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3 more years? Idk about that.
Updated.
Shaq goes back to No. 33
By Tom Withers
Shaquille O’Neal hasn’t picked out a house in Cleveland yet. He has chosen a jersey number—his old one.
Shaq is going back to No. 33.
Traded to the Cleveland Cavaliers on Thursday, the 15-time All-Star has decided to wear 33, the team confirmed Friday. That’s the number O’Neal wore in high school and at LSU before turning pro. O’Neal wore No. 32 when he was in Orlando, Miami and Phoenix.
When he was with the Los Angeles Lakers, O’Neal wore 34 because Nos. 32 and 33 were retired for Magic Johnson and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.
O’Neal’s trade—and the Orlando Magic’s deal to get Vince Carter— overshadowed this year’s NBA draft. The Cavaliers had been working on a possible trade for months with Phoenix for O’Neal and finally agreed to a package that sent Ben Wallace, Sasha Pavlovic, a second-round pick in next year’s draft and $500,000 to the Suns.
In Cleveland, O’Neal will be teammates with LeBron James, the latest in a long line of superstar partners to pair with the entertaining enter. O’Neal has previously with Anfernee Hardaway, Kobe Bryant, Dwyane Wade and Steve Nash. He won three les with Bryant and the Lakers and one with Wade.
James is after his first championship, and the Cavs believe O’Neal can help him get it.
Cleveland’s trade for O’Neal has Cavaliers fans convinced the club can end the city’s 45-year championship drought in the three major sports. However, O’Neal has yet to arrive in town and isn’t expected to make his first trip as a Cavalier to Ohio until next week.
When he does show up, Cleveland is expected to roll out the red carpet for a player who commands the same kind of attention afforded James.
James and O’Neal have been friends for several years. When James was a high school star in Akron, O’Neal attended one of his games and the two stars have maintained a solid relationship. This will be the first time James has been teammates with a player as well known as himself.
Cavs coach Mike Brown doesn’t envision any problems between the larger-than-life figures.
“Both guys are good guys,” Brown said. “Both guys like each other. Both guys will be happy to play with one another. And the most important thing is they have one common goal. Those things are the things that are going to make this work. Because they’re compe ive, because they have that one common goal, I think will help this relationship and make this journey work.
“Only time will tell as we go along how it all meshes out.”
A frequent user of Twitter, the social networking site, the 37-year-old O’Neal posted a message late Thursday night saying he planned to play longer than the one year he has left under contract.
“My numbers are not good enough to retire 3 more yrs left,” he tweeted.
Last edited by duncan228; 06-26-2009 at 08:31 PM.
3 more years? Idk about that.
Shaq as #33?
$$$$$$$$
He wants to play until he's 40. Doesn't mean it will be in Cleveland.
I could see Shaq in the league for 3 more years but only for the vet minimum.
Don't say I didn't warn you... This guy is gonna knot 2 good games in a row and then we're going to have the 'Shaq wants an extension' drama on ESPN, with Stu Scott going "Cavs would be crazy not to extend him"...
There's an error on the article - He wore 34 in LA
Should wear #60, because that's what LeBron will get when he adds a 37 (year old) to his 23 after he carries the one.
He can't wear 32 because the Cavs retired it when Larry Hughes left
Now, Laker fans, help me on this one. Didn't he wear #34 in LA? You know, because #32 is retired? You know, because that was, well, Magic Johnson's number?
Proofreading and fact checking works wonders. The writer. Not you, 228.
I'm using that! Some bag I work with is a die-hard Shaq supporter and apologist.
I think we should call LeBron "Superman" now because he will be carrying around another 340 Lbs. on his back.
Post #7, Strike.
Yeah. I saw it after I posted. I guess reading the entire thread works wonders, too.
Larry Hughes was one of the all-time greats for Cleveland.
The lack of fact checking and proofreading astounds me. Is it because of how fast stuff gets posted on the net? People just don't take the extra step of checking their work? If something has their name on it you'd think they'd want it right.
No way. "I GOTZ TO POST IT NOW!!!!!" seems to be how it works.
I think it's trying to be the first to post the story. They don't really proof read it because they want to be "first."
I agree. It takes no more than 5 minutes to fact check. That way, you wont end up with Francisco Oberto.
The article has been updated...and corrected.
Does that mean he'll go back to being the second best center on his team like in the LSU days?
Yes because LeBron played the '5' in some line-ups so he is the Cavs centre.
America doesn't have enough skilled people to fill the jobs that need skilled people, let alone the sports journalist jobs.
Shaq looks to play in NBA to age 40
Shaquille O'Neal is planning to play in the NBA until he is 40 and planning to wear his old high school and college jersey number, 33, when playing for the Cleveland Cavaliers next season.
O'Neal, 37, indicated in a Friday message on social internet website Twitter that he intends to continue in the league beyond the one-year contract he has remaining.
"My numbers are not good enough to retire 3 more yrs left," O'Neal's message said.
O'Neal was traded Thursday from the Phoenix Suns to the Cavaliers, where he will play alongside NBA Most Valuable Player LeBron James and try to help the superstar playmaker win his first NBA le.
The Cavaliers announced Friday that O'Neal will wear 33, the number he wore while a college star at Louisiana State, rather than 32, the jersey number he used to while with Miami, Orlando and Phoenix. He wore 34 while with the Los Angeles Lakers.
Bringing "Shaq" to the Cavaliers looks to be a move to help the team keep James from leaving next year as a free agent, an option he could exercise as a number of offers are expected should he go that route.
James, whose Cavaliers lost to San Antonio in last year's NBA Finals, said he is looking forward to playing alongside O'Neal.
"Shaq is an incredible ballplayer and a four-time NBA champion," James said. "I have a lot of respect for him and his game. It will be a real honor to play with Shaq as my teammate. I look forward to another great season with the Cavs."
Cavaliers general manager Danny Ferry sent Ben Wallace, Sasha Pavlovic and a 2010 draft pick plus money to the Suns for O'Neal.
"Obviously LeBron's future is important to our organization, but this move and our goals are in line with what I think our players want, which is to win a championship and win it this year. We don't want to be patient," Ferry said.
The move gives Cleveland a top center to contend with Orlando star Dwight Howard, who averaged 25.8 points, 13 rebounds and 1.2 blocked shots a game in the Eastern Conference finals to lead the Magic in defeating the Cavaliers.
O'Neal averaged 17.8 points, 8.4 rebounds and 1.4 blocked shots in 75 games and played 30 minutes a game, silencing talk that "Shaq" might be over the hill already.
"He is a force. He always has been. Still is," Ferry said. "On the defensive end, just around the basket, he's a wall. Offensively he's a force in that he's going to get double teams."
That should help James, himself a threat often requiring double coverage, and send Lithuanian veteran Zydrunas Ilgauskas to the bench.
"I do think he can have a really big impact in making the group better," Ferry said.
James and O'Neal both hunger for a le and that desire is expected to be larger than any possible ego conflicts, Cavaliers coach Mike Brown said.
"Both guys are good guys," Brown said. "Both guys like each other. Both guys will be happy to play with one another. And the most important thing is they have one common goal. Those are the things that are going to make this work.
"Because they're compe ive, because they have that one common goal, I think will help this relationship and make this journey work. Only time will tell as we go along how it all meshes out."
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