Loved the way Shaq was able to come back this year and show the NBA he still has skillz.

Thought I'd make a thread for all things Shaq...rumours, trades, jokes, etc.

Was thinking though...could Shaq be the difference maker for any team right now? For example, if Shaq was in Cleveland would he have been the solution to getting the Cavs to the finals? Assuming Duncan was healthy next season, could Shaq make the Spurs the best old-guy team and make another run for the finals?

how my ass taste

lol

He is only effective in small spurts now, and 20-25 minutes a game tops. And apparently playing in back to back games is really difficult. But for certain teams he would be a phenomenal addition.

His salary is a killer though - if i were the cavs i might be willing to do one year but longer than that would be a disaster

He'd probably get the cavs through the Magic but he'd be horrible against the Lakers

That's a good point. For as many minutes as he can give I'm wondering how many takers there will be for him.

The problem is that even if a team wants him they can't trade for him unless they send $20 million in salary the other way.

Or have just a ton of cap room. Shaq's contract is only for like one more year, right? A team like Dallas could trade for him for one year ( because they have a ton of cap room this off season) and then let his contract expire in 2010 to jump into the huge free agent pool for that year.


IF shaq's contract is longer than a year, disregard this post.

The Cavs showed a lot of interest last year....not sure if that makes sense though. Maybe.

Also, I used to 100% on Shaq's side in his feud with Kobe. Now, I am not sure at all. Shaq left Miami like a really prick. He leaves everywhere like a prick. And some of the crap he says should be beneath someone of his stature. It is weird.

And he was 100% wrong about SVG.

I sort of disagree. The guy does panic a lot, he was right about that. He has just recovered from the panic pretty well during this playoff run.

this thread is so 5 years ago

I've found this site to be great for checking out salaries and what a team's cap situation is.

http://hoopshype.com/salaries.htm

Dallas doesn't have cap space next season, they already have almost $69 million committed. Just because Kidd comes off their books doesn't mean they have cap room.

Shaq has a $20 million contract for 2009/10 and then is a free agent so he's an expiring contract.

shaq going to the cavs is the dumbest thing i've ever heard. shaq doesnt change anything against the magic

he's not worth the money but if they trade wally's contract for shaq's - shaq definitely guards howard better than Z

they hit all those threes because the cavs couldn't cover howard

fyp

I disagree - they were ripping wide open threes that whole series - Howard would need to be double teamed and they'd pass the ball around the perimeter until someone was wide open

For a team to benefit from shaq they definitely need a good C-PF on the bench to hop on. Back-to-back isn't a worry in the playoffs which is obviously why you get Shaq...he's not a rebuilding tool.

ya, the cost is high for him but if he could be the difference maker who knows. I leave the business side to the GMs.

I'd have to think that if Shaq was with the Cavs then Big Z would be a sweet guy to have off the bench. Plus that gives them more fouls.

He is only going to want to play for a contender.

In the east that pretty much means Boston, Cleveland, Orlando who could all find ways to use him. I can't think of any teams in the west he puts over the edge, even Dallas who he would help but I don't think they are championship material with him.

LOL @ panic alot. What does that even mean.

then why was cuban t alking about all the cap room he had on simmons pod cast last week? odd..

You ever watch him on the sideline. He goes hysterical and freaks out when fairly insignificant things happen that don't go his way.

Also I think he has done a horrible job in the finals. Completely the opposite of what he was doing against Cleveland, it makes no sense.

That doesnt' make it panic. People take results, and label shit after the fact. If Van Gundy was a 3 time champion, people would just call him emotional and passionate, but if he doesn't win a championship he panics. They do the same thing with coaches that are unemotional. If a coach just stands there and shows now emotion at all, and wins he's calm and stoic, and if he loses he needs to care about the game, needs passion, needs to fire his team up. It's all just bullshit and nonsense. Van Gundy might be emotional and demonstrative, but that doesn't make it panic, and doesn't make him a bad coach in any way.

Playing JJ Reddick over Courtney Lee does though. So does playing Nelson over Alston. I laughed listening to his press conference when he explained the move, saying that Nelson wasn't hurting them? Who was guarding Fisher on that last basket that game him the open look at the 3?

If Howard hits his free throws it's a moot point, but still Nelson looked way out of sync most of the time he is on the court.

*Edit*

For the record, I like SVG... he is the closest thing basketball has to Ozzie Guillen.

And this I agree with, but those are coaching moves. I thought it was funny that when he first played nelson in the second half, the first thing nelson did was literally fall down coming up the court and turn the ball over.

No coach is perfect. Maybe bringing Nelson back was bad. But that play he drew up at the end of Game 2 was pure genius. He coached circles around Mike Brown and he has held his own with Phil Jackson. One made layup by Lee and one made FT by Howard and Orlando is up 3-1.

SVG is a very good coach. Not a perfect coach but certainly not a master of panic. He is just on emotional overload on the sideline.....he coaches with his heart on his sleeve. I think it is fun to watch him go nuts in his Men's Wearhouse suit collection.

I can't blame the missed layup on Lee, that shot was ridiculous. Stan drew up a good play, I'll give him that. But better coaching earlier in the game and they wouldn't have even been in a situation where they needed a miracle layup from Lee to win. I read Simmons column on the game yesterday and for once I pretty much agreed with the entirety of his column. There were a lot of reasons the Magic lost game 2, Lee missing the lay-up should be way down the list.

His rotation in the Cleveland series was much better.

Not blaming Lee (I agree with Simmons completely) but if that layup goes in SVG is a genius and this series would still be very competitive.

Dealing with a starter coming back at an awkward time is a tough spot for a coach. SVG's best move in the postseason has been giving Pietrus major minutes. He is the guy who helped his own career the most this postseason.

Orlando? Shaq would be a pretty sick back-up for Dwight but I don't see Shaq-daddy willing to play 10-15 min. a game which is what would happen.

ya, Boston would be pretty sick with a starting line-up of Shaq, KG, Pierce, Allen, Rondo (assuming this year wasn't a fluke for the pg). Allen and Pierce would get so many more open looks.

San Antonio is getting old but assuming Ginobilli and Duncan are healthy wouldn't that make the Spurs a force as well? Shaq, Duncan, Bowen (or whoever), Ginobilli, Parker

I think the Cavs were simply easier to match-up from a coaching perspective. Plus having Dwight shoot FT like he never has helped a lot.

Shaq and Duncan are both centers and couldn't play on the floor at the same time against most teams. Other teams would exploit them like crazy on the defensive end.

When both Duncan and Robinson played together Duncan was young and more mobile and Robinson was one of the most athletic big men in the game. At this point Shaq is of course old and slow on defense and Duncan can not guard perimeter big men.

Don't believe the hype about Duncan being a forward. That's only out there so that he can make all star teams and not be compared on all time lists with the great centers in history.

Welcome Shaq

Danny Ferry just another drunk fantasy team owner

But I guess its a good way to open up cap for Lebron's free agent year

Holy shit, if the league wanted a Cav/Lakers final this year, what in the hell is going to happen next year? Lakers/Cavs could be the most hyped final in the history of sports.