Did anyone notice Shaq at the MTV VMAs? Anyone feel trader's remorse? He looked like 40 pounds lighter and much more in shape, the best I have seen in him for a while. Maybe it was the Miami tan or something. I felt like as if I was seeing an ex I hadn't date in a long while and went damn!
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting MustardMan:</div><div class="quote_post">Did anyone notice Shaq at the MTV VMAs? Anyone feel trader's remorse? He looked like 40 pounds lighter and much more in shape, the best I have seen in him for a while. Maybe it was the Miami tan or something. I felt like as if I was seeing an ex I hadn't date in a long while and went damn!</div> After I thought about it for a while, it really meant nothing to me...he didn't get any younger, and now that he's lost some weight, he's going to have a tougher time finishing after the foul. Think of it like this...if he's completely under the 340 lbs he was when he was a Laker, how will his slimmed-down body react to all of the hard fouls that guys like Big Ben and Dampier will give him? It's good because he'll have more energy, bad because he may not be on the court to use it.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting MustardMan:</div><div class="quote_post">Did anyone notice Shaq at the MTV VMAs? Anyone feel trader's remorse? He looked like 40 pounds lighter and much more in shape, the best I have seen in him for a while. Maybe it was the Miami tan or something. I felt like as if I was seeing an ex I hadn't date in a long while and went damn!</div> Hell no. Thats when I realized how much I didn't like the guy. What Miami tan we got one too.
The only thing that will really tell whether he was just lazy or motivated by competition with Kobe will be his free throw shooting and response to any injuries he has. If he suddenly shoots 70% from the line, then we know he was doggin it and good riddance! However I think Heat fans will see the real thing when he shoots under 50% from the line and takes months off for minor injuries. With no Kobe to push him, he won't stay motivated knowing he is the king of Miami.
After everything Shaq's done for LA, all you guys can do is hope that he gets injured or shoots below 50% FT? 32 ain't even THAT old. You guys all want Jason Kidd to come to LA but he's only one year younger than Shaq.
I don't have any remorse. So what he was at the VMA's looked a little skinnier. The Lakers have moved on and we are semi-rebuilding. Shaq had to go, hes gone, see ya shaq. End of story.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting whatthef?:</div><div class="quote_post">However I think Heat fans will see the real thing when he shoots under 50% from the line and takes months off for minor injuries.</div>I'm not sure about his ft% but when are you (and every kobe fan) going to realize he was just screwing the lakers organization over after feeling as if he had been betrayed? Even then, he helped win 3 championships and gave a great Finals performance against Detroit. Excuses and criticism are running short, he's already put off the weight and he will be motivated to play every game this year, improve on areas he was weak on such as FTs, and do his best to bring Miami it's first championship. <div class="quote_poster">Quoting Lakerland:</div><div class="quote_post">After everything Shaq's done for LA, all you guys can do is hope that he gets injured or shoots below 50% FT? 32 ain't even THAT old. You guys all want Jason Kidd to come to LA but he's only one year younger than Shaq.</div>Thank you. And not only that, but when he was in L.A. they say he's too fat and now that he's in Miami and loses weight he's too skinny ?!?! Please!!!:shakehead Makes you wonder if people are really a Lakers fan or a Kobe fan. A Lakers fan would be thankful for bringing home 3 championships, making them a dynasty, and giving a great performance against Detroit in the Finals. A Kobe fan would say that they hate him just because he had differences with Kobe, pretend that they really are a Lakers fan, but will never acknowledge what he did for the L.A. Lakers and give him credit for it, and will never be happy for him.
I'm sure the Heat fans stopped following basketball a couple of years ago and didn't probably start reading a sports page again until they signed Shaq. But be informed, Shaq had one more year at $30 mil left on his contract as a Laker and demanded a trade forcing the Lakers to give him away or force him to play. He didn't ask the fans who our favorite was or give us a chance to see what he could do if he was healthy for a whole year or actually worked on his free throws. We all know what he did for the Lakers and we would have supported him for the final year of his contract if he would have given us the chance. Laker fans demand championships and not excuses, and Heat fans will find out the Shaq has excuses for everything including why he left us.
