Heat, O'Neal agree on $100 million deal

"MIAMI (AP) -- Shaquille O'Neal and the Miami Heat agreed Tuesday on a $100 million, five-year contract, one that presumably will keep the 12-time All-Star center playing past his 38th birthday.

The deal will be signed later Tuesday, said O'Neal's agent Perry Rogers.

``We wanted to make sure that Shaquille was being compensated well into his career,'' Rogers told The Associated Press. ``We also wanted to make sure he was paid his value. And it was important the Heat had flexibility they need in the short-term to win a championship."

I want to kick Jerry Buss in the ass. He should have retired as a Laker. Instead he came within one injury away from being in the championship again.

5 comments:

Chaim said...

Jack, the Lakers will go down as making the dumbest decision in NBA history. I think the Zen Master is making a big mistake coming abck as the coach. No way he will ever reach either of the highs from MJ's years or Shaq/Kobe days.

Jack Steiner said...

Nah, this is not about matching those days. It is about showing that he can take a team and help it grow into something, like Larry Brown.

Chaim said...

Well, Larry is another genuis. You can't get blood from a stone, I don't know why he took the Knicks job. (well, yes I did, cause he thinks he can do something with them, but ... )

AbbaGav said...

The Lakers weren't winning with Shaq even back when he was 2 years younger than now. The last 2 or 3 years of this contract are going to be what is known as a "balloon payment", only balloon just refers to Shaq's weight as his inactivity due to chronic injury and lethargy will take its toll.

The Lakers are worse now that he is gone, than they were when he was with them at his peak. But had he stayed, they would still be losing and they would be stuck in that swamp for these same 5 more years. At least they have a chance now.

Thanks for letting me get that off my chest. Now if they will just turn NBAtv back on here in Israel this year, I'll be able to watch the games again. Otherwise, I can just read about the games at Lakersground.net.

Jack Steiner said...

Gavriel,

What are you talking about. The Lakers went to the championship in his final season and came damn close the season before.

He may not be the player he once was but there is no other who can match him. They did not get anything close to his worth in the trade and look what happened.

Beyond that how much did they lose in TV revenue and the gate receipts. Keeping him would have been smarter.

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