Is Shaq kissing too much a$$

[cobbler]

He wanted to be the man and failed miserably after Shaq left. Before the Gasol robbery, they were destined to be a 3rd-5th seed, even with Bynum healthy.

I'm not talking about skills. Kobe isn't liked as well as Jordan was or as Lebron is now. He can never undue his reputation as being selfish or with his arrest a few years ago. He will be recognized as a great player, but won't have the iconic status as Jordan, mainly because he's been an asshole most of his career and people don't like assholes.

The Lakers were in first place in the west when Bynum went down, after he went down pre Gasol, and post Gasol so I am not sure how you come up with 3-5th seed.

Kobe often took the high road with Shaq. But Shaq is the loveable goof so Kobe was the bad guy. His compe ive nature also worked against him just as it did Jordan. Jordan was NOT loved by his teamates and compe ors. Respected? Yes. Jordan was the nike media darling. Perceptions are not reality. Just as the perceptions during the Shaq/Kobe era. The real Shaq is showing through now though and I think many are realizing tha Kobe took a lot of unwarranted blame. Shaq has crapped on every team he has ever played for and will do so again with the Suns. None of us knows the real persons. We know what the media portrays. Some just buy into it much easier than others.

[cobbler]

Shaq once made a comment, "If you dont like me, then something must be wrong with you." This was in reference of he and Kobe not getting along, and I kept thinking

or the classic.... "Kobe doesn't know how to play team ball.... this is MY team and the ball should be going through me"

[Pelicans78]

The Lakers were in first place in the west when Bynum went down, after he went down pre Gasol, and post Gasol so I am not sure how you come up with 3-5th seed.

Kobe often took the high road with Shaq. But Shaq is the loveable goof so Kobe was the bad guy. His compe ive nature also worked against him just as it did Jordan. Jordan was NOT loved by his teamates and compe ors. Respected? Yes. Jordan was the nike media darling. Perceptions are not reality. Just as the perceptions during the Shaq/Kobe era. The real Shaq is showing through now though and I think many are realizing tha Kobe took a lot of unwarranted blame. Shaq has crapped on every team he has ever played for and will do so again with the Suns. None of us knows the real persons. We know what the media portrays. Some just buy into much easier than others.

That's not true. Phoenix were number one at the time and the Hornets were number 2 right before their 10 game winning streak.

[adidas11]

People are conveniently forgetting the selfish bull that Kobe used to do with the Lakers back when Shaq was there. Shaq and the rest of the team just wanted him to play team ball, and Kobe stubbornly refused to do that.

He did it so much, that during the 2000-2001 season, Phil Jackson contemplated benching Kobe, even though he was one of the leading scorers in the league. The only reason he left him in was because he needed his defense on the perimeter.

Kobe was the source of friction for the entire team back then. Ask any of the old school players from that team (Horry, Horace Grant, Rick Fox, Ron Harper, AC Green, etc.), and they ALL sided with Shaq.

[Lakers>Spurs]

People are conveniently forgetting the selfish bull that Kobe used to do with the Lakers back when Shaq was there. Shaq and the rest of the team just wanted him to play team ball, and Kobe stubbornly refused to do that.

He did it so much, that during the 2000-2001 season, Phil Jackson contemplated benching Kobe, even though he was one of the leading scorers in the league. The only reason he left him in was because he needed his defense on the perimeter.

Kobe was the source of friction for the entire team back then. Ask any of the old school players from that team (Horry, Horace Grant, Rick Fox, Ron Harper, AC Green, etc.), and they ALL sided with Shaq.

[FreeMason]

Shaq. You've made a lot of money in your career big fella.

Now it's time to stomp that asshole in L.A. once and for all. Hit him where it hurts the most Shaq.

Come to S.A. and send Kobe fishing! There is no better way to seek your revenge. A couple more years of Kobe not winning his ring and he will implode the Lakers AGAIN.

[Lakers>Spurs]

If Shaq ever went to SA, I'd never root for him again.

And Cobb, quit Shaq hating.

[Lakers>Spurs]

What a god damn beast he was in '00. First in points, second in boards, third in blocks

[adidas11]

Like Ive said before. Whe Shaq was leading the Lakers, we were getting swept out by Utah. When Kobe took over, the league became our toilet.

Actually, that's the Lakers were getting swept by Utah and San Antonio before Phil arrived, and after he arrived (and laid down the law that Shaq was the focal point of the offense), then the Lakers became unbeatable.

[Lakers>Spurs]

Kobe didn't take over till the 04-05 season. That led LA to an 8th seed before he got hurt.

What happens if Bynum gets traded for Kidd? I guarantee Kobe would be walking this Summer.

