Shaq still unemployed while contenders fill rosters
Shaq (photo. Chenoa Maxwell)
Imagine you’re Shaq. (OK, you’d probably have to go back and eat about twice your normal breakfast to really get into character, then put on socks big enough to use as a backpack.) Now you’re waiting in free-agency purgatory for somebody to sign you, and you know the Hawks are in the mix. You get a call from your agent who says, “Sorry Big Fella, but it looks like Atlanta signed another center.” As you’re quickly flipping through your mental depth chart to think of any decent fives still on the market, the agent says, “They got Jason Collins.” … By re-signing their perma-benchwarmer Collins, the Hawks probably took themselves out of the race for Shaq, who is still looking for a team as time and roster spots are running out … As Shaq is one his way out, kids like DeMarcus Cousins are on the way up. The Kings raised some eyebrows by hiring DMC’s high school coach Otis Hughley as an assistant. On one hand, you want to commend Sacramento for doing its part to make sure their young project has a good support system. Then again, they know this isn’t D-1 college ball, right? If you want to put a man on the payroll to watch after Cousins, you don’t have to give him a basketball job. Like, was Hughley really on Paul Westphal’s radar as a potential assistant before the team drafted Cousins? … In case Celtics fans were gonna miss Tony Allen, Boston signed another version in Von Wafer. The last time we really heard from Von, he was doing good with the Rockets until he mouthed off at Rick Adelman and bought himself a trip to the doghouse and was soon in the Euroleague. Hopefully Wafer learned his lesson. If he tries that on a team with KG, Pierce, Ray, J.O. and Doc Rivers, something bad might happen to him. Garnett might jam a Gatorade bottle somewhere unpleasant … Tough spot for Shannon Brown. While he waits for the Lakers to trade The Machine and free up cap space for him, the Knicks have made Shannon an offer. Do you take less playing time (and likely less money) on the two-time defending champs, or more PT (maybe even a starting SG spot) and likely more money and go with the playoff-hopeful Knicks? … Eddie House’s choice wasn’t so hard. He’s going to Miami on a 2-year, $2.8 million deal, where he’ll basically be the next Damon Jones. All Eddie has to do is stand outside the arc, make wide-open threes, and play some semblance of defense for a few minutes at a time. And his little kid definitely gets renewed for another season of his reality TV show, right? Cartoon Network or Disney or whoever produces it won’t pass up the shot to get exposure with LeBron and D-Wade … Speaking of reality shows, can we get one for Stephon Marbury? He just re-upped for another three years in China, probably assuming (correctly) that no NBA offer was coming. The owner of Shanxi Zhongyu, Marbury’s team, will also finance Steph’s sneaker and apparel line. Doesn’t that circumvent the salary cap or something? … No doubt by now you’ve heard of the infamous Vegas story about LeBron that ESPN posted, then deleted, from its website in the blink of an eye. Why the cold feet? We can take a good guess, but it doesn’t exactly make sense. Yes, the story would kill anybody’s assumption that LeBron is a 6-8, 250-pound Black Bob Ross, but nobody thought that in the first place. There wasn’t anything scandalous in the piece, just LeBron being a 25-year-old millionaire at a party in Vegas. Of course he would act accordingly … We’re out like Steph …
July 30th, 2010 at 2:17 am
Bruce says:
Give it up big fella…………….
July 30th, 2010 at 2:17 am
Showtime says:
Wouldn’t it be cool to see a starting five of Starbury, Iverson, T-Mac, fill in some washed up PF and Shaq in China?
July 30th, 2010 at 2:20 am
Peter says:
Hope to see a dignified ending for The Diesel, like a sign-and-retire with the Lakers.
July 30th, 2010 at 2:20 am
quest??? says:
damn shaq and iverson havent been signed….if they dont get signed i will be super sad
July 30th, 2010 at 2:22 am
That's What's Up says:
Bruce…your racist ass actually didn’t call Shaq a ‘big monkey’? shocking
I’m actually more shocked that Chris Bosh, a 7-footer, only has size 13/14 feet……what’s up piwi?
