Author | Thread |
Bonn1997
Posts: 58654 Alba Posts: 2 Joined: 2/2/2004 Member: #581 USA |
9/26/2004 6:30 PM
http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/basketball/story/235695p-202417c.html
Slim Daddy's ready to roll Shaquille O'Neal stepped up on the scales last week and saw a number he hasn't seen in more than a few years: 334. By Shaq's count, he's already dropped 26 pounds since his final days as a Laker. Thanks to a twice-a-day cardiovascular regimen, he's in his best shape in years. And he's not finished. His goal, he's told friends, is to drop another nine pounds by the time he reports for his first training camp in Miami next week. A leaner, meaner Shaq is going to clean up this season. But it's not just because he's motivated by the way his Laker career ended. Of course he's still burning up over how Jerry Buss decided to rebuild around Kobe Bryant after the Lakers flamed out in the Finals. "Who's going to be the scapegoat now? Who are they going to point at now?" he said last week, when he was back in L.A. to host a basketball camp. "They've got to have a scapegoat. And they know I'm strong enough to be that scapegoat." There's more than just bad memories to keep Shaq going this year. With a player option in his contract after the season, he's looking to get the kind of new deal that Buss refused to pay. That was a major consideration in moving O'Neal. As ex-Lakers exec Jerry West recently observed, "some of it was probably a financial decision." It could cost less for Buss to rebuild around Bryant, still only 26, than to keep paying O'Neal, 32, who was getting to be a pain with his constant demands for an extension. Now, Heat owner Mickey Arison is the one who will hear Shaq's kvetching. Well, Mickey, how does three years for $90 million sound? We didn't pluck those numbers out of thin air. Those are the very figures Shaq has in mind. He'll make $28 million this season and isn't about to take a pay cut, even if the Heat is one of the league's financial wrecks. They've been losing at least $15 million per year for the last few seasons, according to financial gurus. And even with O'Neal's drawing power, they still stand to lose $10 million this season. The problem with extending Shaq at his figure is that he's shown signs of wearing down (see his playoff performances when he plays on only one day's rest) and he could very well revert to his lazy offseason habits after this season. At this time next year, those numbers on Shaq's scale could be going back up. |
AUTOADVERT |
Nalod
Posts: 68753 Alba Posts: 154 Joined: 12/24/2003 Member: #508 USA |
9/27/2004 2:02 PM
Anybody think shaq for MVP candidate this early on? |