Kobe flip-flops about as much as Shaq.

[ElNono]

Like Ive said before. Whe Shaq was leading the Lakers, we were getting swept out by Utah. When Kobe took over, the league became our toilet.

You really mean Phil Jackson...

[SenorSpur]

The simple fact that Shaq demanded 30mil a year during a year when he knew the team had to sign Kobe says a lot about his character as well. Im not defending Kobe in any of this, but to say that Kobe was not a team player is rediculous!!! Shaq had the highest scoring average of any center in NBA finals history, and yet he still complained about touches.

Sounds like a certain "diva" wide receiver, who plays for the NFL's most visible franchise. He also behaves like a petulant child, as constantly complains about his touches too. He will also throw any teammate "under the bus" to do so.

[jonnybravo]

Very similar cir stances.

Didn't know Magic ran out Riley. I thought they were tight to the end. I know they're still tight today. What the happened there?


I thought Horry left because he was being scapegoated for the poor year that he had. What kind of beef could Shaq have possibly had with Nick the Quick?


Don't forget Brian Shaw. I do remember he loudly requested the Fakers sign him from their days in Orlando.

As far as Horry, you guys are reading way too much into it.

For his entire tenure as the patriach of the Lakers, Buss never shied away from paying the stars but rarely would do the same to role players.

The moment it "appeared" HOrry was done, his ass $5/year ass was gone.

[jonnybravo]

People conviently forget that the Lakers didnt win any les with Shaq as the go to guy until Kobe became the assasin that led Shaq to become jealous and leave. Shaq played 3 seasons with LA and didnt sniff a le. Kobe takes over and they win three in a row. But just because you guys memory seem to be fuzzy, lets take a trip down memory lane with the Big Egomaniac!!!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shaquille_O'Neal

Los Angeles Lakers
After the 1995–96 season, O'Neal left the Orlando Magic to join the Los Angeles Lakers after being enticed by a seven-year, $121 million contract. The announcement was made in Atlanta at the 1996 Summer Olympics.

O'Neal joined a young Laker squad that had recently returned to the playoffs, but of which little was expected. O'Neal's arrival vastly changed expectations, but he missed a significant number of games due to injury in the 1996-97 season and several players had difficulty meshing with the new focal point of the offense. By 1997–98, key role players Rick Fox and Robert Horry had been added by Laker GM Jerry West. This group meshed well and won 61 regular season games. However, in both of his first two seasons in Los Angeles, O'Neal suffered a lopsided play-off defeat by the Utah Jazz. The Lakers lost the 1997 conference semifinals 4-1 and 1998 conference finals 4-0.
During a shootaround prior to the season opener versus the Utah Jazz in 1997, O'Neal got into a spat with Utah center Greg Ostertag, slapping him and sending him tumbling to the floor. O'Neal was suspended for the incident. He did not play in the game, due to an abdominal injury.

The Lakers were clearly a team on the rise with the tandem of O'Neal and teenage superstar Kobe Bryant. However, the 1998–99 season was marked by nearly constant change within the Lakers. Long-time Lakers point guard Nick Van Exel was traded to the Denver Nuggets after a dispute with O'Neal. His former backcourt partner Eddie Jones was packaged with back-up center Elden Campbell for Glen Rice to satisfy a demand by O'Neal for a shooter. Coach Del Harris was fired and former Chicago Bulls forward Dennis Rodman was signed, but Rodman only lasted 23 games before leaving. The result was no better as the Lakers were swept by the San Antonio Spurs in the second round of the Western Conference playoffs. The Spurs would go on to win their first league le that year.

In 1999, the Lakers hired Phil Jackson as their new head coach, and the team's fortunes soon changed. Utilizing Jackson's triangle offense, O'Neal and Bryant went on to enjoy tremendous success on the court, as they led the Los Angeles Lakers to three consecutive NBA les (2000, 2001, 2002). O'Neal was named MVP of the NBA Finals all three times and has the highest scoring average for a center in NBA Finals history.

O'Neal was also voted the 1999–2000 regular season Most Valuable Player, coming just one vote short of becoming the first unanimous MVP in NBA history. Fred Hickman, then of CNN, was the sole voter who did not cast his first place vote for O'Neal, instead choosing Allen Iverson, then of the Philadelphia 76ers. O'Neal also won the scoring le that year while finishing second in rebounds and third in blocked shots.

