A Prediction

Shaq has always been one of my least favorite NBA players.  By all accounts, he is gregarious, fun loving, and a good teammate.  Why do I hate him when I am all of those 3 things (I was...when I played sports...I guess I still am when I fill on on the flag football team)?

I can't stand him because he's not accountable.  Here's what I mean: Find a game on ESPN classic from when he first got to LA.  Better yet, find a classic college game when he was at LSU.  The dude was huge obviously, but he was also in great shape.  He was explosive.  He looked like a more jacked version of Greg Oden.  Those days are long behind us.

Say what you want about Kobe Bryant, but his criticisms of Shaq are right on.  Shaq sits on his behind all off season and plays himself into shape during the regular season.  The 1st couple years of this, he could get away with it, so he kept doing it.  After he couldn't gt away with it, he did it anyway.  No one called him on it because he gave great quotes to the press and made self serving comments; giving himself a new nickname every week.

It started with him missing 10 games a year, then 20, then 30.  It wasn't just the stuff caused by people hammering him because he couldn't hit water if fell out of a boat from the line, it was knees, ankles, feet, back...or the things you hurt when you are carrying too much weight.  AKA, fat people injuries.  

His contract cripples any team's cap situation, he demands the ball 30 times per game despite not being able to lumber himself up court anymore.  He went from Chamberlain to Charles Oakley.  He loves living in Miami.  He collects his mega paychecks and hosts parties on the beach.  He is literally killing the Miami Heat.  Their hands are tied as they trot out a lineup of: Dorrell Wright, Jason Williams, Mark 'Do Not Add Me to Your Fantasy Team' Blount, Ricky Davis, and Dwayne Wade.  They can't do anything.  I say good.  They set basketball back years when they won a title.  Their offense was Wade going 1-5 and 'drawing a foul' by hurtling himself into defenders.  They got a title.  Ugh.

Anyway, here is the prediction.  Shaq, despite his exorbitant salary and poor play, will be traded.  Someone is going to do it.  Someone who needs some goodwill.  Someone who thinks that this aging has been still has something left in the tank besides 50 games on the injured list.  Someone who has made poor decisions in the past.  Someone who needs to shake things up because his hand picked players aren't doing what he thought they would.  Can you think of anyone like that?

 Me neither.