I get the arguments for why Kidd and Iverson are selfish, or malcontents, or team cancers, or whatever. I don't necessarily agree with them, especially when it comes to Iverson, but I understand them. But how in the world does Shaq fit into that mold? The guy is one of the best ambassadors for the game that the NBA has ever had. I can't recall a single instance (aside from the Kobe feud, and even then it seemed like Kobe was doing most of the talking) where he's complained to the media, demanded a trade, or otherwise showed himself to be anything but a team player. So what evidence does Doyel bring up to prove Shaq's "subtle" selfishness?
1) Shaq is old. And really, isn't this the epitome of selfishness? His stubborn, pig-headed march forward through time is really a slap to the face of his teammates. Why can't he just jump in the old wayback machine and throw dunks down like he did with the Lakers?
2) Shaq is out of shape. This one has the most validity of any of his points. But, again, I point to argument # 1: Shaq is old. The guy's got 300,000 miles on his tires. No one ever expected him to run the floor like Shawn Marion, least of all the Suns. They knew what they were getting. Besides, it's not like Shaq showed up looking like C.C. Sabathia or something. He could still play his game.
3) Shaq can't guard Tim Duncan. This is just stupid. 99% of the people in the league can't guard Tim Duncan. If that makes a player a selfish malcontent, then every NBA team but the Spurs is doomed to terrible chemistry forevermore.
4) Shaq is inefficient. What does this have to do with A) Selfishness, or B) Malcontentery? If he was making an argument that Shaq isn't as good as he used to be, then I'm sold. But how does shooting 44% from the field make one a "malcontent?"
The bottom line is that Doyel needed Shaq in the article because three things are better to rant about than two things, so he shoe-horned him in. And that's not fair to the big man. Sure, he's old and he's not as good as he used to be, but that doesn't make him a bad person. It makes him human. He doesn't deserve to be on this list, and Doyel certainly didn't make any sort of case for including him.
I actually have to agree with Doyel on labeling Shaquille O'Neal as a Malcontent. Other than the Shaq/Kobe Bryant feud. After the Heat traded him to the Suns, Shaq had these colorful comments to bash his former team:
“I love playing for this coach and I love playing with these guys,” O’Neal told the Boston 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.”
He publically bashedhis former team, former teammates and then later went on to bash Pat Riley publically in the press. All this came after Pat Riley granted Shaq his wish of trading him to a contender. If your request is granted, the only reason to bash Riley and the Heat is because he is a malcontent.
So Shaq had problems with 2 teams that won championships. Shaq had problems playing along side of 2 of the best players in the NBA in Kobe, and Dwayne Wade. Shaq had problems playing with 2 coaches who have won championships with multiple teams and handled some of the most famous personalities the NBA has ever known. You mean to tell me that Phil Jackson could handle Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen but can't handle Shaq? Pat Riley can coach a team with Magic Johnson, James Worthy, and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar but he doesn't know how to coach Shaq?
I wasn't aware of those comments. If Doyel had made that case for Shaq being a malcontent, then I think I would have had less of a problem with his article. I still don't think that pointing out how big of a joke the Heat are is necessarily on par with getting Byron Scott fired after two consecutive trips to the NBA Finals, but it's a better argument than "he can't guard Tim Duncan and he shot 44% from the field."
As for the whole Kobe/Shaq feud, I've always heard the account that Kobe was primarily responsible for getting him booted off the team, and not vice-versa. Maybe I'm mistaken. And Shaq only blasted Jackson after the coach called him lazy to the national media.
I don't think Shaq ever had a problem playing with Dwayne Wade, considering how he singlehandedly (with an assist from the refs) won Shaq a fifth ring. It was playing with a glorified D-League squad while Wade was wheelchair-bound that grated on his nerves, and frankly, I can't say I blame him.
Finally, it's not like Jackson traded Shaq because of his benevolence. He had an aging, $20 million dollar playoff-tested commodity on the roster of cellar-dwelling franchise. He would have been foolish not to trade Shaq to someone, Shaq's wishes notwithstanding.
I think there probably is a case to be made that Shaq is selfish, a malcontent, etc. I think you made a pretty good one. But we can both agree that Doyel didn't, and that's what annoyed me about the article.
I agree with the comments that Shaq is a malcontent, though I also agree that it isn't presented well here. As far as the Kobe/Shaq feud, I think Kobe may have had a lot to do with him leaving (even though I think the front office knew he didn't have many more good years left in him), but Kobe wasn't the one doing the talking afterward. After the trade, Shaq was the one always mentioning Kobe (either directly or implicitly) to the media, while Kobe always tried to avoid commenting on Shaq (other than to Denver police). Kobe tried to deflect attention away from the "feud', while Shaq didn't miss a beat talking about selfish former teammates or corvettes hitting brick walls. I'm not trying to paint Kobe as the good guy here, because he definitely wasn't, just that Shaq is not the unselfish guy a lot of people make him out to be.
Let's not forget that he also insulted Penny Hardaway after leaving Orlando, making that 3 different teams where he insulted teammates after leaving.
Tenacious, I guess the article is all about perception. I live in the Miami/Ft. Lauderdale area although I am not a Heat fan. The Shaq/Riley feud in the media was big news down in this neck of the woods. Also, seeing as how Sportsline is located in Ft. Lauderdale, I think Doyel may have had a misconception about what is or isn't national news. I will agree that he did not make his case strong enough. He probably went on the assumption that everyone knew the Riley/Shaq feud which was his mistake.
You brought up the point about how you thought that Shaquille O'neal being traded from the Lakers was more of Kobe Bryant's doing. As time has gone on, and seeing Shaq more and more in the media, I'm not so sure. I think there was a definite media bias against Kobe. Remember, when Shaq and Kobe's feud was at its peak, Kobe was in the midst of his rape trial, and Kobe took a lot of the blame for the Lakers losing the championship to the Pistons because of it. So of course, the media is going to side with Shaq, especially when he is always providing them great quotes and sound bites.
But since leaving the Lakers, Shaq has openly criticized his former Laker teammate(Kobe) and Laker management, despite them all helping him earn 3 championships. Shaq has come in to every season out of shape and has not played a full season due to his lack of conditioning since. He gets his trade request out of Miami granted by Pat Riley, and then he goes on to criticize 2 of his teammates that helped pick up the slack while Shaq himself was out with injury.
All I'm saying is that maybe Shaq isn't as perfect as he was painted to be. He left the Magic as soon as things went slightly south. He wanted out of Los Angeles when they didn't win their 4th Straight title, and he bailed on the Heat shortly after their championship. He had no problem criticizing 2 of those 3 organizations and teammates after leaving. Kobe has kept quiet about Shaq. Dwayne Wade isn't criticizing him for his poor conditioning. Shaq is the only one talking, and he's doing a good job of self-incrimination.
