Shaq clears out his locker

[SunsFanVegas]

Yeah, until he shows his unhappiness on the court, this is no big deal. He continues to play like he has been and all is good.

 

[Hat]

And..... on que (even quicker than his past "poor me" histrionics) the obligatory touches comments...

"If I'm out there, the belief is always going to be high," O'Neal said, again adding later, "If I get more touches, I will deliver."

http://www.azcentral.com/sports/suns/articles/2009/02/21/20090221spt-sunsnb.html

That's fine by me. Not only is a he consistent scorer, he's taking the weight of other's shoulders by saying "Hey guys, I'll step up and score more in this bad time. Just give me the ball."

 

[Cheesewater]

And..... on que (even quicker than his past "poor me" histrionics) the obligatory touches comments...


The Suns center was said to be unhappy that he was mentioned in trade talks, particularly one that would have sent him to Portland. He denied being upset Saturday, sort of.

"I don't want to be in wherever they were trying to send me," O'Neal said. "But it was cool. Thank God for (Suns General Manager Steve) Kerr and the people upstairs. I'm just happy to be here."
Had O'Neal been moved, the deal would have been financially motivated by Raef LaFrentz's expiring contract and a chance to avoid O'Neal's $20 million salary next season. O'Neal said he appreciated that Kerr was honest during the process.

Though the Suns are without Amaré Stoudemire and an offense that utilized him in post-up situations often, O'Neal thinks the Suns have a shot to rise five places in the Western Conference standings and get home-court advantage in a first-round playoff series.

"If I'm out there, the belief is always going to be high," O'Neal said, again adding later, "If I get more touches, I will deliver."

http://www.azcentral.com/sports/suns/articles/2009/02/21/20090221spt-sunsnb.html

Those quotes are actually pretty positive. Thanking the GM? Happy to be here? Doesn't sound like a hissy fit to me.

And the last bit there, that you bolded, he's not complaining about not getting touches. He's promising to deliver if he gets them.

Thanks for helping to illustrate that Shaq is NOT melting down or causing an upset in team chemistry or whatever it is you Laker fans were hoping for.

 

[cobbler]

Just wait.... you'll see....

 

[Chaplin]

You guys are blind if you havent seen espn or azcentral covering this. Stop demanding sources and read some news.

We've seen one sentence blurbs from BEFORE the game. Why don't you support your high-handedness with some quotes? At least whine about something worth whining about.

 

[Bufalay]

Why are so many of you insisting on the validity of these reports with such a glaring dearth of evidence? This reminds me a lot of the "Marion killed the Garnett deal" talk, a rumor that I still have never seen corroborated by any sort of report.

 

[elindholm]

Marc Stein reported it, for whatever that's worth. I mean, if O'Neal isn't talking to the media, it stands to reason that there won't be media reports confirming that he's not talking to the media.

It doesn't really matter. O'Neal's empty locker was pretty far down the list of problems today.

 

[arwillan]

Marc Stein reported it, for whatever that's worth. I mean, if O'Neal isn't talking to the media, it stands to reason that there won't be media reports confirming that he's not talking to the media.

It doesn't really matter. O'Neal's empty locker was pretty far down the list of problems today.

 

[DeAnna]

For someone who's not talking to the media, he just gave the above referenced quotes. I also saw him on ch. 12 sports section last night.

 

[leclerc]

Anyone know what the proposed Cleveland deal was?

 

[asudevil83]

my guess...this whole "cleaning out the locker" was directed towards the media not the suns.

he cleaned out his locker so that he wouldnt have to talk to anyone associated with the media, and gave them a little screw you. and once again a few members ran with it.

 

[elindholm]

Anyone know what the proposed Cleveland deal was?

It was Ben Wallace and Sasha Pavlovic for O'Neal. The Suns were holding out for Szczerbiak instead of Wallace, since his contract expires a year earlier.

 

[YouJustGotSUNSD]

It was a weak deal and a lame attempt at showing LeBron "look we are investing in your future with us! Please stay in 2010!"

If I was shaq I would be pissed that it was the best deal offered for me.

 

[green machine]

You're usually pretty trustworthy, but even you can see how ridiculous this post looks.

Agreed, which is why you just have to trust me.

It's strange that I can't find any news on this anywhere. If its Shaq, usually his antics are made front page material immediately.

It's probably not front page because there are no quotes from anyone about it. It's probably not a big deal, but was an interesting side note to what has been going on with the team for the last week.

You guys are blind if you havent seen espn or azcentral covering this. Stop demanding sources and read some news.

Amen.

 

[Cheesewater]

Just wait.... you'll see....

Didn't a petulant Kobe Bryant clean out his locker a couple of years ago, hoping to boo-hoo his way to a trade?

 

[mojorizen7]

Didn't a petulant Kobe Bryant clean out his locker a couple of years ago, hoping to boo-hoo his way to a trade?

If he did i'm sure he leaked it to every reporter known to man that covers the NBA so that it would be the leading story for the next LAKER game, which was surely nationally televised....

 

[cobbler]

Didn't a petulant Kobe Bryant clean out his locker a couple of years ago, hoping to boo-hoo his way to a trade?

Yes he did. One time and it was clearly a childish move and he took a lot of grief for it after which he became a better teamate than ever in his past. Shaq has pulled this numerous times always followed by gripes about the team and touches which were followed in turn by trade demands. Well see how it folds out. You know where my money is.

No doubt Kobe has had his share of childish moves. I have admonished him just as much then as I do Shaq on his numerous rants. I supported trading Kobe when he pulled his rant.

Touchee!

 

[AceP]

"Shaq cleared out his locker" is still just a RUMOR! I read all recent news regarding Shaq in all websites I could find. There is NO clear confirmation about whether or not Shaq did such thing. They were trying to talk about Shaq being unhappy. But none had a clear description of what exactly Shaq did, nor when/where/how, nor what exactly Shaq said.

If Shaq said "I don't supposed to be HERE" in one occasion. "Here" should mean this place, the corridor? the room? Or just, "I don't supposed to be talking to you (media)". But when published, they will make sure every reader get it as "I don't supposed to be in this team".

I'm sure you konw Amercian medias much better than I do.

 

[Mainstreet]

"Shaq cleared out his locker" is still just a RUMOR! I read all recent news regarding Shaq in all websites I could find. There is NO clear confirmation about whether or not Shaq did such thing. They were trying to talk about Shaq being unhappy. But none had a clear description of what exactly Shaq did, nor when/where/how, nor what exactly Shaq said.

If Shaq said "I don't supposed to be HERE" in one occasion. "Here" should mean this place, the corridor? the room? Or just, "I don't supposed to be talking to you (media)". But when published, they will make sure every reader get it as "I don't supposed to be in this team".

I'm sure you konw Amercian medias much better than I do.

On the local news tonight Shaq was playing a soccer goalie in front of some purple/ blue padding on the wall probably near the locker room. Nash scored a goal against Shaq but LB got shut down. I certainly did not see any unhappiness here.

 

[YouJustGotSUNSD]

He was never unhappy with his teammates.