shaq more for the type of person that he is & the fact that he's like opposed to Kobe who is labelled as a "professional" but cannot get along with his team-mates. Is this professionalism?

- I believe everyone would admire Kobe more for his work ethic. He plays basketball everyday... he treats it as life... therefore treating his day job as his life! sn't this professional???

And about him gettign along with his teammates... read the 'Jordan Rules' as Dre suggested... MJ never got along with his teammates!

Oh, it was real professional when he went and fucked some cheap girl whilst he was about to receive or was rehabilitating from a knee-injury. Real professional to put the future of you franchise at the mercy of a fuck. Real professional.

- And its professional to turn up to training camp overweight, out of rhythm and expect the team to look up to you? c'mon y'all... Kobe made a mistake... he admitted it and we dont even know what happened in that room that day. But he said sorry to everyone, the franchise, the fans, his wife and family and the prosecutor. Thats professional... he admitted to what he did in the media. That compared to Shaq saying he was fu*ked up... it's more than what Shaq said!

I"M OUT LIKE SHAQ'S HEAT OUT DURING THE REGULAR SEASON GAMES AGAINST KOBE!

[John-John Joe]

Hi Sit, thank you so much for your comments. I think that Jackal has problems grasping the the very basic elements of a message board. A place where we come to express our opinions in an open forum that of course will be open to debate.

I myself, am a Shaq fan and appreciate everything he's done for the franchise. There's no way we could've been back to back to back champions with out him as our cornerstone.

However, I'm not one to give players a "pass" when I feel there actions deserve introspection and critical analysis whether I'm a fan or not. His comments most definitely blind-sided me especially referring to the man he's defending as a "dumb ape". This kind of ignorance is inexcusable and I won't tolerate it.....

Furthermore, I felt he "skimmed" my post as opposed to truly reading and ingesting what I had to say. Perhaps he saw Kobe Bryant in my signature and figured he was dealing with a "fanboy". Had he read my post carefully he would have seen that I don't think Kobe's some sort of God. He's a man capable of the same human fallacies and indiscrepancies just like any one of us....

To turn this into yet another Shaq vs. Kobe thread was totally irresponsible on his part and down right idiotic. I'm highly disappointed in the fact that he couldn't engage in a debate deviod of hurling personal insults and ignorant assumptions.

This is probably the last time that I post in NBA Talk because frankly I'm disappointed with the level of conversation and respect. I'll just stick to NBA Live related discussions and leave it at that. I didn't post here to have some wretched "Cyber-Thug" hurl racist epithets and call me a "bitch."

I truly do understand the kind of guy he is, one who feels an innate sense of empowerment talking to people in relative anonymity with no risk of repercussion or retribution, A loser in life who becomes somebody when he clicks on his computer, sits in front of his keyboard and becomes the man he wishes he could be in real life.

I'm new yet I'm not. I was a member here from '98 until early 2001 and never did I experience something like this. I remember when Shane Hefty (Mr. Shane) and I used to go at it for WEEKS about the Lakers but never did we cross the line and disrespect each other. If anything we GAINED respect for each other because of the level of intelligence in our debates. Jeffx, Gahndi, heck even Tim and I traded a few witty barbs all in the love of basketball.....

If this CLOWN thinks he can insult me and I'll taking it sitting down he's got it all twisted. I won't post here anymore but will gladly come back everyday from here on out to see what he has to say for himself, I run from no man and his knowledge of the dynamics of the NBA as well as appropriate standards of behavior are downright pathetic.

We're ALL entitled to our opinions as it is a God given right, but we do NOT have the right to speak to others in a condscending manner and throw random insults whenever we see fit. In the immortal words of Arnold Schwarzenegger: "I'll Be Back!" CLOWN!

[John-John Joe]

The more I know about Kobe and Shaq, the less I like Kobe, and the more I like Shaq. But the more I learn about Shaquille O'Neal himself, the less I like him personally.

Whether you're a Kobe fan, a Shaq fan, a Lakers fan, or a New York Yankees fan... if you've read this article and don't think Shaq's arrogance has gone a little too far or that his fame has gotten to him a little bit too much, you're missing the boat, pure and simple.

Having said that, I personally believe that Shaq has a strange sense of humor, and the things he says are attributed partly to that, so calling Shaq insane etc is probably a bit out of line as well.

And as for Jackal, why the heck does everything about Shaq also have to be about Kobe...? I'd say almost any normal person would find Shaq a bit out-of-whack after reading that. Do you disagree? It has nothing to do with Kobe. Lay off the personal insults, please.

Out of line to state my opinon in a clear and respectful manner, lacking any true personal attacks? All I did was state my opinion, and I don't give a fuck WHAT he thinks about it. Hey, if you don't like the subject, why post?!? To hurl insults and wild assumptions, no, mm-mm. Totally unacceptable.

[J@3]

Lol holy shit... this is gonna get ugly.

