The Perpetual NBA Thread

**kimpOy** · July 21st, 2004 09:16 AM

sixers traded eric snow for kedrick brown and kevin ollie of the cavaliers

warriors' van exel shipped to portland for dale davis and dan dickau

**baiskee** · July 21st, 2004 09:27 AM

sabi na eh...duda ko talaga aalisin si van exel.

**ssaloon** · July 21st, 2004 12:25 PM

Ostertag leaves Jazz to become a King. Filling in the void left by Vlade.

**baiskee** · July 21st, 2004 12:36 PM

shaq's promise: "I'm going to bring a championship to miami."

nakow...nagyabang agad si kalbo.:mad:

**ssaloon** · July 21st, 2004 01:06 PM

hehehehe

**theveed** · July 21st, 2004 03:00 PM

Si Ostertag na ata ang pinaka bano na sikat sa NBA hehe

**mazdamazda** · July 21st, 2004 03:06 PM

Originally posted by baiskee
shaq's promise: "I'm going to bring a championship to miami."

nakow...nagyabang agad si kalbo.:mad:

hahaha...

balita ko si malone susunod sa kanya dun ha? :D

**ILuvDetailing** · July 21st, 2004 03:15 PM

A good read regarding shaq's promise:

Shaquille O’Neal stepped to the microphone Tuesday in Miami and answered a question about his feelings toward Los Angeles with this: “I was raised well, I was raised to be a professional.” What he meant was: “I hate Kobe.”

When asked if he had any comments about the Lakers, he said, “I’ll say something, but this is not the time.” What he meant was: “I hate Jerry Buss.”

And when asked about his outlook on a new start in South Beach, he answered: “I’m going to bring a championship to Miami. I promise.” What he meant was: “I hate Kobe and Jerry Buss.”

This sudden love affair with Miami is a shotgun wedding. Shaq demanded a contract extension, and when the Lakers balked, he demanded a trade. So I would warn the folks in Florida who gave him a hero’s homecoming Tuesday not to get too misty eyed. Shaq would have gone to Guam for a bump in pay.

But the nation is indeed in the midst of a Shaq renaissance. When he left L.A. for Miami, he took the high road, even though he probably needed a map to find it. During an ESPN interview right after the megatrade, he refused to take the bait when the topic of Kobe coddling was repeatedly raised.

And Tuesday, he kept his cool, his temperature spiking only when asked if he thought there was anyone in the East who could stop him. He answered most emphatically that there was no one, period, in any conference, anywhere. If you looked closely during that declaration, you could see both a “I hate Kobe” and a “I hate Jerry Buss” on the tip of his tongue.

Shaq is best advised to leave Los Angeles behind, and to continue to look ahead with his remarks. It is the best course of action to ensure his own productivity and the well-being of the Miami Heat. If he shifts into recrimination mode, it will only distract from the task at hand.

Success is the best revenge. Shaq is a big man, and if he continues to embrace a first-class attitude, he’ll be the bigger man in any perceived cold war with Kobe.

However, this New Shaq formula will only work if he drags himself into a gym and sheds about 20 pounds of Old Shaq.

One of the main reasons O’Neal is now a member of the Miami Heat is because he didn’t maximize his ability. That might explain why he’s so hesitant to blast his former employer or superstar teammate. Deep down, he knows it was wrong to blow off the summer of 2002 and wait until training camp began to get knee surgery, then explain it away by saying, “I got hurt on company time and I’ll rehab on company time.”

He also probably understands that yelling, “Pay me!” to the Lakers’ owner during an exhibition game last October probably was not the most diplomatic way of opening talks on an extension, especially when he had three more years left on his current deal.

And somewhere, beyond his zeppelin-like ego, he probably might admit to himself that taking a dig at Kobe during training camp last fall by saying, “The whole team is here,” even though Bryant was absent while dealing with an obligation in his ***ual assault case, wasn’t very sporting.

But from a basketball standpoint, his greatest transgression was ignoring the telltale signs of age. He’s only 32, but he has 12 seasons of wear and tear on his knees. There comes a time in the career of every professional athlete when the old regimen no longer is enough. For Shaq to turn the Miami experience into a rebirth, he has to make a commitment to physical fitness.

What’s past is past. That not only applies to verbal spats with teammates and contract tussles with the owner. It means tossing away old work habits and developing new ones. If Shaq doesn’t renounce his errant ways, he has little chance at making good to the Miami fans on the promise of a championship.

If the past is any indicator, the prognosis is bleak. When he played in the West, he competed against several quality big men. Even with that challenge before him, he approached seasons as if he expected to decimate opponents with his reputation alone.

Now he’s in the East, where the competition is diminutive by comparison. If he didn’t absolutely have to get in shape before, he has even less incentive now. This could result in pizzas during huddles and an open buffet at halftime.

Shaq should understand that Kobe and Buss win if he blimps out. If Shaq continues his pattern of playing like the most dominant center in basketball only when the mood suits him, he will make Buss look wise for shipping him out of L.A. He will also make Pat Riley look reckless for ripping up a rising contender in the East to build around a marquee superstar with declining skills.

Shaq is hinting that he will rip Kobe and Buss at some future date, but that would be a mistake. If he truly wants a fresh beginning, he needs to keep his ego in solitary confinement. The Kobe-Shaq rift — at the core of the Shaq-Buss divorce — was the result of two silly, immature, prideful and selfish stars who couldn’t iron out their differences for the greater good. If Shaq fires bitter salvos at his antagonists in L.A., it will only underline why the Lakers felt the need to get rid of him in the first place.

Right now, the Miami Heat probably is the second best team in the East, behind the Detroit Pistons — and that’s only because I assume Riley will surround Shaq and Dwyane Wade with enough complementary players to make a run at the NBA Finals. It’s a new day for Miami after so many years of disappointment, and also the dawning of the Shaq Era.

As long as their new center doesn’t celebrate by badmouthing his enemies while chomping on a bagful of burgers, the citizens of Miami should be hopeful.

**estong_bulutong** · July 21st, 2004 03:43 PM

I believe kaya pa rin ni Shaq magdala ng game.... especially ka tandem niya si Wade...

I'm looking forward to the first meeting between the Lakers and the heat....

hmmmmm

**baiskee** · July 21st, 2004 06:46 PM

i hate to say this pero... sorry shaq, my heart belongs to LA. hehe:D

I believe kaya pa rin ni Shaq magdala ng game.... especially ka tandem niya si Wade...

I'm looking forward to the first meeting between the Lakers and the heat....

kaya naman talaga nya magdala...di lang nya kaya ayusin free throw nya..

at gusto ko matalo si shaq...nayayabangan na ko dyan sa kalbong yan..