I'm not sure if these comments have been posted, but Shaq is saying the right things so far:
Shaquille O'Neal has confirmed to the Orlando Sentinel that he won't sign another NBA contract.
O'Neal plans to retire as a member of the Celtics, meaning his legendary career has just two seasons left after he inked a two-year deal with Boston earlier this summer.
"I'm not coming in to take over," O'Neal said. "At this point in my career I'm just a role player and I'll do whatever it takes [to win]."
Link.
Of course, only time will tell if Shaq actually means that, but if he's truly buying into the "role player" mentality, I think that this signing will work out beautifully.
Agreed, Roy. Shaq is known to always say the right things in the beginning, or at least publiclyy, but sometimes the behind the scenes Shaq isn't the same guy. He said the right things in Miami and Phoenix, but wore out his welcome in both cities. I hope he truly is serious about buying into a supporting role.
I think we have a better situation to make him realize he will have a lesser role. On the Cavs they only had LeBron as their superstar and then Shaq had the potential to be their 2nd guy. Maybe he wasn't but he was the 2nd biggest star on the team and could see himself that way even if he was not. The Suns had Nash, Amare, and then Shaq could be their 3rd guy as well.
With us? We have The Big Three and Rondo. We brought in Jermaine O'Neal, who will start. We have a veteran, established, and already championship proven team. Although we brought Shaq in to help us win next year, we didn't really need Shaq so badly, he is brought in to make a great team even better. Shaq also only got the vet min.
There are many factors surrounding him being brought here that should clearly put him into a "role player" mindset. As well as the Ubuntu attitude, which has seen a lot of veterans come in an sacrifice and buy into the team first mentality. His attitude has to be a concern but if he could ever work he has to here. I think it will all work out pretty well.