Shaq's one of my favourite players in the history of basketball. I've always liked the way he used his physical weapons to his full advantage, which alot of players fail to do (there's bigger players in the NBA than Shaq) but one thing I've always hated about him, is when something goes wrong or something annoys him he doesn't go to the GM about it, he doesn't go to the coaches about it or even the player he's got the problem with. He goes straight to the media. I don't see how his train of thought can work like that, especially when he's being paid millions and millions of dollars to play basketball and all he's got to bitch about is how one of the best players in the NBA isnt giving him the ball often enough.

[John-John Joe]

Insane? Why?

Shaq is often labelled as dumb & is treated accordingly, he mumbles, he looks like an ape, why wouldn't they treat him like a dummy, right?
Shaq isn't that dumb, heh, Phil Jackson had enough god damn faith in him to center his whole fucking play around that one big lump of corruption. He can't be that dumb, can he?
[color=blue][b]Learned what? To be a professional? Gehehe...

This is the paragraph that really bakes my cookies! I've never heard anyone refer to Shaquille as dumb or as an ape except for this asshole. In one breath he defends him vehemently and in the next he takes race relations back 400 years. What a jerk!

Does Shaq have the best communication skills? Most certainly not. But to say that his speech patterns are indicative of a lack of intelligence is downright irresponsible. CLOWN!

[John-John Joe]

Lol holy shit... this is gonna get ugly.

Jae: *Newsflash* It already has! You're a great guy Jae, I mean you no harm what-so-ever but I'm getting more and more pissed the more I read this motherfucker's post!

[John-John Joe]

Shaq is often labelled as dumb & is treated accordingly, he mumbles, he looks like an ape, why wouldn't they treat him like a dummy, right?
Shaq isn't that dumb, heh, Phil Jackson had enough god damn faith in him to center his whole fucking play around that one big lump of corruption.

Note how he says "he is treated accordingly." CLOWN!

[J@3]

Lol holy shit... this is gonna get ugly.

I'm getting more and more pissed the more I read this motherfucker's post!

Hehe I've noticed. Hopefully this'll stay as some form of basketball discussion, with some insults thrown in. Jackal loves an argument as much as the rest of us

[John-John Joe]

Lol holy shit... this is gonna get ugly.

I'm getting more and more pissed the more I read this motherfucker's post!

Hehe I've noticed. Hopefully this'll stay as some form of basketball discussion, with some insults thrown in. Jackal loves an argument as much as the rest of us

Jae: That's cool except your missing two points here:

1. I'm NOBODY's bitch, he must be confusing me with a family member of his.

2. Referring to an African-American athlete as "a dumb ape who get's treated accordingly" doesn't fly with me. I'm an intelligent , PROUD black man and I'll be damned if I stand by and let that racist shit ride.

I tried to take the high road but my anger is beginning to boil to the surface, he's has absolutely "no stripes" over here basketball or otherwise! PERIOD.

[Matt]

shaq talks too much shit....his asshole and mouth are 1 and the same, all that comes out is shit

[Matthew]

Wow this thread exploded. My thoughts on shaq:
The man is an absolute legend, his size and skills (which are still overlooked unbelieveably) are amazing. I'll never forget the level of excellence he achieved in 2000 and 2001.

He is outspoken, but I like that from an athlete. I can't stand players that say what people want them to say. I love it when a player (or anyone for that matter) gets up and says somthing becuase they believe in it.. not for attention, not for admiration, but becuase they believe it.

IMO, Shaq was hurt alot more than he let on by the lakers getting rid of him. Remember the sunday conversation on sportscenter? He pretended to be vengeful and all that... but he was hurting. "When I first started playing, I always thought that a guy like Shaquille O’Neal would be untradeable. However, if you look at the history of the game, sometimes it happens to the best of them. When Dominique Wilkins got traded, I was sick. When Patrick Ewing got traded, I was really sick. You know what I’m sayin’? When Jerry Krause didn’t want to take care of Mike, and fired Phil, I was very sick. So this tells me there’s no loyalty in sport, and I understand that. And being that you understand that, you know how to deal with it."

I think Shaq was hurt that he got dealt, and i was as weel and i dont even like the lakers. I hated kobe for it.. but then i thought about it and over time, is it kobes fault? Shaq was the one who wanted an outrageous extension, he wanted to be first informed on all team moves. He wanted to much.Shaq, as great as he is, he's not bigger than Michael Jordan. MJ even had his limits. The bulls pulled the plug on the championship team after the lockout. And Jordan never was given gm-type powers with the bulls, except when the bulls wanted to bring in rodman, when management asked pippen and jordan what they thought. Shaq did want too much. But i think the lakers could have done more to ease the situation, like trying to talk to him, and if shaq refused, then fuck him. But this isn't kobes fault.

I cant wait till the heat/lakers game tho.. i havent been this hyped for a regular season game since the rockets played the bulls in 97, when the rockets had just got barkley and te bulls were still as dominating as ever.

[Stevan]

awww shit

I don't know what the fuck Shaq's talking about in that article. Miami still need a couple of pieces to compete for the title. Still Shaq has a few good years left, and Miami can probably win a title before he's done.

As for this thread, I don't know if I've ever seen Dre this fired up even on the old forum! Damn. And Jackal will probably write the biggest essay we've ever seen on this forum! God damn, make some coffee people!