with the cavs season ending we may have just witnessed the end of an era in the NBA while Shaq hasnt spoken much about his plans he was not the same player this year as he was in phoenix. His age and injuries have caught up with him big time. I am not sure if he will hang it up but no one is even talking about him as a possible acquisition this offseason. this very well could have been his last game and if it was it was fun watching him the NBA will miss his game and more importantly, his personality.
I would not mind having him as a backup to Yao. He is still serviceable. Question is, would he be willing to. He does have a huge ego.
I haven't paid much attention to Shaq this season. But as I watching him on television today, the thought that ran through my mind was: "When did he get all those tattoos?" I don't want to watch a 40 year old Shaq, covered with tattoos, struggling to convert layups. He needs to retire.
i dont think he wants to go out like that. i can see him signing with a contending team that can actually make a decent run in the playoffs. maybe a 1 year deal with a player option for a second year.
<object width="640" height="505"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/gMWRQe901Dk&hl=en_US&fs=1&"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/gMWRQe901Dk&hl=en_US&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="640" height="505"></embed></object> one of the greatest performances i ever seen
Some players go out gracefully. Others just don't want to admit they are done and make a fool out of themselves. I have a feeling that Shaq belongs to the latter group.
Shaq only shot .566 from the field this year, his worst since '97 He went from All NBA 3rd Team to near the glue factory in a year. Thats what age can do to you. He'd could be the kind of player to sit out the first half of a year then sign on with someone, Deke style. Its if he'll keep himself in shape during that time IF he were to do that. He only plays 50-60 games a season anyways.
Yeah, Shaq in Houston wouldn't be a bad idea á-la Dikembe Mutombo, Chuck Jones, Chuck Nevitt... you know, the great ones. I'd welcome the big guy. Yao's parents would have him in the house ALL day.
Agreed. I was really looking forward to seeing him go balls to the wall and throw whatever he has left at Dwight. Sigh.
Yeah I just realized it too. The way he looked this season was a shell of his former self. There's no way he plays more minutes next season, wherever he goes. I'm sure he can get a contract somewhere, but if he goes on a good team he will get even less minutes than this year. We're talking 9th man off the bench kind of minutes. I don't know if he will admit it to himself, or if he's willing to do that.
Great thread Yo-Yo. I was thinking about this also. I was on the houston gold summer league team when we played the san antonio silver team. We had some big guys like Todd Shottlecottie? and this other big 6'10 kid that went to unc charlotte along with derek smith from humble, luke jackson to name a few. I saw this kid from sa and was literally in shock that a guy that big was that fluid. Later as i made my trek to the state playoffs, I saw shaq play against hitchcock in the 3a final and deestroy them. I followed his career from then on and met him more than a few times either in the club or through friends. To me, shaq is one of the most dominant forces to ever play the game period. I knew he was the truth when he was giving dream the bizness in the finals. Yeah dream outplayed shaq, but that wasn't the reason they lost. As time went on, he just got better and better. People said he would suffer if he got hurt. Actually, when he got hurt early in his career, it probably made him a better player. The fact guys like garnett,webber,j'oneal,rasheed, and other changed positions because they didn't want to guard shaq is a testimony to his greatness. If he got his weight down to 310-320 range, he could play longer, but if he's gone, so be it.
Man is a great entertainer and one of the greatest basketball players of all time. I couldn't help but smile watching him play today. He adds a toughness that just isn't common anymore, hes not afraid to get into another player in the name of competition. Guy is larger than life. I liked Shaq before I liked basketball. Take it easy big deezy. Sorry you had to catch the Lebron meltdown.
i think he still has 2 years left in him. he could still cruise during the regular season and turn it on during the playoffs.