July 30th, 2010 at 2:25 am
Lee says:
Anyone got a link to the full Lebron story ?? Sometimes I just don’t trust Dime !!
July 30th, 2010 at 2:59 am
Stunnaboy09 says:
ATL are funny, they are the only team who could use the big guy and yet they sign Collins. Did they not notice that big Al, while solid, is a 4 and could not defend any legit big man? Your not gonna beat Orlando if you double Dwight and they are gonna be forced to do that now for a looooong time. The JJ signing + this makes me think the Hawks are fine with second round exits.
As a Celtics fan I’m loving the Wafer signing. He’s a bigger Nate Robinson with a deadly 3 point shot and is crazy athletic, and if he can buy into the defensive principles of the team could turn into a more controlled JR Smith who could save Ray Allen’s legs for May as well as come in ad knock down big shots. And he is crazy athletic. He becomes our 2nd best dunker after Nate the Great. Anyone remeber this http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JF078pKy3vg
If I’m S-Brown I’d stay in LA just cause its LA. Not saying New York is bad but this guys is already staring in music videos. Ride Kobe’s tail for 2 more years then branch out in your prime. Maybe you can market your “championship experience”
July 30th, 2010 at 3:13 am
Legend 33 says:
Haha Bosh is not really 7 feet, he is 6′9″ with 3 inch high dreads, besides that boy is all neck like ET. Which makes him even shorter than 6′9″ in terms of playing basketball because his shoulder is lower than other guys his height, which means he can’t reach as high. Kobe has that giraffe neck syndrome too. LOL
Anyway, yeah I think Johnny Flynn at 5′10″ wears a 14 and I’m 5′6″, white and still rock a size 12 pair of Jordans.
July 30th, 2010 at 3:42 am
Pareja says:
“Haha Bosh is not really 7 feet, he is 6′9″ with 3 inch high dreads, besides that boy is all neck like ET.”
- i know who doesn’t have giraffe problems;
Anthony Johnson.
July 30th, 2010 at 4:15 am
pacetola says:
man, shannon brown better take that ny money and run! pun intended. YOU ARE NOT PROVING ANYTHING BY PLAYING FOR ANOTHER RING IN LA DUDE. chuck shots and run the break allgame with the knicks
July 30th, 2010 at 4:21 am
Atom says:
Here is link to full reprint of Lebron story. I am a pretty big Lebron fan, but even I think he comes off as kind of a douche:
http://sportscasm.com/2010/07/28/espn-deletes-story-about-wild-lebron-james-party-text/
July 30th, 2010 at 4:38 am
Bruce says:
I don’t refer to him as a, “big monkey” but an overgrown MONKEY! A monkey is a monkey regardless and Shaq is a monkey. Atlanta opted with Collins instead of Shaq. That 7ft Tall, 300 plus pounds overgrown monkey just wants Ring #5, so he can be on par with Kobe!
Memo to Shaq — Don’t get greedy! $8 Mil per year is too much. Kahn won’t even give you the veteran minimum!
July 30th, 2010 at 4:49 am
K Dizzle says:
@ Stunnaboy
completely agree with the Hawks part of your post.
What is up with this franchise that they always skip the obvious to phuck it up for themselves? They needed a point guard in ‘05, everybody in the world knew they needed a point guard; they had the 2nd pick and they bypass CP3 AND DWill. Never lettin that go. These fools had Josh Smith(SF) and Josh Childress(SF) HOLDIN DOWN that spot….and they draft a 3. Stupid. 2007 Draft: 2nd chance – they draft Acie Law….bypassin Marc Gasol, Aaron Brooks and Rod Stuckey. Now they max out Joe and cap themselves outta any improvements for the next 3 years. There some positives: I like Damion James and Jordan Crawford. Nice additions to the bench and I think Jeff Teague is gonna have a Russell Westbrook type blowup second year but the problems remain the same. Josh Smith is a 3. Al Horford is a 4. You need a center. On the roster, you got Collins, Joe Smith and Randolph Morris as free agents. Don’t sign Shaq and instead pay Collins???
