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[Malleymal]

to compare shaq to how Hakeem was in his raptor days are Idiotic..... Shaq can bully his way to 30 points.... even if he is 40... hakeem's finesse didnt really show in his later years because the footwork and speed wasnt there... shaq never had speed, but he will always have his weight and intimidation......

 

[DMczaf]

when are these fools gonna realize that the ONLY thing MJ was good at was playing basketball? Or will they let him trade Dwayne Wade for Jerry Stackhouse first?

For the last time, Jordan did not want the trade! Abe "Crack Head" Pollin did not want to resign Hamilton after his NBA Draft contract was up, so Jordan was forced to trade him.

This report came during the NBA Finals this year, it's great to see Pollin let Jordan take all the heat for the trade though.

Now, back to the greatest news of all-timessssss

JORDAN IS BACK SUCKAS!

 

[DMczaf]

Ripclawe, you left out the most important part

According to the Tribune, the packaging of Jordan the owner and O'Neal the franchise player could be the first step behind putting together an ownership group that would move the team to Las Vegas.

*giggles like a school girl*

 

[bionic77]

to compare shaq to how Hakeem was in his raptor days are Idiotic..... Shaq can bully his way to 30 points.... even if he is 40... hakeem's finesse didnt really show in his later years because the footwork and speed wasnt there... shaq never had speed, but he will always have his weight and intimidation......

Shaq hasn't been consistently dominant for almost 3 years now dude, get over it, he was was a great center but his time has passed. I would love for him to prove me wrong, but I am starting to believe that his decline from dominance is less about him being lazy and getting fat and just his body breaking down and failing him.

The power move Shaq used to use doesn't seem to work anymore, he hasn't changed his game at all in the last 5 years. The other centers know exactly where he is going to make his move and how he will do it so Shaq becomes a liability on offense becaues of too many charges. I think Shaq has 2-3 good years left, nowhere near the dominance of old though and to really utilize Shaq you need a good backup center because he can't do it for more then 30 minutes now and he WILL get into foul trouble unless they start using the "Shaq" rules where he can get away with any and all contact.

 

[Blackace]

Shaq hasn't been consistently dominant for almost 3 years now dude, get over it, he was was a great center but his time has passed. I would love for him to prove me wrong, but I am starting to believe that his decline from dominance is less about him being lazy and getting fat and just his body breaking down and failing him.

The power move Shaq used to use doesn't seem to work anymore, he hasn't changed his game at all in the last 5 years. The other centers know exactly where he is going to make his move and how he will do it so Shaq becomes a liability on offense becaues of too many charges. I think Shaq has 2-3 good years left, nowhere near the dominance of old though and to really utilize Shaq you need a good backup center because he can't do it for more then 30 minutes now and he WILL get into foul trouble unless they start using the "Shaq" rules where he can get away with any and all contact.

They do have Shaq rules.... teams get to hack him over and over again until a ref decides to blow the whistle..

 

[bionic77]

They do have Shaq rules.... teams get to hack him over and over again until a ref decides to blow the whistle..

LOL. True, he does get hosed on lots of calls, but at the same time it isn't that freakin hard to adapt your game a little either. I don't know if that is Phil's fault for not coaching or Shaq's fault for not working on his game.

 

[Blackace]

Well yeah... but he should get his calls as well... I know he is big and if they called everything the game would last about 32 hours (think cricket) .. But yeah he should have perfected that ugly thing he calls a hook shot

 

[Blackace]

"Sonics seek free agent Fisher
Career Lakers guard wooed to replace soon-to-depart Barry"

http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/basketball/181702_sonx12.html

Whee....

making the big splash in FA this year aren't we boys...


Damn Sonics...

 

[Malleymal]

Shaq hasn't been consistently dominant for almost 3 years now dude, get over it, he was was a great center but his time has passed. I would love for him to prove me wrong, but I am starting to believe that his decline from dominance is less about him being lazy and getting fat and just his body breaking down and failing him.

The power move Shaq used to use doesn't seem to work anymore, he hasn't changed his game at all in the last 5 years. The other centers know exactly where he is going to make his move and how he will do it so Shaq becomes a liability on offense becaues of too many charges. I think Shaq has 2-3 good years left, nowhere near the dominance of old though and to really utilize Shaq you need a good backup center because he can't do it for more then 30 minutes now and he WILL get into foul trouble unless they start using the "Shaq" rules where he can get away with any and all contact.

man please , your animosity towards this guy is jaw dropping.... Feed the guy the ball... he avg over 20 something a game, and yea he is injured but so is half the people in the league adn he is Plummeled all game, I am in no way a SHAQ fan or hater, I just see what I see, and he can play till he is 40... or until a good 5 or 6 dudes at his size come into the leauge and totally embarrass him and that is not happening...

