Riley bothered by Shaq's criticism of Heat players, staff

[Andrew]

NEW YORK -- Pat Riley can't understand why Shaquille O'Neal keeps talking about the Miami Heat.
Riley responded to O'Neal's criticisms Wednesday with some of his own, saying his former center was wrong to disparage some of his old teammates and trainers in a Boston Globe story.
"It's sad that he says those things. We shared so much here, together, for three years, good and bad, 3½ years," Riley said, referring specifically to the Heat's 2006 NBA title. "I just think it's sad that he's got to do that."
Riley dealt O'Neal to Phoenix before the trade deadline, allowing the 36-year-old center the chance to compete for another title instead of sticking around Miami for a last-place finish. O'Neal made it clear how much he prefers his new teammates.
"I love playing for this coach and I love playing with these guys," O'Neal told the Globe. "We have professionals who know what to do. No one is asking me to play with Chris Quinn or Ricky Davis. I'm actually on a team again."
After Phoenix's loss to Boston, O'Neal elaborated, saying that defenses would sag off of Quinn and Davis and he wasn't able to get the ball. Of Riley's comments, O'Neal said colorfully, "I don't [care] how he interpreted it."

Reminded that reporters couldn't use the quote because of the expletive, he said, "Sure you can. You can quote me, brother. You can put an 's,' then the tic-tac-toe, the 'at' sign and then the other symbols."
O'Neal was critical about shots -- as in, not getting enough of them -- often during his tenure with the Heat. This year, he expressed those sentiments in the days that followed a 110-101 loss at Utah on Dec. 3 -- a game where Quinn didn't play and O'Neal and Davis were on court together for 16 minutes, 2 seconds.
He also complained about not getting enough touches two days after going 8-for-15 in a 120-99 loss against Orlando, another game where he and Quinn never were on the court at the same time. Plus, O'Neal got into an argument with Riley during an early season practice, and words got so heated that Alonzo Mourning intervened to keep the two separated.

Keep in mind, O'Neal is the one who repeatedly referred to his Miami coach as "the great Pat Riley" during his time in South Florida. But he also was clearly miffed when Riley pulled him in the first minute of a game at New Jersey earlier this season for blowing a defensive assignment.

Riley said he doesn't have "anything but good feelings for Shaq" and wasn't bothered by any criticism leveled at him. But he said O'Neal has no reason to blame anyone else in the organization for his unhappiness.
"When you're 9-40, we're all frustrated. I mean everybody's at fault, we all were. Everybody was feeling bad and nobody wants that," Riley said.
"He didn't want to be there, he didn't want to play for that kind of situation, 35 years old. He wanted to go to a contender and we sent him there. We sent him to Utopia and we're left here with the carnage and I don't know why he's not happy."
Riley also defended the work of veteran trainer Ron Culp and the team's medical staff, saying O'Neal was out of line to speak poorly of them.
"It's really a shame that he would insult those people like that because they gave him care. They cared," Riley said. "They didn't kiss his butt. They cared about him.
"He can do whatever he wants to do to me. That's OK, I don't care. But those men, they tried. ... That upsets me more than anything."

 

[Bufalay]

"I love playing for this coach and I love playing with these guys," O'Neal told the Globe. "We have professionals who know what to do. No one is asking me to play with Chris Quinn or Ricky Davis. I'm actually on a team again."

What a jerk.

 

[abomb]

Enjoy. He'll be doing the same to the entire Phoenix staff in two years.

 

[btimsah]

Wow.. Shaq needs to learn to "say less". I'm sure a lotta players think things like that, but there's no reason to say it to the press. And Abomb, I'm sure the situation is different in Miami than it is in Phoenix. Shaq has a tendency to speak what is on his mind, that's for sure.

 

[abomb]

Wow.. Shaq needs to learn to "say less". I'm sure a lotta players think things like that, but there's no reason to say it to the press. And Abomb, I'm sure the situation is different in Miami than it is in Los Angeles than it is in Orlando than it is in Phoenix. Shaq has a tendency to speak what is on his mind, that's for sure.

ftfy

 

[MigratingOsprey]

yeah - miami actually won a championship a couple years ago - with nash, shaq, grant hill, raja bell and others getting up there in age who's to say where the suns will be in a couple years and what shaq's feelings are going to be

if the suns do not win a title and shaq has to wind down his career on a rebuilding team i'm pretty positive he'll be very critical - comes with the territory

 

[Andrew]

In all fairness, Pat Riley should be bothered. But bothered at the fact that he couldn't, along with the organization, resign key players or get a key free agent this past off season. Maybe Shaq was stating the obvious about the medical staff, clearly he is feeling good as of lately.