I’m disgusted…
July 30th, 2010 at 5:00 am
Diggity Dave says:
Eddie House = Damon Jones? Are you guys for fucking real? House had clutch games/moments in the postseason, and is an accomplished outside threat. Damon Jones was a one-season joke. Please tell me you’re just being bitter and not really that ignorant.
July 30th, 2010 at 5:09 am
yoda says:
“Garnett might jam a Gatorade bottle somewhere unpleasant”
of course he might. after all wafer is a guard. if we are talking about power forward or even bigger small forward, i bet kg would just sit and be “intense” (disclaimer: if pf-sf is rookie or cry baby davis, kg could use that gatorade)
July 30th, 2010 at 6:29 am
KBY says:
Might be wise to mention that ATL or any other team for that matter hasn’t signed Shaq because he wants a 8 million starting salary for two years.
So even if you want to pay him, you still have to make a sign and trade deal with the Cavs in order to make that happen.
If Shaq didn’t have such demands but for the MLE or less, he would have been signed already. ATL tried but went with the much cheaper option in Jason Collins.
July 30th, 2010 at 6:29 am
LMNOP says:
Shaq wants too much money. its not the hawks fault he sees more value in himself than they do.
Wafer is a good pickup for the C’s, playing in europe might have made him more disciplined, but if not, they got such a solid starting 5 that they can aford to fill up the rest of their roster with knuckleheads.
its a bad sign that the knicks are already going after scrubs like SB to fill out starter roles. fuck. i see the bad old days comin back
July 30th, 2010 at 7:03 am
Alex "Robocop" Murphy says:
#2 add Rasheed Wallace to that list
July 30th, 2010 at 7:40 am
A-Slam says:
Wow LeBron comes off as a dick in that article and rightfully so (also liked the random appearance of Big Baby in there) I know he was paid to throw that party, but really he’s acting like he has already won back-to-back titles. Yeah maybe he’s also just having a good time but you have to wonder how mature this guy really is. I was in Vegas last summer and I noticed kevin Durant and you know what he was doing? Eating wings with Jeff Green at the Hooters hotel and Casino.
Suddenly I don’t think I can call myself a Kobe hater anymore
July 30th, 2010 at 8:16 am
JAY says:
@A-Slam
Lebron probably is a dick. But what was mentioned in the article that made him out to be a dick. I can’t stand Lebron and there was nothing that truly bothered me in that article. He’s 25 and was to partying in Vegas. Big news.
and regarding Jeff Green and KD, you saw them eating wings. That’s nice. Did you follow them around the rest of the night?? Do you really think they went to Vegas and just ate chicken wings?? If that’s the case then they just lost my fanhood.
July 30th, 2010 at 8:43 am
A-Slam says:
Never said I had a problem with him partying, and never said the article bothered me either. I just think Lebron should let next season speak for itself before he decides to party like he’s in a damn LMFAO song LOL
As for my wings story, it was the night before the team U.S.A basketball scrimmage. So I would like to think KD and Green were only slightly hungover that day haha
July 30th, 2010 at 8:44 am
Mr. TKO says:
I’m closer to being a Kobe Lover than anything and I didn’t see anything wrong with the article in itself. Yeah, Lebron’s a douche but he a 25 year old multi-millionaire, so it’s nothing really unexpected.
I think the issue that bothers me the most is that ESPN is once again on his nuts and will do anything they can to prevent Lebron’s image from being slightly tarnished. That’s the part that’s sickening to me, not what Lebron actually did but the fact that ESPN is scared to show a side of Lebron that doesn’t make him look like the second coming.
July 30th, 2010 at 9:19 am
fLaVa says:
stunnaboy posted this on the other comments, but i gotta post it on smack..
http://foodcourtlunch.com/?p=2861
Thanks Stunnaboy that’s one of the best articles i’ve read lol
July 30th, 2010 at 9:19 am
Big V says:
Wasn’t Bob Ross black to begin with?
