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Shaq Almost Wound Up in SLC?
Posted by: Brian McCann on September 8th, 2010
The author's views are entirely his or her own and may not reflect the views of the Utah Jazz.
I was one of those guys. Yep, one of those “the Jazz should try and bring in Shaquille O’Neal”-guys. I was one of those guys that said “what harm could it do if he is willing to take a role off the bench? Certainly he is better than the Fes/Koof super-combo, and we could probably get him on the cheap”. Yes, I was one of the few. I mean Shaq doesn’t exactly have a stellar record as a solid contributor over the last few seasons, so why would I want him in SLC? Would he really want to play in Utah? He did just sign a deal in Boston for $2.8 mill over two years, and the Jazz definitely could have offered him more than that. Come on, Fes wants more than that, and who would you rather have on the bench as your backup Center, Fes or Shaq? Even a 38 year-old, out of shape, ego-centric Shaq would be better than Fes right? Especially when we have no money to spend and are in desperate need to fill our most glaring roster spot… Shaq would be a no-brainer, obviously; a brilliant move, even. That is if you could get him to come play in Utah, which apparently the Jazz have tried to do before. Yes, you heard (read) that right. According to an interview The New Orleans Times Picayune had with the Big (whatever you want to call him) a deal between the Lakers and Jazz almost went down in ’04. Read on…
Are you surprised that you have played for four different franchises since 2008?
“No, but I made the comments in Boston that when I was the CEO, things would have to go my way. The one thing I don’t tolerate is BS. You cannot BS me and I’m not a boy. I’ve been here a long time, and I understand the business. You always have to look at a bigger part of it. Like in Phoenix, the guy (Suns owner Robert Sarver) was out of money, and I’m the big salary. So what do you do? You get rid of the big salary. It wasn’t because he didn’t like me. It was the same thing in Miami, me and Pat (Riley) didn’t get along, so what do you do? But nothing goes down without my OK. Like when I was in L.A., I said I’ll go, but I’m going to Miami. They were saying we want to send you to Utah, and I said, ’Guess what, I’m not doing it.’ I told them they would have to settle out and write me a check, and then I’ll go, but they said ’all right, we’ll send you to Miami.’ In Miami, I told them I want to go to Phoenix.”
So according to Shaq, the Lakers wanted to ship him off to Utah after LA lost to Detroit in the 2004 Finals, but Shaq nixed the deal, because, as is common with today’s athlete, he felt he had the right to dictate the terms of the deal. To me, this says less about his willingness to play in Utah and more about his desire to be in control of his own destiny. If LA would have said they were shipping him off to Denver, or Houston, or Portland, I am sure he would have probably given a similar response. Shaq also says in the interview that he “could have gotten $8 million from Atlanta and Detroit, but it wasn’t about that. It was about being somewhere and being seen and winning.” Well, in Utah, he wouldn’t have been “seen” since we don’t get many nationally televised games (which he also listed as one of his ulta-admirable reasons for signing with Boston). Kind of funny, because I distinctly remember reading several articles that said he was looking for at least a full MLE and couldn’t find it anywhere. Huh.
So Shaq might not have come to Utah anyway, because winning isn’t as important as keeping your ego strong and vibrant. And to tell you the truth, I am happy he didn’t come in ’04 either. If you remember, that was the off-season we signed Memo and Booz, and I would think we would have had to give up at least AK to bring in Shaq. Booz ended up sitting most of the ’04-’05 season, which allowed us to have our worst season in 20 years, which facilitated a high draft pick, which landed us Deron Williams. If Shaq were here, I don’t think we would have been so lucky. But hey, we would have had front row seats to watch his demise into averageness. That would have at least been worth something.
In the end, things worked out the way they should as they always tend to do. But I still stick by my claim that if Shaq were to take the same role with the Jazz as he will be with Boston next year that he would help the team more than hurt it.
I Guess we’ll never know.
Replies: 4
Views: 1023
4 Responses
Most high profile players (who we don’t draft) don’t want to play in Utah. The Jazz would have to offer “mega” money to lure the elite brand of player. It’s amazing the Jazz have been as consistent a winning organization as they have over the years. It’s a testament to highly qualified people (both past and present) in the front office, and on the sidelines.
Amen to you both.
Everyone complains that Kevin is never doing anything, yet he is extremely tight lipped, even on something this old.
So, we may never know, if this was just Shaq’s version, speculation, or had a firm basis, unless Kevin will comment.
Also, what were the details? What would the Jazz have to give up?
Urban legend or a real deal? We may never know.
Jazzaholic
Ugh. Shaq was NEVER the answer, not in 2004 and not this past offseason. He would be a cancer on a team like the Jazz. His essence and the philosophy of the Jazz organization are polar opposites. Bad, bad idea to sign him here. Same goes for the Allen Iversons and Carmelo Anthonies of the NBA!