 

[DarienA]

LOL. True, he does get hosed on lots of calls, but at the same time it isn't that freakin hard to adapt your game a little either. I don't know if that is Phil's fault for not coaching or Shaq's fault for not working on his game.

Adapt his game? For the most part he's scoring even when he's being hacked.... he hasn't had to change anything. It's just that if one of us was hit as hard as he is being hit we'd feel it... for him it's like... hmm what was that? Oh well.. score anyway. But those should still be called as fouls.

 

[element]

"Sonics seek free agent Fisher
Career Lakers guard wooed to replace soon-to-depart Barry"

http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/basketball/181702_sonx12.html

Whee....

making the big splash in FA this year aren't we boys...


Damn Sonics...

I really have no idea why they want to sign Fisher, unless they are able to unload Daniels. If they can bring Fisher in to help mold Ridnour without Daniels around, then that would be fine.

 

[bionic77]

Adapt his game? For the most part he's scoring even when he's being hacked.... he hasn't had to change anything. It's just that if one of us was hit as hard as he is being hit we'd feel it... for him it's like... hmm what was that? Oh well.. score anyway. But those should still be called as fouls.

I meant that he has to adjust his game to avoid picking up offensive fouls. I agree that they should call all the hacking fouls, but keep in mind how god awful NBA officials are.

 

[bionic77]

man please , your animosity towards this guy is jaw dropping.... Feed the guy the ball... he avg over 20 something a game, and yea he is injured but so is half the people in the league adn he is Plummeled all game, I am in no way a SHAQ fan or hater, I just see what I see, and he can play till he is 40... or until a good 5 or 6 dudes at his size come into the leauge and totally embarrass him and that is not happening...

I don't have any animosity towards Shaq dude, I just stated my opinion on his game. This season he is playing with scrubs in a division with no centers so lets see if I was right or wrong about this. I personally believe he has already peaked as a player and will never get back to his old form. Still, if the price was right I would take Shaq in an instant because he is pretty much the only good center left (maybe Yao in a few years). If Shaq is going to continue to get paid $30 million though it will be impossible to compete with him over the long term, you just won't be able to retain any good players.

 

[DarienA]

I meant that he has to adjust his game to avoid picking up offensive fouls. I agree that they should call all the hacking fouls, but keep in mind how god awful NBA officials are.

Here's the thing... according to ESPN stats he averaged 3.4 PF's this year(during the season)... The breakdown being 3.7/7.8(Off/Def)what's his career average(during the season)? 3.4(3.9/8.1).

Post season that jumped up to 4.1(4.1/9.1).

I'll leave others to speculate what that bump came from. Looks like for the most part(during the season) he's getting the calls he's been getting throughout his career... that's a helluva bump in the playoffs.... I'm almost tempting to go look at other superstars stats to see what it looks like for them....

 

[Matrix]

to compare shaq to how Hakeem was in his raptor days are Idiotic..... Shaq can bully his way to 30 points.... even if he is 40... hakeem's finesse didnt really show in his later years because the footwork and speed wasnt there... shaq never had speed, but he will always have his weight and intimidation......

 

[AirBrian]

LMAO!!!

 

[rc213]

 

[DarienA]

You know after all this I'm waiting for Kobe to wait til the last minute.... screw the Lakers... chair shot Buss, hop to the Clippers then in the finale pull off his mask to reveal.... Vince McMahon!



IT WAS ME BUSS! IT WAS ME ALL ALONG!!!!

 

[drohne]

lakers just got thoroughly cornholed. they just dealt away the single most game-altering presence in the history of basketball, and they didn't get an impact player or any kind of impending cap room. i didn't expect fair value, but this is absurd - the team won't contend for years. the team's treatment of shaq probably won't help their reputation with free agents either. i've been a lakers fan for roughly as long as i've been alive, but i can't say i'm looking forward to watching kobe shoot 40 times a game en route to a first round playoff exit for the next five seasons.

 

[AirBrian]

i've been a lakers fan for roughly as long as i've been alive, but i can't say i'm looking forward to watching kobe shoot 40 times a game en route to a first round playoff exit for the next five seasons.

That's assuming the Clippers even make the playoffs.

 

[Cloudy]

If Lamar Odom isn't an impact player I don't know who is. You also seem to be forgetting that Shaq DEMANDED to be traded. He wasn't gonna get the extension he wanted so he bailed to a team that would show him the money...

Funny how we rip Tmac and other guys for demanding trades but it's someone else's fault that Shaq asked to be traded?

