Could Shaq Redeem His Career with the Lakers through Pending Free Agency?

June 3rd, 2010 by Harrison Moore Leave a reply »

You’ll have to forgive me, but when Shaq retires, my most prominent memory of him won’t likely be the image of him in a Laker uniform proudly clutching his third-consecutive Finals MVP award.

It’s not that I’ve forgotten the admiration I once felt towards him.

During the time Shaq and Kobe were tearing through the NBA and forging a new dynastic chapter in Laker history, I was a 12 year old kid who had finally just hit his growth spurt. I towered over most of the other kids in my grade and during recess, I’d block shots and forcibly take my points in the paint.

They dubbed me “Baby Shaq”.

I remember all those memories fondly, some as vividly as though they had occurred yesterday, but time moves on. Unfortunately, the passing of time includes several negatives, none worse than aging.

Don’t get me wrong sometimes, aging can be almost beautiful. Both inside the sports world and out of it, those who accept the inevitable <!– /* Style Definitions */ p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal {mso-style-parent:””; margin:0in; margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:12.0pt; font-family:”Times New Roman”; mso-fareast-font-family:”Times New Roman”;} span.apple-style-span {mso-style-name:apple-style-span;} @page Section1 {size:8.5in 11.0in; margin:1.0in 1.25in 1.0in 1.25in; mso-header-margin:.5in; mso-footer-margin:.5in; mso-paper-source:0;} div.Section1 {page:Section1;} –> and do so graciously <!– /* Style Definitions */ p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal {mso-style-parent:””; margin:0in; margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:12.0pt; font-family:”Times New Roman”; mso-fareast-font-family:”Times New Roman”;} span.apple-style-span {mso-style-name:apple-style-span;} @page Section1 {size:8.5in 11.0in; margin:1.0in 1.25in 1.0in 1.25in; mso-header-margin:.5in; mso-footer-margin:.5in; mso-paper-source:0;} div.Section1 {page:Section1;} –> often become admirable, beloved figures.

Think of the way David Robinson quickly adjusted to Tim Duncan’s emergence,  eventually even accepting role-player status before winning his second NBA title in 2003, and walking off into the sunset.

Shaq, on the other hand, has become increasingly embittered over the years. He has taken the same goofy, comedic antics that endeared him to so many fans earlier in his career and made those traits sour and aggressive. In doing so, he’s taken aim at old teammates and coaches alike, making new enemies wherever possible along the way.

I just hope you haven’t blinked during the course of Shaq’s career.

In what seemed like a flash, he went from being one of the most dominant and successful players in the game’s history, to being one of the most bitter, limelight lusting athletes of all time.

By now if you’re reading this and haven’t heard of Shaq’s numerous digs at Stan Van Gundy, his Twitter posts insulting everyone from Dwight Howard to Jalen Rose, the alleged stealing of Steve Nash’s TV show idea which led to Shaq’s reality show “Shaq vs.” or, most famously, the anally-based rap song Shaq taunted Kobe Bryant with directly after the Lakers lost to the Celtics in the ’08 Finals, then you’ve probably just thawed from being buried under 15 feet of ice in the middle of the Arctic.

Only after Shaq realized how many people were tiring of his rapper-like-beef instigating antics, did he try to reinvent himself. However, he relegated most of that effort into pretending as though his actions were all marketing ploys.

Even worse, when Shaq isn’t downplaying every argument or confrontation he’s ever provoked, he’s borderline prostituting himself from team to team, looking for a ride to the NBA Finals.

Though Shaq is unlikely to be to satisfied with ending his career with such an anti-climactic loss to the Celtics, if he did, you’d be able to see that karma’s handprints were over the situation. After all, Shaq’s final loss would be at the hands of the same team he had so ruthlessly mocked Kobe for losing to only two years ago.

In a way, the damage Shaq has done to his own legacy is irreparable.

No matter what he does from this point on, he will never be remembered as fondly or admirably as he would have, had he retired earlier in his career.

If Shaq is seriously considering holding off retirement for another season, the only way for him to upgrade his status from side-show gimmick to veteran role-player would be to rejoin one of his former teams.

Seriously, how difficult would it be to take Shaq seriously if he wound up in yet another uniform?

Of the former teams Shaq does have to pick from, well, I hope you weren’t planning on taking a trip to Disney World anytime soon, because Shaq’s burned just about every bridge there is in Orlando.

I doubt that Miami’s fans, Dwayne Wade, or Pat Riley forgot about the way Shaq quit on them in 2008. And as far as the Cavaliers are concerned, depending on what LeBron James decides this off-season, they may become more irrelevant to the NBA than the Supersonics.

The process of elimination is a funny thing isn’t it?

If Shaq chose not to retire, his only viable remaining option would be to rejoin the Los Angeles Lakers.

Don’t get it twisted, its not that the Lakers need him.

After all, tomorrow will officially begin the 3rd consecutive time Shaq will be watching the Lakers in the Finals from his bedroom television set. When you consider that the first of those three years saw a first round elimination, the second didn’t see a single playoff game, and the third may very well be his last season in the NBA, you realize how badly Shaq needs the Lakers.

Currently, all of Shaq’s ties to the Laker franchise and fan base have been severed since the instant he took the stage to throw salt on Kobe’s wounds in 2008. No true Laker, past or present, would dare mock the team’s leader (and consequently the team) after a Finals loss <!– /* Style Definitions */ p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal {mso-style-parent:””; margin:0in; margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:12.0pt; font-family:”Times New Roman”; mso-fareast-font-family:”Times New Roman”;} span.apple-style-span {mso-style-name:apple-style-span;} @page Section1 {size:8.5in 11.0in; margin:1.0in 1.25in 1.0in 1.25in; mso-header-margin:.5in; mso-footer-margin:.5in; mso-paper-source:0;} div.Section1 {page:Section1;} –> particularly not one to those damned Celtics.

If the Lakers win the NBA Championship again this year, and Shaq joined them in the off-season, he would not only have the opportunity to play a role in bringing another three-peat title to the Lakers, he’d at least be building some semblance of a legacy to leave behind.

He’d be a Laker.

It’s not that it would be easy for him, even after he arrived in L.A. The Lakers are Kobe Bryant’s team now, and the first time that Shaq would show up to a Laker practice or training camp out of shape would be his last.

Even if Shaq did everything right, on and off the court, kept his mouth shut and contributed solid minutes, it would amount to little if the Lakers fail to win the title.

Still he’d have the chance to reestablish himself and resume adding seasons to his career of which he could actually be proud. On an encouraging note, geography is on Shaq’s side, because the only direction he could possibly go from here is up.

Its not like he can get any worse.

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