Update: Shaq denies rumor

by olf on Mar 11, 2009 2:29 AM CDT Comment 55 comments

Update:Shaq denies rumor

OK. I had a passing interest in this - like a wreck on the highway. And by now I am well past being interested in Shaq or the Suns.

But I feel like I should update it in case others care.

Update from Bright Side of the Sun Blog:

Shaq denies LA Times rumor mongering

Original Post Below:

Wow. The Suns are crumbling even further

Most people here already think that the Suns are toast. But I was reading the Arizona Republic's article about their loss to the Mavs tonight and I came across another couple of really downbeat Suns articles:

Bickley: This era's over, Suns fans This is their main Suns writer saying this.

LA Times: Shaq wants out of Phoenix How predictable was that once their ship started sinking?

Of course these articles are just words and who knows how this season will turn out. But the drama in the desert just doesn't stop.

Normally I take great delight in the Suns misfortune. I don't know how to spell that German word for that. "schadenfreude" (Hot damn, it was in spell check.)

But now I just kind of feel sorry for the regular 'non-A-Hole' Suns fan. I guess some must exist.

Hmmm...I'm sure that feeling won't last very long.

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Here's the relevant part of the original L A Times article

“Oh, and Shaq, who’s still broadcasting his love for Phoenix, is saying privately he wants out, upset to the highest level of upsetivity, as he once said, at almost being traded, or the team’s return to running, or both.”

The article is titled “Cavaliers’ future is full of Big Decisions” and the bulk of it is about the Cavs trying to acquire Shaq in the summer to keep Lebron – if they don’t win it all this year.

by olf on Mar 11, 2009 2:49 AM CDT reply actions 0 recs

And of course SBNation Blog-Bright Side Of The Sun

already has a write-up of this latest Shaq episode.

Perhaps all this Suns talk belongs over there, but I am hardly sympathetic to the Suns. So posting nasty comments about the Shaq situation over there now seems like the very definition of trolling.

by olf on Mar 11, 2009 3:16 AM CDT reply actions 0 recs

agreed

With the drafting of Manu and Parker and the signing of Oberto, the International Basketball era began in San Antonio. showing that all of the world's people can, in fact, come together in peace and harmony. After all, every nationality loves to kick the Hornets' asses.

by KA1Z3R on Mar 11, 2009 6:19 AM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

k in the stan van gundy vs. shaq feud, shaqtus said that van gundy was a front runner multiple times. I don’t really know what that means. I assumed it was someone who ditches their team for another team with a chance for a Championship. Is this right?

it sucks that the suns could never get over the hump (kinda, i guess), but shaq being ever douche-ful, is just adding insult to injury

What the Bowen giveth Horry taketh away. --LatinD (2008 Playoffs Round 2, Game 1)

the Spurs do not defeat you so much as they grind you into tiny shards of psychological wreckage.
-the Denver Post

by Hamer_SpursFan on Mar 11, 2009 6:23 AM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

shaq is without question the biggest hypocrite in sports (both literally and figuratively). every single thing that he has barked about someone else doing is something that he has either done, is doing, or will do.

i have never understood why even one person would have any positive feelings for this guy under any circumstances.

by bones on Mar 11, 2009 8:33 AM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

cause he makes people laugh occasionally. thats my guess

What the Bowen giveth Horry taketh away. --LatinD (2008 Playoffs Round 2, Game 1)

the Spurs do not defeat you so much as they grind you into tiny shards of psychological wreckage.
-the Denver Post

by Hamer_SpursFan on Mar 11, 2009 9:09 AM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

That’d be a good guess. And he’s very quotable. And there was a time when he seemed like a big kid, and people forgave him quickly because of that.

Straight from the No-Stat Zone to your computer!
Dunkin' Cheerleaders

by LatinD on Mar 11, 2009 9:41 AM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

It also helps that he was an absolute beast that revolutionized the NBA, by the way.

Straight from the No-Stat Zone to your computer!
Dunkin' Cheerleaders

by LatinD on Mar 11, 2009 9:41 AM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

I think this is the main reason… The guy was amazing in Orlando and LA. He is getting old, but nobody can deny his greatness in the basketball court, free throws aside…

by LasEspuelas on Mar 11, 2009 10:10 AM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

The only thing he revolutionized was being LARGE.

We specialize in misinformation around here. Facts and stats just get in the way.

by Wayne Vore (ATS) on Mar 11, 2009 10:37 AM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

Exactly.

Straight from the No-Stat Zone to your computer!
Dunkin' Cheerleaders

by LatinD on Mar 11, 2009 11:12 AM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

that’s not exactly a talent. He just happened to be big and fast. He never improved his game from his second or third year in the league. He never refined any of his talents. And he often was quite lazy in rebounding and defense. His off-season regimen is a joke and every time the chips are down, he out and out quits.