 

[DarienA]

If Lamar Odom isn't an impact player I don't know who is. You also seem to be forgetting that Shaq DEMANDED to be traded. He wasn't gonna get the extension he wanted so he bailed to a team that would show him the money...

Funny how we rip Tmac and other guys for demanding trades but it's someone else's fault that Shaq asked to be traded?

Well... to be fair... how far did T-Mac make it this year? How far did Shaq make it this year? Shaq's built up the clout IMO to demand a trade... he's made things happen for teams he's played on... what has T-Mac done for his team? What have you done for me lately b*tch!?!?!?!?

 

[Cloudy]

Then why are folks blaming Lakers management for making a smart business decision by NOT paying him $100 million from age 33 to 36? As far as the trade, no way they were gonna leave him in the West so they took the best available deal from the East that Shaq agreed to. What more could they have done?

 

[DarienA]

Then why are folks blaming Lakers management for making a smart business decision by NOT paying him $100 million plus from age 33 to 36? As far as the trade, no way they were gonna leave him in the West and the took the best available deal from the East that Shaq agreed to. What more could they have done?

Because the general consensus is that the deal the got was worse than what they could have gotten from other teams I guess.

I look at who the Lakers got in the deal and I come away with a... huh?

You honestly think they made the best trade possible?

 

[bionic77]

Then why are folks blaming Lakers management for making a smart business decision by NOT paying him $100 million from age 33 to 36? As far as the trade, no way they were gonna leave him in the West so they took the best available deal from the East that Shaq agreed to. What more could they have done?

If I was GM I would have told Shaq he either plays for LA or he doesn't play for anyone. Then use the 30 million dollars in 05 to go after a big name Free Agent and role players to fit the situation. The guys they are getting won't fit the holes they have nor replace Shaq. They still need a big and a point.

 

[drohne]

i like lamar odom, but his career is one bong hit from oblivion. grant is the part that kills me, though. he's done AND he has a toxic contract.

i dunno, maybe my expectations were too high. ultimately i thought we'd end up with nowitzki or j. o'neal.

 

[Ninja Scooter]

lakers just got thoroughly cornholed. they just dealt away the single most game-altering presence in the history of basketball, and they didn't get an impact player or any kind of impending cap room. i didn't expect fair value, but this is absurd - the team won't contend for years. the team's treatment of shaq probably won't help their reputation with free agents either. i've been a lakers fan for roughly as long as i've been alive, but i can't say i'm looking forward to watching kobe shoot 40 times a game en route to a first round playoff exit for the next five seasons.

you forget the fact that he made a deal with very little leverage. WIth that in mind, i think Mitch did a very good job. I mean, he may not have gotten a franchise player in return, but unless Duncan or KG were on the block, we weren't gonna get anywhere near fair value in return. When you break it down, he got one near allstar-level player, who himself is only 24 years old (Odom), an up and coming talented 23 year old swingman (Butler), a serviceable, albiet injury prone bigman who will give you all he has on the boards and defensive end (Grant) and a 1st round pick. Thats pretty damn good when all things are considered. Sure, Grant's deal is a bad one capwise, but in 2 years he'll become a very attractive ending K to play around with in trades, and its also a LOT more flexible to have $30 million in cap tied up in 3 or 4 players, rather than just one. It'd be alot easier to work with than 5 more years of cap hell thanks to Shaq's contract. That would make it literally impossible to add any more significant players. You can talk about how bad this team might be, but believe me, a team of:

Shaq
Malone
George
Rush
Payton

wasn't gonna win any championships. And thats the team we'd be fielding (if not worse, once Malone and GP retired) for the next 5 years. Shaq and a bunch of scrubs and rookies.

 

[Cloudy]

You honestly think they made the best trade possible?

Considering the circumstances, yes...

If I was GM I would have told Shaq he either plays for LA or he doesn't play for anyone

Then he's hella pissed, walks for nothing all the while crippling the team with his salary this season. Plus even if they called his bluff then decided to trade him during the season, they'd get a worse deal cos everyone would know they were desperate...

ultimately i thought we'd end up with nowitzki or j. o'neal

They would never have traded him to a Western Conference team and Shaq refused to go to Indiana. I doubt JO would have been offered anyways...

 

[Ninja Scooter]

If I was GM I would have told Shaq he either plays for LA or he doesn't play for anyone. Then use the 30 million dollars in 05 to go after a big name Free Agent and role players to fit the situation. The guys they are getting won't fit the holes they have nor replace Shaq. They still need a big and a point.

