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Jovec · 05-29-2007, 12:37 PM

At the time of the trade, I put 99% of the blame on Kobe, but after seeing how Shaq acted the last few seasons in Miami towards the whole thing, I really think it's more of a 50/50. Yes, Kobe should have acknowledged Shaq more for the titles/wins/etc. but Shaq needed to suck up his ego too and realize age and weight were catching up with him and he needed Kobe just as much. People know when you are being the better man, and Shaq could have won another 2-3 here in LA and earned immense respect by properly dealing with primadonna Kobe. Shaq got lucky that D-Wade played out of his mind in the finals last year, and I really think that was the only one the Shaq/Wade combo will win.

The ironic thing is that either Horry or Fisher are going to be playing in the finals this year while Shaq and Kobe watch.

Edits: Caron Butler was traded for Kwame Brown. It was a 2 for 2 swap, but Chucky Atkins (from LAL) and Laron Profit (from WSH) don't play for those teams anymore. So, I suppose we can say Shaq was traded for Lamar Odom and Kwame Brown, but the issues are 1) is that even worth it? and 2) couldn't you get those players some other way if you really wanted them?

05-29-2007, 12:37 PM	#13 (permalink)
Jovec Registered User Join Date: Sep 2002 Location: SoCal Posts: 368	At the time of the trade, I put 99% of the blame on Kobe, but after seeing how Shaq acted the last few seasons in Miami towards the whole thing, I really think it's more of a 50/50. Yes, Kobe should have acknowledged Shaq more for the titles/wins/etc. but Shaq needed to suck up his ego too and realize age and weight were catching up with him and he needed Kobe just as much. People know when you are being the better man, and Shaq could have won another 2-3 here in LA and earned immense respect by properly dealing with primadonna Kobe. Shaq got lucky that D-Wade played out of his mind in the finals last year, and I really think that was the only one the Shaq/Wade combo will win. The ironic thing is that either Horry or Fisher are going to be playing in the finals this year while Shaq and Kobe watch. Edits: Caron Butler was traded for Kwame Brown. It was a 2 for 2 swap, but Chucky Atkins (from LAL) and Laron Profit (from WSH) don't play for those teams anymore. So, I suppose we can say Shaq was traded for Lamar Odom and Kwame Brown, but the issues are 1) is that even worth it? and 2) couldn't you get those players some other way if you really wanted them? Last edited by Jovec : 05-29-2007 at 12:45 PM.