In the summer of 2001, holding a basketball camp on the campus of Louisiana State University, O'Neal was challenged by LSU alumnus and current Boston Celtics player Glen "Big Baby" Davis, then 15 years of age and attending high school, to a friendly wrestling match, in which O'Neal, weighing 350 lb (160 kg; 25 st), was lifted and body-slammed to the ground, leaving an impression on him.[6] In January 2002 he was involved in a spectacular on-court brawl in a game against the Chicago Bulls, punching center Brad Miller after an intentional foul to prevent a basket and resulting in a melee with Miller, forward Charles Oakley and several other players.[7] O'Neal was suspended for three games without pay and given a $15,000 fine.[8]


Shaquille O'Neal at the White House greeting President Bush with his fellow Lakers.After the Lakers fell to 5th seed and failed to reach the Finals in 2003, the team made a concerted off-season effort to improve its roster. They sought the free agent services of forward legend Karl Malone and aging guard Gary Payton, but due to salary cap restrictions, could not offer either one nearly as much money as he could have made with other teams. O'Neal assisted in the recruitment efforts and personally persuaded both men to join the team. Ultimately, each of them signed, forgoing larger salaries in favor of a chance to win an NBA championship, something neither had accomplished in his career (which neither would achieve with the Lakers). At the beginning of the 2003–04 season, with two years left on his contract at the time, O'Neal informed the team of his desire for a substantially larger extension to his contract. O'Neal remained persistently vocal about this desire, but Laker management was hesitant to meet his demands amid concerns about his work ethic, the possibility of further injuries, and a general decline in his game due to age. It is widely believed that there was also concern about O'Neal's relationship with Kobe Bryant, as the two had exchanged public barbs during the off-season. With Bryant scheduled to become a free agent at the end of that season, many believed he would not choose to remain with the Lakers as O'Neal's sidekick.

The Lakers did eventually offer O'Neal a large contract in February 2004 (according to the book Madmen's Ball by Mark Heisler) under which he would have unquestionably continued to remain the highest paid player in the league, but he reportedly refused after feeling his services were not needed.
After the Lakers' loss to the Detroit Pistons in the 2004 NBA Finals, O'Neal was angered by comments made by Lakers general manager Mitch Kupchak regarding O'Neal's future with the club, as well as by the departure of Lakers coach Phil Jackson at the request of Dr. Buss. O'Neal made comments indicating that he felt the team's decisions were centered on a desire to appease Bryant to the exclusion of all other concerns, and O'Neal promptly demanded a trade. The Dallas Mavericks and their team owner Mark Cuban were extremely interested in O'Neal and were willing to make a trade with the Lakers, but Kupchak wanted Dirk Nowitzki, the Mavs' superstar, in return. Cuban refused to let go of Nowitzki and the Lakers ended trade talks with Dallas. However, Miami showed interest and gradually a trade agreement was made.


The simple fact that Shaq demanded 30mil a year during a year when he knew the team had to sign Kobe says a lot about his character as well. Im not defending Kobe in any of this, but to say that Kobe was not a team player is rediculous!!! Shaq had the highest scoring average of any center in NBA finals history, and yet he still complained about touches.

Like Ive said before. Whe Shaq was leading the Lakers, we were getting swept out by Utah. When Kobe took over, the league became our toilet.

Lalaluva - I have a feeling you followed the Lakers like me, which is WAY before the threepeat years. Unlike some people, my best years as a Lakers fan isn't relegated to listening to Shaq fellate himself. Makes me en sick actually. In fact, if you guys dig through Flea's blogs in regards to this current Lakers team...he feels exactly like I do. It has the spirit and joy that was missing from the 3-peat team and is VERY similar in that regard to the Magic crew I grew up watching.

[cobbler]

If Shaq ever went to SA, I'd never root for him again.

And Cobb, quit Shaq hating.

I cannot stand the BIG HYPOCRITE...

Sorry

[cobbler]

Lalaluva - I have a feeling you followed the Lakers like me, which is WAY before the threepeat years. Unlike some people, my best years as a Lakers fan isn't relegated to listening to Shaq fellate himself. Makes me en sick actually. In fact, if you guys dig through Flea's blogs in regards to this current Lakers team...he feels exactly like I do. It has the spirit and joy that was missing from the 3-peat team and is VERY similar in that regard to the Magic crew I grew up watching.

.... and go figure. This team that is really a joy to watch, who are always laughing and supporting each other, who you can see are having fun, has that malcontent non team player Kobe right smack in the middle laughing with them. Yet the "team guy" went on to Miami.... then trashed them when he got out of shape and demanded a trade just like he did his previous 2 teams before that. Hmmmmmmmmmmmmm If it looks like, feels like, smells like...

[IronMexican]

Neither Shaq or Kobe was/is a team guy. If either one were, they would still be on the same team, and one wouldn't be making max money.