<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">Kobe Bryant is in Shaquille O'Neal's doghouse and it does not appear that a truce will be offered anytime in the near future. In an expletive-laced response, O'Neal said he apparently is more important to Bryant than Bryant is to him. "He (messed) up in Colorado doing what he did, and what's the first name that comes out of his mouth? My name," O'Neal said Thursday. "That should tell you I'm important to this cat. "A lot of people ask me, 'What do you think about him?' This dude's a clown. He's a... clown. You're out there (messing) up and you're saying, 'He did it.' He did what? You don't even know me. I promise you we never hung out. We were never in any clubs together. He never did nothing with the team. I don't even know this kid. But I knew he was a weirdo."O'Neal said Bryant's recent troubles revealed the man behind the image. </div> Full Story
It's true. What Kobe had to say about Shaq, whether it's true or not, is completely irrelevant to why Kobe was being investigated.
How could Kobe blame any of this on Shaq? If Kobe blames Shaq for something that he wasn't even involved in, then that should bring up some suspicion...
1. Shaq is ignorant. He's lying about not hanging out with Kobe. He mouths off even after leaving LA...and I'm sure Kobe and Shaq were both having heated arguments even before the Kobe incident in Colorado (remember the last championship...Kobe walked out on the MVP presentation). 2. Kobe is ignorant. There's no reason to bring up Shaq's name, even if he didn't mean to do it and didn't realize he was being recorded (or if he was recorded at all). Why bring up a guy you can't stand? 3. There should be no pointing fingers. Kobe did his part acting stupid by cheating on his wife and by mentioning Shaq's name, and Shaq has been immaturely bashing Kobe ever since...so it's going to keep going and going. Nobody knows if Shaq possibly said something similar once, before this incident ever took place...or if Kobe was trying to get him in trouble...who knows. The only thing that's for sure when it comes to Kobe/Shaq is that the media is making alot of money off of these two, and so will the NBA really soon...and so things may be twisted around for this money...whether or not Kobe knew about the recording, or if he said some things, or what Shaq says...it's bound to be stretched a little on both sides. Oh well.
Shaq needs to shut his mouth, if any other player on the Heat tried attacking another player day in and day out in the press there is no way Riley would tolerate it. Shaq needs to shut up, none of this whining is helping anything and it's just make the Heat look bad. Grow up Shaq.
I think both players should just shut their traps and play basketball... after all that's what their paid for. Playing ball. Not making stupid comments or getting into heated grudges... honestly... just play the damn game.
Bryant And Oneal Well I guess they will just never get along they are always fighting I just hope they never get into a fight over this they just need to play basketball like they are paid to do.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting realdealbneal:</div><div class="quote_post"> Why bring up a guy you can't stand?</div> For that exact reason. Both of these children (yes, children) need to clean up their acts. Shaq needs to shut up, but people are forgetting that Kobe is and always was the instigator. Kobe had the nerve to try and fight Shaq! Had the nerve to claim that the Lakers were his team! Had the nerve to do an interview with Jim Gray after Phil told them both to zip it! He had the nerve to rat out/make up lies (we may never know which) about a teammate. A lot of people are making Kobe out to be the victim here, when really he did his fair share of stuff. We all knew that Shaq was gonna talk smack, stop acting surprised you guys. It's funny to me how people suddenly dont like his quotes anymore. When he was calling Sac-Town the "Queens" and clownin on Christie's wife, you were all laughing. When he called Vlade a woman, and made fun of Yao (which was innappropriate) you were laughing. Now he's wearing red and white, so it isn't funny anymore?