I'm gonna miss those alley-oops to the big guy, and also his big "throw it down" putbacks, his goose walk and all of that...but the Lakers traded him for the better future of the organization; just remember that.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting whatthef?:</div><div class="quote_post">I'm sure the Heat fans stopped following basketball a couple of years ago and didn't probably start reading a sports page again until they signed Shaq. But be informed, Shaq had one more year at $30 mil left on his contract as a Laker and demanded a trade forcing the Lakers to give him away or force him to play. He didn't ask the fans who our favorite was or give us a chance to see what he could do if he was healthy for a whole year or actually worked on his free throws. We all know what he did for the Lakers and we would have supported him for the final year of his contract if he would have given us the chance. Laker fans demand championships and not excuses, and Heat fans will find out the Shaq has excuses for everything including why he left us.</div> I believe his beef was with the Lakers organization not with the Lakers fans. He demanded a trade BUT the Lakers didn't have to trade him, but they had good reasons to trade him: 1) Pretty much guarantees that Kobe would resign since the team would be his. 2) They thought he was getting old, fat, and would be a liability on the Lakers. 3) He still has market value according to Kobe so they can get a lot for him. 4) He was disatisfied the way this organization was being run and it would reflect in his attitude. 5) Shaq was asking for a lot of money, but that's because he was putting up with all the BS that they were giving him and money was the only way he probably would've stayed, also he was suppose to get the extension because he helped bring Malone and Payton for minimum salaries. Anyways, he demanded a trade, but the Lakers didn't have to trade him, they just felt it was the best way to get Kobe Bryant to resign. And if you think the Lakers organization or fans were betrayed by Shaq, just remember, Gary Payton wasn't planning to return with the Lakers, but he got talked into staying just so they can trade him. Even after Shaq was traded Kobe was still flirting with other teams. How quick are we to forget huh. Maybe you should start following what's going around in your team's organization so another team's fan won't have to.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting Mel JBB:</div><div class="quote_post">I'm gonna miss those alley-oops to the big guy, and also his big "throw it down" putbacks, his goose walk and all of that...but the Lakers traded him for the better future of the organization; just remember that.</div> True. I respect that reasoning, but I'm just saying that we shouldn't be wishing bad luck on Shaq. From my point of view, I'm pretty sure he loved the LA fans and felt sorry for leaving, but he just really didn't like Kobe. <div class="quote_poster">Quoting whatthef?:</div><div class="quote_post">I'm sure the Heat fans stopped following basketball a couple of years ago and didn't probably start reading a sports page again until they signed Shaq. But be informed, Shaq had one more year at $30 mil left on his contract as a Laker and demanded a trade forcing the Lakers to give him away or force him to play. He didn't ask the fans who our favorite was or give us a chance to see what he could do if he was healthy for a whole year or actually worked on his free throws. We all know what he did for the Lakers and we would have supported him for the final year of his contract if he would have given us the chance. Laker fans demand championships and not excuses, and Heat fans will find out the Shaq has excuses for everything including why he left us.</div> The fans would've been fair, but it's pretty obvious that Mitch Kupchak prefers Kobe over Shaq.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting Lakerland:</div><div class="quote_post">True. I respect that reasoning, but I'm just saying that we shouldn't be wishing bad luck on Shaq. From my point of view, I'm pretty sure he loved the LA fans and felt sorry for leaving, but he just really didn't like Kobe. </div> Yes BUT the Lakers top priority was to resign Kobe, as Mel JBB said, and with Kobe flirting with other teams and going around saying he was probably going to leave, they thought the best way to get Kobe to stay is to get rid of Shaq and give the team to Kobe. True Lakers fans shouldn't be pissed at Shaq, it was purely politics and the Lakers chose Kobe over Shaq. Shaq demanded a trade but a trade was most likely inevitable, he just kept his pride and respect by making it known first that he wanted the trade, rather than have the Lakers org. announce it first.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting heatfan83:</div><div class="quote_post">True Lakers fans shouldn't be pissed at Shaq, it was purely politics and the Lakers chose Kobe over Shaq. Shaq demanded a trade but a trade was most likely inevitable, he just kept his pride and respect by making it known first that he wanted the trade, rather than have the Lakers org. announce it first.</div> Yeah, that's sounds about right.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting heatfan83:</div><div class="quote_post">Yes BUT the Lakers top priority was to resign Kobe, as Mel JBB said, and with Kobe flirting with other teams and going around saying he was probably going to leave, they thought the best way to get Kobe to stay is to get rid of Shaq and give the team to Kobe. True Lakers fans shouldn't be pissed at Shaq, it was purely politics and the Lakers chose Kobe over Shaq. Shaq demanded a trade but a trade was most likely inevitable, he just kept his pride and respect by making it known first that he wanted the trade, rather than have the Lakers org. announce it first.