SHAQ ON CURRENT STATE OF THE LAKERS “When you mean 'turn it around,' do you mean a championship? Because that's done. That's not happening unless they make a miraculous trade and get four new people. Who do they have on the Lakers? I'm not sure. I'm not joking. Do they even have anyone to trade that somebody would want?" Apparently he hasn't seen our youngins from Clarkson to Russell to Beast. Might not be ready for a championship, but I'd say many teams would like our top young players in heartbeat.
I read that piece that the Shaq quote originated from...quite frankly, I don't care what Shaq says about the current state of the Lakers. There are issues that I'm sure we're all aware of, and I think we'll correct those, but it takes time. I'm quite clear on the mistakes we made: not trading Pau in 2012, Dwight (who am I glad left), hiring head coaches (including the current one) who were and are simply disasters. Nevertheless, we tanked 2 seasons in a row, and we have 2 great young pieces in Julius and Russell. We have another young piece in Clarkson who's going to be a terrific player in this league. We've acquired Hibbert who I think will be here for the foreseeable future, Lou to a multi-year contract, and I think Brandon can re-up next year with us. We positioned ourselves to have cap flexibility (nearly 60 million next year) to go out and sign more talent. So, to sum up, young talented, pieces on cost controlled contracts, cap space, the metropolis of Los Angeles, and a team on the rise. Not too shabby.
Who???!!! Just kidding! But seriously though, I don't expect Shaq to be as passionate about the Lakers like say Magic, or Worthy. These guys are Lakers for life and proud of it. I just don't get that vibe from Shaq so not too surprised when he said what he did. He obviously doesn't know what's going on here. We do. And I for one am pretty damn excited about it.
A basketball analyst who doesn't know who is on an NBA team that he played for for 8 years. Can TNT fire this mumbling clown already?