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting Jurassic:</div><div class="quote_post">For that exact reason. Both of these children (yes, children) need to clean up their acts. Shaq needs to shut up, but people are forgetting that Kobe is and always was the instigator. Kobe had the nerve to try and fight Shaq! Had the nerve to claim that the Lakers were his team! Had the nerve to do an interview with Jim Gray after Phil told them both to zip it! He had the nerve to rat out/make up lies (we may never know which) about a teammate. A lot of people are making Kobe out to be the victim here, when really he did his fair share of stuff.</div> Well, here's my post. Who am I blaming? <div class="quote_poster">Quoting realdealbneal:</div><div class="quote_post">1. Shaq is ignorant. He's lying about not hanging out with Kobe. He mouths off even after leaving LA...and I'm sure Kobe and Shaq were both having heated arguments even before the Kobe incident in Colorado (remember the last championship...Kobe walked out on the MVP presentation). 2. Kobe is ignorant. There's no reason to bring up Shaq's name, even if he didn't mean to do it and didn't realize he was being recorded (or if he was recorded at all). Why bring up a guy you can't stand? 3. There should be no pointing fingers. Kobe did his part acting stupid by cheating on his wife and by mentioning Shaq's name, and Shaq has been immaturely bashing Kobe ever since...so it's going to keep going and going. Nobody knows if Shaq possibly said something similar once, before this incident ever took place...or if Kobe was trying to get him in trouble...who knows. </div> Kobe is not the instigator...neither is Shaq. The media is. There's no use to point fingers, because Kobe and Shaq have been fighting since before the third championship, and we really don't know how it started. Shaq slapped Kobe before their championships (or in between) and Kobe was pissed off at Shaq for things nobody knows about also. Watch the SportsCentury feature on Kobe...we really don't know why they hate each other, but it started way before the third championship. <div class="quote_poster">Quoting Jurassic:</div><div class="quote_post">We all knew that Shaq was gonna talk smack, stop acting surprised you guys. It's funny to me how people suddenly dont like his quotes anymore. When he was calling Sac-Town the "Queens" and clownin on Christie's wife, you were all laughing. When he called Vlade a woman, and made fun of Yao (which was innappropriate) you were laughing. Now he's wearing red and white, so it isn't funny anymore?</div> Well, nobody believes me that I never liked Shaq...so I don't know how far this comment will go, but I never respected him for anything he's said about the Kings, Vlade, Christie, or especially Yao Ming...other reasons why I didn't like him.
I believe that YOU did not like Shaq, but I think that A LOT of Laker fans did. You (Laker fans) supported him through a lot of stupidity, saying stupid stuff, missing practice, coming to camp overweight, sitting out due to RIDICULOUS injuries. You supported him through childish behavior surpassed only by that of Bonzi, Sheed, Artest, and Ricky Davis. Now everyone wants to sing a different tune. Supporting Kobe through stupid stuff. I can respect supporting Kobe, because he usually knows when to shut up. But don't stop supporting Shaq just because he changed teams.....be a fan of the players and not just the team names.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting Jurassic:</div><div class="quote_post">I believe that YOU did not like Shaq, but I think that A LOT of Laker fans did. You (Laker fans) supported him through a lot of stupidity, saying stupid stuff, missing practice, coming to camp overweight, sitting out due to RIDICULOUS injuries. You supported him through childish behavior surpassed only by that of Bonzi, Sheed, Artest, and Ricky Davis. Now everyone wants to sing a different tune. Supporting Kobe through stupid stuff. I can respect supporting Kobe, because he usually knows when to shut up. But don't stop supporting Shaq just because he changed teams.....be a fan of the players and not just the team names.</div> Well then maybe we are almost on the same page. I just don't like guys bashing Kobe when he has yet to have the chance to prove anything. Shaq did have a chance...from 1992 up until Kobe developed in 1999 (the same year the Lakers won their first championship). I will also say that I believe that Shaq will put up big numbers next year (why wouldn't he) but I don't really care if he does or not, just like I didn't when he was with the Lakers. I seriously would've rather won nothing and not have Shaq, than to have won three rings and have this result (with Kobe and Shaq at each other's throats). Yeah, I expect alot of Laker fans to still like Shaq, but I wasn't going to like a guy just because he became a Laker, either. I didn't care for him when he was on the Magic. When Kobe arrived in Los Angeles, I had already been following his high school career and I was happy, so I was an instant supporter (and still a Laker fan). Then, Shaq signed a few days later to become a Laker, which the reason for this was because we lost Vlade. Sure, I'm happy for our team winning like we did, but I am one of the few that won't hand over all of our success to Shaq. Kobe became a 22 PPG, 5 APG and 5 RPG player when Phil arrived in 1999...and that was the same year the trio (Shaq, Kobe, Jackson) won their first title together...which tells me that all three had a big part in it. When Shaq first arrived in Los Angeles (Kobe was benched, hardly played that year), Shaq only improved their record by 3 wins. The Lakers were already playoff contenders for two years before Shaq (48 wins and 53 wins those two years)...so I think that Kobe, Shaq, and Phil all three had equal responsibility to carry the team to the title, not just Shaq...not just Kobe...and not just Phil. Fair enough?