July 30th, 2010 at 9:32 am
Skeeter McGee says:
Image is so big these days, and as evidenced by the whole Tiger Woods fiasco, it can be destroyed very easily, also. This is probably why you see things getting covered up for LeBron, because right now he is like the golden child for not just basketball but sports.
Kinda sick if you ask me, meaning a damn brand has more control over your life rather than you do, but if you wanna make dollars it just comes with the territory…
July 30th, 2010 at 9:39 am
MattO says:
@stunnaboy – this is what I remember when I think of von wafer..
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S6jXK0JdW0U
“block of the night”…that’s just cold, NBA.com, ice cold..
July 30th, 2010 at 9:41 am
SJ says:
That was a good write-up on LBJ. I read it yesterday and really think it should be posted somewhere… good insight. Sucks that LBJ’s cronies blocked it.
That Bruce guy is such a racist piece of shit. Pretty much every post of his shows his ignorance.
July 30th, 2010 at 9:46 am
karizmatic says:
Von Wafer is a good pickup for the Celtics
Well I guess Shaq should be a lesson to all the guys who play the free agency game, one day when you’re old and still on the market playing that free agency game…the game might retire you instead of you retiring from the game. I kind of hope some team picks Shaq up just so he can have the dignity of calling a press conference to retire from a team.
I’m a Lakers fan but if I’m Shannon Brown I got to take that contract in New York, you can’t just sit around and wait for the Lakers to work a deal out.
July 30th, 2010 at 9:55 am
JAY says:
On another note (i’m surprised DIME didn’t include this in Smack)…
Chris Bosh responded to Bryan Colangelo’s comments. He took the high road and didn’t take shots at his former GM. Personally, I would have. Lol. He basically explained that he didn’t quit on the team and that his mind wasn’t made up before the off-season.
So in this round of player vs. former-GM, player wins for taking the high-road. Former-GM loses for being a sour-puss and acquiring David Andersen who isn’t even on video game rosters!! Turrible.
July 30th, 2010 at 9:57 am
Paul Wall says:
Nuggets need a big man. They should make an offer to shaq. Not 8 million but the vets minimum.
July 30th, 2010 at 10:00 am
A-Slam says:
you can’t help but appreciate this one MattO- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ICYwwo4_kWI
July 30th, 2010 at 10:05 am
Sho-Nuff says:
If someone gave any of you posters a hundred large to host a party in Vegas, what would you do? You’d be the doucheiest douchebag in the world. Basically at a club with a free tab? C’mon man. Because he’s LBJ and 25 it shouldn’t make a difference. Not a LBJ fan, I’m just sayin’.
July 30th, 2010 at 10:44 am
Dagger says:
Apparently it was taken off ESPN because the reporter didn’t inform Lebron that he would, in fact, be reporting that night. The story was tabloid nonsense anyway. Anybody who says they haven’t either had or wanted to have a crazy night like this is this fooling themselves. And just imagine if you had some reporter acting like he was your buddy following you around and chronicling your every move at a wild party – it wouldn’t look that great. That said, if he cares about his image Lebron needs to lay low for a bit or only engage in high profile charity acts.
July 30th, 2010 at 10:54 am
fallinup says:
Read the Lebron story. I couldn’t see a damn thing wrong about it. Maybe they just didn’t want a story of Lebron partying out there… but damn. He’s a grown ass man, lots of fame, lots of money… I’ve seen MUCH MUCH worse. That story aint shit.
July 30th, 2010 at 11:10 am
Legend 33 says:
LeBron should of invited his boy Maurice Clarett to the club and celebrated his release from prison…Weren’t they like childhood friends or something.
July 30th, 2010 at 11:44 am
Sporty-j says:
What a douchebag reporter! Lebron lets you follow him around and hang with his crew and instead you privately record everything he does. Did he run somebody over or have sex with an underage girl? Must have been a really slow day in reporting. Dam this world is creepy when it comes to famous people period…
July 30th, 2010 at 11:47 am
LMNOP says:
i think the lebron article was probably taken down because it was shit
July 30th, 2010 at 12:09 pm
JAY says:
@LMNOP
LMAOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!! You right. Lol!