All I know is in years to come, both men will look back and see they went about this the wrong way.

You have two hall-of-famers, they will butt heads...

 

[cobbler]

Wow.. Shaq needs to learn to "say less". I'm sure a lotta players think things like that, but there's no reason to say it to the press. And Abomb, I'm sure the situation is different in Miami than it is in Phoenix. Shaq has a tendency to speak what is on his mind, that's for sure.

The situation has always beem different. There was Orlando, then LA, Miami and now Phoenix. What happens in Phoenix is still to be written. However, the one constant in his 3 previous stops is that he wears out his welcome with all the talk and little work ethic (unless of course he's motivated). Now when your an owner paying someone 20 mil a year, i'm thinking..... where's the motive to be the best you can for the guy tossing you the bucks. My bet is he will do the same in 2 years to you guys. He left orlando and dissed his teamates and organization, same in LA, now in Miami. He may be a great guy, fun loving and a great teamate in the locker room, but his comittment to his employer's sucks. If i was Miami I would be looking to reclaim some of this years salary for his (obviously now) exagerated hip problems that made him unable to play all season yet allows him to dive in the stands weeks later. He quit on his team plain and simple. So they deal him to a quality contending team and how does he repay them? He disses the organization, coaching staff, and teamates..... AGAIN!

 

[All Seeing Eye]

He left orlando and dissed his teamates and organization, same in LA, now in Miami.

He also praised teammates and organizations and helped win champeenships for dem. Don't just remember the bad stuff, now.

Also, remember dat people with microphones in their faces say ALOT of stuff. Sometimes as part of a larger statement, sometimes more and sometimes less with seriousness or conviction. Not everything dat's true is reported and not everything dat is reported is true.

 

[cobbler]

He also praised teammates and organizations and helped win champeenships for dem. Don't just remember the bad stuff, now.

Also, remember dat people with microphones in their faces say ALOT of stuff. Sometimes as part of a larger statement, sometimes more and sometimes less with seriousness or conviction. Not everything dat's true is reported and not everything dat is reported is true.

No doubt he helped win championships. Never said he didnt. I like shaq as a person. He's the biggest character in the game. My beef has always been, even when he was helping us win championships, that his work ethic is terrible. He could have been the greatest center of ALL TIME and isnt. For some reason, and your right, who knows whats really going on behind the scenes, Shaq tends to throw his teamates and organizations under the buss when he's past the amusement stage. I think maybe its like a child blaming another to throw the spotlight off of their failure.

One of my all time favorites was... Kobe is not a team player, he doesnt play team ball, this is my team and the ball needs to go through me.

classic!

 

[jbeecham]

I forgot where I saw it, but Shaq said the Heat trainers solution to his problems were to just give him a shot to numb/loosen up his injured areas so he could play rather than address the real issues. If this is true then he should blast the training staff there.

The Suns staff is known for their advanced techniques in muscle strengthening (not only the injured area, but the surrounding areas that support the injured area) & improving range of motion.

 

[passenger]

Enjoy. He'll be doing the same to the entire Phoenix staff in two years.

i don't know why shaq loves talking a lot,well,maybe he doesnt talk much but when he does,media attention is big.if he doesnt get a ring with suns,he ll criticize suns players too maybe

 

[cobbler]

I forgot where I saw it, but Shaq said the Heat trainers solution to his problems were to just give him a shot to numb/loosen up his injured areas so he could play rather than address the real issues. If this is true then he should blast the training staff there.

I totally agree if thats true. I kind of find that a little hard to believe though but you never know.

You would think Shaq would have his own personal trainers as well... but again, who really knows.

If it is true that a major professional training staff (especially one for the relentless riley) is just shooting cortizone and saying play thru it, then they should be replaced instantly. No excuse for that!

 

[SirStefan32]

Eh, past is past. Why even bring it up? How about focusing on winning a title with Phoenix instead of bashing Miami? Two thumbs down for Shaq.

 

[Darth Llama]

That article made me lose what little respect I had left for Shaq. What a jerk.

 

[sLapzsHaQ]

Well, he is just being Shaq

 

[Arizona's Finest]

Don't really care either way. Keep in mind Shaq IS right about his criticism but that doesn't mean he had to say it. Again it doesn't change my opinion either way though. I am not the personality police.

Just win us all a damn ring.

 

[TigToad]

title

Give me a NBA title with Shaq on the team... and 5 years down the road, if he wants to blast his time in Phoenix, I'll be fine with it. Barkley gave us crap for years afterwords, but his team got the farthest we've ever been.