Shaq was (allegedly) threatening to have season ending surgery on his foot just to sit out the season if LA didn't trade him (or if they traded him to a team he didn't want to be on, like Indy) And he probably wouldn't have opted out either, so we'd be stuck with $30 million sitting on our bench for the next 2 years. There's no way Mitch could have done that. I don't understand why people thought the Lakers chose between having Shaq next year or not. SHAQ made that choice. He even told Rudy T there was no chance he would ever play for the Lakers again. He wasn't, under any circumstances, playing in the purple and gold again.

 

[bionic77]

If Shaq doesn't play then that is his loss, the Lakers should have dealt with him from a position of strength instead of doing what they did. In the end he would have played and he would have tried as hard as possible, he isn't the type of guy who would just quit. Then if he left (hopefully they could have somehow won next year and resigned him for less now that I am talking about the best option), they would have 30 million to go after big name Free Agents.

 

[bionic77]

Shaq was (allegedly) threatening to have season ending surgery on his foot just to sit out the season if LA didn't trade him (or if they traded him to a team he didn't want to be on, like Indy) And he probably wouldn't have opted out either, so we'd be stuck with $30 million sitting on our bench for the next 2 years. There's no way Mitch could have done that. I don't understand why people thought the Lakers chose between having Shaq next year or not. SHAQ made that choice. He even told Rudy T there was no chance he would ever play for the Lakers again. He wasn't, under any circumstances, playing in the purple and gold again.

Like I said, then let Shaq play his buff and essentially end his career by watching from home. If I were a GM I would never operate from a position of weakness unless absolutely necessary.

 

[DMczaf]

As first reported by ESPN's David Aldridge on Saturday, O'Neal had agreed to accept a proposed trade that would send him to Miami in exchange for guard Caron Butler, forwards Lamar Odom and Brian Grant and a future draft pick. The Miami Herald on Saturday night reported that the Lakers will receive a first-rounder in 2006 or later.

One more note that reflects the Miami-Jordan connection: The first and only number retired in Heat franchise history is jordan's 23, a move made by Pat Riley.

Michael Jordan has been in discussions with Miami Heat officials about joining the organization as an owner, the Chicago Tribune, citing an anonymous source, reported in Monday's editions.

"Sorry I had to make you a pawn in my game of NBA chess, Piston!"

 

[Ninja Scooter]

That sonofabtich. Magic is now going to telepathically give Riley HIV.

 

[RobotChant]

ESPN reported that the Heat owner(s) are looking to sell the team. With Shaq on board the team looks more attractive to potential buyers. The new owners can either extend Shaq and stay relatively competitive or cut salary in one big swoop.

The Lakers never had much leverage in trading Shaq. He was intent on leaving; the Lakers either get something in return or they let him walk. Any scenario that would’ve brought in another superstar was just wishful thinking. As good as Shaq is, people were over estimating his value. He’s old and expensive and no sane GM is going to give up their young bigs for that.

 

[DMczaf]

A reporter on Sportscenter said "I asked Shaq "What is your prediction for the playoffs?" and he looked me dead in the eye, real serious and said "I'll let your mother rub my feet""

LOL!!!

 

[Ninja Scooter]

A reporter on Sportscenter said "I asked Shaq "What is your prediction for the playoffs?" and he looked me dead in the eye, real serious and said "I'll let your mother rub my feet""

LOL!!!

i like the one where the reporter tells Shaq "thats a nice hat" and without a second of hesitation he goes "Your momma gave it to me." Im gonna miss the fatass. Best quotable athlete since Barkley.

 

[DMczaf]

After the 2000 NBA Playoffs

Shaq - "From now on, I'm going to be known as the Big Deporter"

Reports - "Big Deporter???"

Shaq - "Yes, I beat Divac in the 1st round, Longley in the 2nd round, Sabonis in the 3rd round, and Smits in the Finals. I sent them all back to their home countries."

ESPN also played the "Yo momma gave me this hat" clip LOL!

 

[Guzim]

Look who I met!

edit

 

[Bat]

Well, if i'm Kobe Bryant, I jump ship to the Clippers. A lineup of Livingston/Kobe/Maggette/Brand/Kaman sounds pretty good. That said, I don't like the Shaq trade for either side. The Lakers unload Shaq to a EC team and get Lamar Odom but take on the Brian Grant contract which nullifies that. Miami gives up on its extremely promising young core for two years of EC contention and gutted their roster in the process.