ESPN gave the writer an ultimatum, “Pull this shitty article or leave.”
July 30th, 2010 at 12:13 pm
LakeShow84 says:
Yeah the article was shitty..
I was waiting for something to happen and it ended with dude shadow dribbling again.. WACK
July 30th, 2010 at 12:13 pm
JAY says:
http://www.fan590.com/media.jsp?content=20100729_233014_676
I’m still a big fan of Bosh. Great interview. He’s well spoken and explains himself very well.
July 30th, 2010 at 12:31 pm
Mike Mihalow says:
If the picture from the LeBron/ESPN article is worth a 1000 words, then its just “Douche” spelled out 1000 times.
July 30th, 2010 at 12:44 pm
control says:
Honestly, if you go to Vegas, party it up, and there ain’t a dead hooker to show for it…then it ain’t a big deal. I’ve spent a lot of time in Vegas, and LeBron seems like he partied like 1/10th what most guys would do in his shoes.
LeBron really has to get out of the media’s eye and work on his game though. Get a post game, become the best player you can be.
July 30th, 2010 at 12:48 pm
Claw says:
The Lebron article was nothing, but he just can be seen for what he is, he’s just all about having fun and still immature. Got paid $100K, that’s like you and I getting a dollar, he really needs to find better representation. After taking a PR hit and then this, even though he doesn’t do anything its just stupid to put yourself in that position.
You don’t think Lebron and that tight knit crew didn’t know he was a writer for ESPN? If they didn’t want him to publish anything they would tell him, I don’t think they cared if he did since nothing really happened. Another example about his crew being clueless.
July 30th, 2010 at 1:03 pm
fallinup says:
@ control
“Honestly, if you go to Vegas, party it up, and there ain’t a dead hooker to show for it…then it ain’t a big deal.”
Correction: “Honestly, if you go to Vegas, party it up, and they don’t find the dead hooker …then it ain’t a big deal.”
July 30th, 2010 at 1:30 pm
Skeeter McGee says:
@control
hahaha that’s exactly the same shit I was thinking!
I was really hoping that like half way through the story it’d be like “And then LeBron and crew busted out a quarter of the finest blow in Miami, and got down.”
Now THAT would make it an article…
July 30th, 2010 at 2:23 pm
JAX says:
As a Lakers fan for life, the Diesel could have stayed with us if he REALLY wanted to. He was the highest paid player, bigger than Kobe and OWNED Los Angeles. Kobe had a play in his leaving, but Shaq had it all there except for running his mouth. Now, if you listen to his commercials, he sounds like a British actor compared to when he first gave interviews in the league. My point? He obviously had voice and acting lessons because he KNOWS IT’S OVAH!!! Thanks for the memories in LA LA, big guy!
July 30th, 2010 at 3:21 pm
Alpha Goat says:
Well Dime said in another article that Shaq only wants to play for a contender and the Hawks are not a contending team. I agree with Shaq about only wanting to play for a contender and if I couldn’t I’d retire!
The Hawks need a legit YOUNG center but one their biggest mistakes is/has been Josh Smith’s development.I think Smith could’ve been a superstar player but the Hawks have regulated him to being just a shot blocker and rebounder.
After reading the re-print of the ESPN article that @Atom posted,LeBron has a lotta growing up and most of all learning to do. When you’re rich, going into business with “friends” that aren’t rich, is a sure way to lose those friends & your money.
July 30th, 2010 at 3:57 pm
Big Island says:
KG brought all his boys on board, but didn’t hire them for representation. Lebron probably doesn’t care, but he’d be better off having some people who aren’t his buddies running the business side of things.
July 30th, 2010 at 4:00 pm
Claw says:
Maybe his mom could take charge, then Delonte could still see Lebron. So does Lebron call Delonte “Daddy”?
July 30th, 2010 at 4:06 pm
LakeShow84 says:
@ Claw
Probably calls him Papa Herpe.. sorry had to lol
July 30th, 2010 at 7:39 pm
control says:
Lakeshow
Hes in Miami, its “Papi Herps” now.