I believe everything you said, except for this: <div class="quote_poster">Quoting realdealbneal:</div><div class="quote_post">I seriously would've rather won nothing and not have Shaq, than to have won three rings and have this result (with Kobe and Shaq at each other's throats)</div> I don't think that you really mean that either. For ALL NBA fans Shaq and Kobe created more positive memories than negative ones. I'll always have that image of Kobe jumping on the announcer's booth and pumping his fist in my mind. I hate the damn Lakers. But in 20 years I will enjoy watching replays of their games on ESPN classic. I don't believe for a minute that you would give up these memories just so that this drama wouldn't exist.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting Jurassic:</div><div class="quote_post">I believe everything you said, except for this: {realdealbneal quote} I don't think that you really mean that either. For ALL NBA fans Shaq and Kobe created more positive memories than negative ones. I'll always have that image of Kobe jumping on the announcer's booth and pumping his fist in my mind. I hate the damn Lakers. But in 20 years I will enjoy watching replays of their games on ESPN classic. I don't believe for a minute that you would give up these memories just so that this drama wouldn't exist.</div> Well, maybe the reason I say that is because I have a gut feeling that Shaq would want to slam his body into Kobe, if he were to drive the lane...and that would be the worst thing that could happen IMO. And I know that Kobe would want to do the same thing, if Kobe was bigger...so I don't want to see something like that happen. These two were the greatest duo in the 90's alongside Jordan/Pippen...and now they will more than likely be the biggest rivals since Magic/Bird. So I don't know...I'll always remember that stuff...but sometimes I regret having those two together. Maybe I don't mean it, but sometimes (when caught up in the drama) I do mean it.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting Jurassic:</div><div class="quote_post">I believe that YOU did not like Shaq, but I think that A LOT of Laker fans did. You (Laker fans) supported him through a lot of stupidity, saying stupid stuff, missing practice, coming to camp overweight, sitting out due to RIDICULOUS injuries. You supported him through childish behavior surpassed only by that of Bonzi, Sheed, Artest, and Ricky Davis.</div> I used to like Shaq but once he started bashing on his own teammate Kobe, I started disliking him. His Queen comments didn't make me laugh, it's usually the Kings' reactions to his comments that made me (and I guess other Laker fans) laugh... they all seemed so offended it's funny . But they're disrespectful comments no matter what, intolerable, Shaq'll never get respect from them.
I believe any and every <u>Lakers</u> fan like Shaq because he played a significant roll in the Lakers team.
^Yeah we liked him because he helped win for us as Shaq would not win without Kobe and vice versa. Then he sort of wanted to make it clear to everyone that he was the man (although he might have been)... he could have just said less and people would respect him more.
Well, it wasn't just Shaq and Kobe. It was Shaq, Kobe, Phil Jackson, and a great supporting cast (which many ppl underrate how great they were but only now understand how important they were to their success). But seriously, if anyone has any hate towards Shaq either (a)they got bored of winning or (b)they are a Kobe fan. So I say: <u>Laker</u> fans like Shaq because he played a big role in the team. I myself am a big fan of the Lakers and I loved the Kareem + Magic, West + Chamberlain era but I mostly know about the L.A. Lakers not the Minneapolis Lakers. Truth is I'm a fan of the game not just a particular team or player. Most Lakers fans today only know/care about the Shaq + Kobe era. No matter whatever happened, he always brought more good than bad to the Lakers.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting heatfan83:</div><div class="quote_post">Well, it wasn't just Shaq and Kobe. It was Shaq, Kobe, Phil Jackson, and a great supporting cast </div> Fisher will never get the credit he deserves. <div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">Most Lakers fans today only know/care about the Shaq + Kobe era.</div> Dang it, as much as I hate Laker fans sometimes I'm gonna have to disagree with that one. Young fans, and bandwagoners only know about this era. Real fans know the history. Actually most bandwagoners know the history too unless they are NBA bandwagoners who happen to be Laker fans. However, any LA fans over the age of 10 who don't know about Magic and Kareem are truly pathetic.