 

[Ninja Scooter]

Well, if i'm Kobe Bryant, I jump ship to the Clippers. A lineup of Livingston/Kobe/Maggette/Brand/Kaman sounds pretty good. That said, I don't like the Shaq trade for either side. The Lakers unload Shaq to a EC team and get Lamar Odom but take on the Brian Grant contract which nullifies that. Miami gives up on its extremely promising young core for two years of EC contention and gutted their roster in the process.

its a good thing you're not Kobe Bryant. The Clippers are a hellhole. Always have been. Always will be. They will never be a legit winner as long as Donald Sterling is running things.

and it turns out (according to AP) that Jerry Buss offered Shaq a 3 year/$90 million extension all the long, and that was viewed as "disrespect" by Shaq. He wanted 5-6 years. Yeah, he was really "forced out" by Kobe and Buss.

 

[Cloudy]

And according to that same AP report, Kobe hasn't talked to Buss since the end of the season. Kinda funny for the guy who is supposedly running the show lol

http://msnbc.msn.com/id/5425980/

Lakers owner hopes to get ‘my 2 cents in’ before superstar makes decision, claims Bryant not driving force behind departures of Jackson, Shaq

In other news, Rob Pelinka is resigning as Boozer's agent. Looks like there was a verbal commitment (but no actual deal) in place but Booze reneged on it against his agent's wishes. I can't say that I blame him for taking the cash though. If he plays for the "crumbs" the Cavs were offering and got hurt, they would cut his ass loose with some crappy buyout lol

PS: It seems the Cavs are now offering one year at 5 mil with re-negotiation after the season

 

[Bat]

They (the Clips) might be a terrible franchise, but they have a promising young lineup under contract for the next 4+ years. Plus, Kobe could do no greater than changing a losing franchise into a champion, like Jordan did to the Bulls.

 

[Cloudy]

The Clips do have the better roster right now but I think Kobe will end up staying...

 

[DMczaf]

In other news, Rob Pelinka is resigning as Boozer's agent. Looks like there was a verbal commitment (but no actual deal) in place but Booze reneged on it against his agent's wishes.

Wow, an agent with dignity? That's scary.

 

[bionic77]

They (the Clips) might be a terrible franchise, but they have a promising young lineup under contract for the next 4+ years. Plus, Kobe could do no greater than changing a losing franchise into a champion, like Jordan did to the Bulls.

Not gonna happen, I will totally spaz out and join the Jordaphile club and become an official Kobe Hater if that actually happens. Then again I never thought we would trade Shaq for Lamar Odom.

 

[Bat]

He has no dignity....he's just doing it to save clients and to prevent his agency (SFX) from dumping him. He's already gotten a terrible repuration among agents, players, and managements from this entire incident, which he was fine with until the media backlash.

 

[Cloudy]

He has no dignity....he's just doing it to save clients and to prevent his agency (SFX) from dumping him. He's already gotten a terrible repuration among agents, players, and managements from this entire incident, which he was fine with until the media backlash.

Is it possible that they agreed with the Cavs but Boozer couldn't pass up the Jazz offer? It would really be slimy if he encouraged Booze to do this then turns on him lol The way ESPN had it, it was Boozer's and his wife's (who is into the sports biz as well) call.

PS: It would be funny as hell if Kobe goes to the Clips. No team would deal with Pelinka again LOL

 

[DarienA]

Like I said, then let Shaq play his buff and essentially end his career by watching from home. If I were a GM I would never operate from a position of weakness unless absolutely necessary.

Essentially ends his career? You're crazy. It would simply be a year off and he'd still be getting offers when the next season rolled around.

 

[bionic77]

Essentially ends his career? You're crazy. It would simply be a year off and he'd still be getting offers when the next season rolled around.

Taking a year off would definitely hurt his game and he might decline even further then he has. He is too old to do that kind of stuff now. I am sure that some GMs would take the 30-40 M dollar plung and go after Shaq, but after seeing the guy sit out because he didn't want to honor his contract would hurt his value in the eyes of some coaches and GMs too. And the Lakers might get something better then Odom and Grant the next year. Hell for 30M they could land someone like KG or Duncan if they were interested.

 

[DarienA]

Taking a year off would definitely hurt his game and he might decline even further then he has. He is too old to do that kind of stuff now. I am sure that some GMs would take the 30-40 M dollar plung and go after Shaq, but after seeing the guy sit out because he didn't want to honor his contract would hurt his value in the eyes of some coaches and GMs too. And the Lakers might get something better then Odom and Grant the next year. Hell for 30M they could land someone like KG or Duncan if they were interested.

tat tat tat tat.... you said essentially end his career.... there are so many factors in that equation that it's ridiculous... what if the year off actually helped him recover from the nagging feet injuries... what if he shed more weight? What if he actually trained for FT's over the year? Of course the opposite could happen to, but please teams were still field offers for crazy ass Rodman. Shaq might HURT his future offers but there would still definitely be teams interested in him. You can't deny that.