</div> We undertsnad what youre saying but dont you think should have waited and not said anything and then when he got traded we would have known it was kobes fault because shaq didnt say anything but shaq said i want out of la so there is no proof kobe had anything to do with it. It was kind of as if Shaq helped Kobe out by saying he wants to leave.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting TheNextJordan8:</div><div class="quote_post">We undertsnad what youre saying but dont you think should have waited and not said anything and then when he got traded we would have known it was kobes fault because shaq didnt say anything but shaq said i want out of la so there is no proof kobe had anything to do with it. It was kind of as if Shaq helped Kobe out by saying he wants to leave.</div>Well, Kobe was a free agent after the season was finished right? So the top priority was to resign Kobe, according to Buss and the Lakers organization. Kobe was saying that he probably wasn't going to return to the Lakers because of the issues with Shaq and didn't like that he wasn't the #1 option in the Lakers offense; if Shaq left he can have a team which he can lead. So, let's recap, kobe is a FA, the Lakers want to make signing Kobe their top priority, and with Kobe talking about leaving, what is the best way to get him to sign? Get rid of Shaq, which leads to building the team around Kobe and make him the leader, which is what Kobe wanted (a team where he's the primary option). Before Shaq demanded a trade, the Lakers said their top priority was to resign Kobe. And with Kobe talking about leaving, they knew the only way to get him to resign was to do something about Shaq, so a trade was inevitable. Maybe he should've kept his mouth quite, but it was pretty obvious that if they wanted to resign Kobe, they were gonna have to do something about Shaq, so he kept his pride and respect by demanding a trade. Just remember though, Kobe was already talking about leaving the Lakers before Shaq demanded a trade. Kobe put the Lakers in a tough situation, he let them know that it was either him or Shaq.
He lost weight so that will damage him in Miami? You can lose fat and keep muscle, that makes no sense. Losing fat won't change anything about his strength. Not only that but there is no other center he has to worry about. Not even Ming. The trade to Miami was terrible. LO is good and Butler is mediocre but Shaq will dominate until he's in his late 30's. No other competition. The worst part is Brian Grant's salary is f'in ridiculous!!! The only good argument you could say about the Shaq Kobe thing is that Shaq is 32 and even though he's great, he's on his way down. Kobe is 25 and not even in his prime. The Lakers had to choose Kobe. They had to trade Shaq. They tried for years to work on this. Kobe was working hard everyday no matter what was goin on. Shaq on the other hand lost focus and was demanding an outrageous extension so I agree with you guys there. When the Miami trade went down is when I personally disagree with everything. Nowitzki + filler for Shaq would have been great. Even though Cuban was throwing some curves saying Nowitzki is untouchable, I think he would have cracked. He was so desperate for a good big man he gave Erik Dampier 73 million. All in all, I still think the Lakers will be playoff contenders. Atkins is alright and Vujajic could be real good. Mihm and Vlade is fine upfront. Kobe is kobe and LO is good. Jumaine Jones could do a lot of good things too but Imagine Nowitzki with Kobe. I don't care if Shaq is in the same conference, the Lakers would have been unstoppable.
By the way guys, just letting you know that Shaq did mention that he wanted out of Los Angeles before Kobe did...if anyone remembers, help me out. I don't have a link, I just remember it. Shaq just didn't like playing alongside Kobe, and vice versa. Sure, the Lakers were going to make Kobe top-priority...but they didn't trade Shaq just to get Kobe to re-sign. They traded Shaq because they were looking at his demands...wanting a bigger salary, and the ball more...and also how bad of shape he was in. The FA market was on fire at the time, if you remember right...Dampier was still out there, and the Lakers could've pushed for alot of guys, but getting Odom, Butler and Grant helped the team with depth alot, no matter what anyone says. Kobe wasn't responsible for the Shaq trade, or a retiring Phil Jackson...if anything, the whole organization was responsible for it for the last two years.
That happen after Phil wasn't given his money. He released a statement asking to be traded because he didn't like the way the team was heading. Meaning is not my team any more, you hurt my feelings. Shaq starts crying.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting Jesseca328:</div><div class="quote_post">That happen after Phil wasn't given his money. He released a statement asking to be traded because he didn't like the way the team was heading. Meaning is not my team any more, you hurt my feelings. Shaq starts crying.</div>It was pretty obvious where the team was headed, but, If they wanted to guarantee that Kobe was going to resign, they had to do something about Shaq, because Kobe was not going to play with Shaq anymore, especially since <u>any other team would've given their franchise to him</u>. You have to read between the lines, Kobe was what the Lakers wanted, at any cost, even if it was to dismantle their team to build a new team around him. As you can see, all this spells trade for Shaq. I have no hate towards Kobe but it's true. As I stated in a previous post, the Lakers had good reason to trade Shaq, but in the end, what sweetened the deal was the guaranteed resigning of Kobe Bryant. All I'm trying to say is that there is no reason why a true Laker fan should have any hate towards Shaq and should reflect on the good times he was there.