I’ve never gotten the Shaq thing. The guy is an immature asshole. He can dish it, but he can’t take it. When he was young he would say stupid things like “I own Arvydas Sabonis” or Vlade Divac or whoever, and it wouldn’t dawn on him that these guys are like 10 years older and 100 lbs lighter. Now he’s 36 and he can’t admit that Dwight Howard and Yao MIng are better players now at this stage of their careers. He can’t gracefully pass the mantle.

"Like feel or follow or fuck" she said...

by Aaronstampler on Mar 11, 2009 12:29 PM CDT up reply actions 1 recs

hear, hear!

who are you who can summon fire without flint or tinder? there are some who call me ... tim.

Awesome. If I was the kind of guy who posted a signature line, this would be it from now on. -SiMA

by ptruser on Mar 11, 2009 1:07 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

I didn’t say it was a talent, just that it was revolutionary. The impact he had in the game in the last decade and a half is undeniable, and people are quick to forgive that kind of player.

Straight from the No-Stat Zone to your computer!
Dunkin' Cheerleaders

by LatinD on Mar 11, 2009 1:26 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

I guess in his old age, talking up a storm is his only way of contribution to the team.

by Linix129 on Mar 11, 2009 4:56 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

The term “revolutionary” should be reserved for having a lasting impact on the game. For example, you could argue that Dirk Nowitzki is “revolutionary,” because now it’s acceptable for a 7-footer from Europe to shoot threes, whereas it seemed silly when he first came in the league. You might call Drazen Petrovic or Sarunas Marciulonis revolutionary for showing that Europeans can play, or Manu for showing that Brazilians can be athletic and tough and clutch and dunk on guys.

Shaq, by contrast, was dominant, but it’s not like his game was so different. He was just bigger and stronger. NBA GM’s didn’t say to themselves “A-Ha! I’ve got to find someone bigger and faster and stronger than everyone else. I never considered this before.” He’s more like the last of a dying breed, the big strong center. The league seems to be moving to smaller, quicker big men.

by tomasito on Mar 11, 2009 10:52 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

I think that when more than three important rules were created because of you, you quality as revolutionary. How’s that not a lasting impact?

Straight from the No-Stat Zone to your computer!
Dunkin' Cheerleaders

by LatinD on Mar 11, 2009 11:14 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

All right, you got me. What rule changes did he cause? I racked my brain, and the only one I could come up with was the off-the-ball foul rule in the last two minutes. I would consider rule changes precipitated by Mikan (3-seconds, wider lane, goal-tending) or Kareem (no dunking in college) to be revolutionary.

by tomasito on Mar 13, 2009 2:47 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

Geez, tomasito, you got me. I did some research, and the off-the-ball foul rule was actually done because of Wilt, not Shaq. I was talking out of my ass once more.

3-seconds defensive was arguably instituted because of Shaq, and when the league abolished “illegal defense” in 2001 I remember someone saying it was mostly because of him and a few other superstars. The 3-second offensive rule was not adopted because of Mikan, though.

I could argue that they had to redesign the posts because of his dunks, but that falls in the “he was just big” category, so I won’t. I could also argue that regardless of any rule changes, any time they played Shaq in his prime the other team’s main strategy was to find a way to contain him, and to a practically unmatched degree that even led to Hack-a-Shaq, but that’s debatable.

So I guess he wasn’t revolutionary. This is me eating my words. :)

Straight from the No-Stat Zone to your computer!
Dunkin' Cheerleaders

by LatinD on Mar 13, 2009 4:54 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

Well, you have to admit that there was some skill involved. I mean, Yao is large too, but he has single season highs of 10.7 rebounds and 2 blocks and you don’t criticize him for being lazy. So Shaq was obviously doing something right.

I think the maddening thing about Shaq (other than being a moron), is that with his mix of size and athleticism, he COULD have dominated the NBA, averaged 30p, 15r, and 4-5b a game. He’s also an above average passer for a big man. He just never put in the appropriate effort. He seemed content just scoring lots of points, basking in the media glow for doing so, and then be lazy in all other facets other than in being a prick and running his mouth.

by Neuwaldegg on Mar 11, 2009 9:37 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

The term you are looking for is “Fatass”.

