2011-2012 NBA Thread: The Chris Paul and Dwight Howard sweepstakes

[Correction]

I'll ask again, anyone read the shit shaq put in his book? It's hilarious.

I especially lol'd at the part where he denies showing up fat for every training camp.

[Dimmauk]

I especially lol'd at the part where he denies showing up fat for every training camp.

I read all shaq quotes in Ares spears voice.

[Correction]

I read all shaq quotes in Ares spears voice.

oh shit man LOL

[Moss]

read/watch

http://www.grantland.com/story/_/id/7175522/part-one

[Dimmauk]

Our coach, Mike Brown, was a nice guy, but he had to live on edge because nobody was supposed to be confrontational with LeBron. Nobody wanted him to leave Cleveland, so he was allowed to do whatever he wanted to do.

I remember one day in a film session LeBron didn't get back on defense after a missed shot. Mike Brown didn't say anything about it. He went to the next clip and it was Mo Williams not getting back and Mike was saying, "Yo, Mo, we can't have that. You've got to hustle a little more." So Delonte West is sitting there and he's seen enough and he stands up and says, "Hold up, now. You can't be pussyfooting around like that. Everyone has to be accountable for what they do, not just some us." Mike Brown said, "I know, Delonte. I know." Mike knew Delonte was right.

LOL

[Dimmauk]

So I'm on edge because I don't have a new deal, and Kobe is on edge because he might be going to jail, so we're taking it out on each other. Just before the start of the '03-'04 season the coaching staff called us in and said, "No more public sparring or you'll get fined." ... Phil was tired of it. Karl Malone and Gary Payton were sick of it. ... So what happens? Immediately after that Kobe runs right out to Jim Gray and does this interview where he lets me have it. He said I was fat and out of shape. He said I was milking my toe injury for more time off, and the injury wasn't even that serious. (Yeah, right. It only ended my damn career.) He said I was "lobbying for a contract extension when we have two Hall of Famers playing pretty much for free." I'm sitting there watching this interview and I'm gonna explode. Hours earlier we had just promised our coach we'd stop. It was a truce broken. I let the guys know, "I'm going to kill him."

Kobe stands up and goes face-to-face with me and says, "You always said you're my big brother, you'd do anything for me, and then this Colorado thing happens and you never even called me." I did call him. ... So here we are now, and we find out he really was hurt that we didn't stand behind him. That was something new. I didn't think he gave a rat's ass about us either way. "Well, I thought you'd publicly support me, at least," Kobe said. "You're supposed to be my friend."

Brian Shaw chimed in with "Kobe, why would you think that? Shaq had all these parties and you never showed up for any of them. We invited you to dinner on the road and you didn't come. Shaq invited you to his wedding and you weren't there. Then you got married and didn't invite any of us. And now you are in the middle of this problem, this sensitive situation, and now you want all of us to step up for you. We don't even know you." ...

Everyone was starting to calm down when I told Kobe, "If you ever say anything like what you said to Jim Gray ever again, I will kill you."

Kobe shrugged and said, "Whatever."
[...]
From that day on, I was done dealing with Kobe. I was done dealing with Jim Gray, too. What goes around, comes around. When he got fired, he actually had the nerve to call me and ask me to help him out. What, did you lose Kobe's number?

Shaq adds:

He was so young and so immature in some ways, but I can tell you this: everything Kobe is doing now, he told me all the way back then he was going to do it. We were sitting on the bus once and he told me, "I'm going to be the number one scorer for the Lakers, I'm going to win five or six championships, and I'm going to be the best player in the game." I was like, "Okay, whatever." Then he looked me right in the eye and said, "I'm going to be the Will Smith of the NBA."

My first Lakers season we had a couple of rookies, and we hazed them pretty badly. We were dogging them out constantly. It was "Go get my bags, go get me something to eat." It was kind of a rite of passage in the NBA that a lot of teams do, but we probably went a little too far with it. One of the rookies—Derek Fisher(notes)—just took it. The other rookie—Kobe Bryant—ratted us out to Jerry West.

Wow

[GRT]

http://blogimages.thescore.com/tbj/f...-wild-west.jpg

[Deejay]

damn kobe was a douche, but idk how much you can fault a guy when he was practically a child when he joined the nba

[Gredival]

So much for Shaq's "IT WAS ALL MARKETING MAN" explanation.

I believe Shaq that Kobe pulled a lot of shit, but I bet that Shaq pulled a lot of stuff he's not owning up to as well. Toe injury wasn't really career ending if you consider 7+ years playing after.

And not showing up out of shape for camp after the whole "Injured on company time, heal on company time" deal?

Sidenote: A shorter season probably favors younger teams. It's less total games for the older teams, but a compressed schedule means more back-to-back's which is terrible for older teams. There's also possible 3 games in 3 nights if Stern is stupid enough, which will pretty much bury older teams from exhaustion.

[Heavencloud]

what a guy

[Moss]

I just ordered my D Rose super lights

[Boyiee]

So, I really like the new point god commercial. Like, really really like it. I want to buy the fucking shoes I like it so much. I don't know why, maybe its the roses at the end and that look he gives the camera, but every time I see it I'm one step closer to buying them... and I don't even like the shoes.

[Moss]

I like that commercial too, although it has the patented DRose gayface at the end. I was going to buy the DRose 2's(the ones in the commercial) but the white soles ruin them. The only other color scheme is a red sole and a mostly white shoe but I like purely red/black basketball shoes.

[Dimmauk]

I like that commercial too, although it has the patented DRose gayface at the end.

LOL

[Moss]

LOL

you know exactly what I'm talking about, lol

[Boyiee]

every time I see the commercial it's like he is whispering in my ear "buy my shoes"

I like the one with the white soles too, but the white soles are hard to get passed. The red are ok, but I like the other shoe better.

edit: actually now I like the red ones. I need to stop seeing that commercial.

[kisada]

most terrible thread title ever

[Dimmauk]

most terrible thread title ever

Should have been national basketball Armageddon 2011-2012: season of the asterisk. If only there was a way to change the title.

[Correction]

Looks like we get at least a week's vacation from Rhinox, so make that @ least 2000 times?

[Osede]

hm, if and only if the union does not approve the proposal by this monday. Else, I would say it will need to multiply by at least another 2000 times