Good people drink good beer - Hunter S. Thompson

by CapHill on Mar 11, 2009 6:54 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

and this from the Bickley article as well:

“… Basketball fans in the Valley have poured their sweat and soul into this franchise, and over the past four postseasons the Suns have been a civic obsession. In perception, they were the gutsy team battling their own axis of evil: the dastardly Spurs, the crooked referees and the vengeful commissioner…”

couldn’t help but laugh out loud at work…

by spurred on Mar 11, 2009 6:23 AM CDT reply actions 0 recs

the dastardly Spurs

::twirling evil moustache, throwing head back to laugh::

Mwahahahaha!

by Lauri on Mar 11, 2009 11:33 AM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

“You must pay the rent!!!”

You’re better off trying to intimidate the sea.
- LatinD

by jollyrogerwilco on Mar 11, 2009 10:01 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

That Bickley Quote

Sounds like a really bad movie preview. Now, if they could just get that guy with the really deep voice to read those words aloud …

In Perception
They were the gutsy team battling their own … AXIS OF EVIL

And so on …

Sabre

"Only a SPURS trophy will save us now."
- SiMA

"HEY! Amare Stoudamire does NOT! eat ice cream when on defense."
- Anonymous Suns Fan

- "Sportscenter - A total bum-pat fest of Kobe versus Lebron and how great it was. SOMEONE STOP THE BUS I WANT TO GET OFF!"
- Bushka

by Sabrewulf on Mar 11, 2009 10:33 AM CDT reply actions 0 recs

+1

It totally reads like apocalyptical preview of the end of the world…. or the end of the Suns world. So sad.

I am happy. I am proud. - Manu Ginobili

by bellasa on Mar 11, 2009 12:35 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

Hey ! I made your sig sabre hahaha i was reading it thinking man thats something i would say. Then totally realised it was something i did say.

" Before you criticize someone, you should walk a mile in their shoes, that way when you criticize them, you're a mile away and you have their shoes. "

by Bushka on Mar 11, 2009 5:02 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

Yeah Dude

I’ve had that up there since you posted it. It was hilarious then. It’s hilarious now.

We’re gonna have to add Chris Paul to the list tho, after that Hollinger article … they even corrupted Hollinger.

Sabre

"Only a SPURS trophy will save us now."
- SiMA

"HEY! Amare Stoudamire does NOT! eat ice cream when on defense."
- Anonymous Suns Fan

- "Sportscenter - A total bum-pat fest of Kobe versus Lebron and how great it was. SOMEONE STOP THE BUS I WANT TO GET OFF!"
- Bushka

by Sabrewulf on Mar 11, 2009 5:38 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

You're right. That is great

The “dastardly Spurs” getting an honorable mention.

And the “crooked referees and the vengeful commissioner” crap is just pathetic.

by olf on Mar 11, 2009 10:38 AM CDT reply actions 0 recs

I love how the two teams from the 06’ WCF, the same teams that had finally “arrived” as contenders in the west, are now fighting each other for the 8th seed. And here we are, down a Manu, doing what we always do. God I love the Spurs.

Superman wears Manu Ginobili pajamas to bed.

by CMoney on Mar 11, 2009 11:37 AM CDT reply actions 0 recs

I second that emotion.

by Lauri on Mar 11, 2009 11:45 AM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

That says a lot about the Front Office. We never make panic trades.

"It's a basic truth of the human condition that everybody lies. The only variable is about what."

by Chilai on Mar 11, 2009 12:22 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

Sure feels good.

by Linix129 on Mar 11, 2009 11:48 AM CDT reply actions 0 recs

Doesn anyone remember a few fanposts ago, we had a discussion of Team Cancers?

Let me ask now. ( And this may make for an interesting fan post.) Is Shaq a cancer (now)?

"Nothing can stop the man with the right attitude from achieving his goal, but nothing on Earth can help the man with the wrong attitude." -Thomas Jefferson
http://myspace.com/eme0916
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by Ed (dfjmed) on Mar 11, 2009 12:42 PM CDT reply actions 0 recs

Update - "Shaq denies LA Times rumor mongering"

From Bright Side of the Sun blog: Shaq denies LA Times rumor mongering

by olf on Mar 11, 2009 2:27 PM CDT reply actions 0 recs

Speaking of rivals...

Christ paul is good- we hate him- but there is definate talent there. But is it too soon for this ?

by Ed (dfjmed) on Mar 11, 2009 2:27 PM CDT reply actions 0 recs

Chris Paul* -————-^ (ooops)

by Ed (dfjmed) on Mar 11, 2009 2:39 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

In response to the update that Shaq denies wanting to leave Phoenix, one of the BSotS members commented:

I’m just Glad
That Shaq has had a mini-resurgence and is setting his career numbers while here in Phoenix — even if it is to the detriment of the entire organization, fan base and city. At least we’ve got Shaq’s numbers to fall back on as "good times."

::licking forefinger in the “ooh burn” gesture::

by Lauri on Mar 11, 2009 5:06 PM CDT reply actions 0 recs