When superstars fall

[TonyMontana]

Monday I watched the game between Cavs and the Heat .
As I was watching the game , I caught myself many times feelings sorry for Shaq .
I mean I was one of the biggest Shaq fans , ever since he played at LSU .
I remember when Orlando picked him in the draft , and I only wished that the Lakers had a shot at him.
Well fast forward a few years to 96 when the Lakers picked him up , it was one of my happiest Laker moments , just like the video of K.G going to the Cs , No HOMO ..........LOLLL
I was so happy , I called all my boys and told every single one of them that we are going back to the finals and were going to own every single team for years to come , which we did .
Then came the Shaq trade to Miami , I was sad but I did see what the Lakers F.O saw was getting ready to take place in the up and coming years .
Well today is the day that our F.O and the Lakers visualized .
Shaq is too old , he is over weight , he doesnt deserve 30 mil a year neverhteless 20 mil a year .
He isnt a big factor in the Heats success , yet I personally think that he is one of the reasons that the Heat are in the last place .
Im not placing the entire balme on Shaq , but I do believe that he has a choice to call it quits and allow this team to use the money to sign a few players to conrtibute and make the Heat a better team.

Now Shaq is being selected to the All Star game . Why ?

I give props to TMac for giving up his spot to someone else since he feels that he hasnt earned that spot in the All Star game , why isnt Shaq willing to do that.

I mean Superstars need to let go of what they use to have or who they use to be .
Examples .
MJ the greatest player to step on the court .
First he retired , then he went and played baseball, then he came back to the Bulls , which I think he retired to soon.
Then he retired again , then he came back and played for the Wizards .
I use to watch him as well when he played for the Wizards , and just like Shaq he wasnt M.J anymore .
Jordan has defeated other men and destroyed other teams . He has even defeated gravity .
Yet he couldnt step away from the court .
Other athletes , like Mario Lemieux , Mike Tyson , Sugar Ray Leonard .
Guys like Troy Aikmen , Emmit Smith , Rich Gannon .
I mean these guys had multiple concussions before they were forced to retire.

The question I ask myself is why?
What brings back so many Supersatrs back to their sports years after they retire or they arent capable of performing at the same level they use to .
Money , Fame , Glory , Competitive edge .
I think some athletes miss not just the sport but the natural high , joy that comes from competition and the Glory at its highest levels .
But I think enough is enough .

IMO , these Stars that cant let go are actually doing more harm than good to themselves and their image .

Some comebacks work , and some dont .

If it was up to me , I would retire On Top .

[El Hardee]

It happens TM, during the twilight of KAJ's career out of respect he was always on the AS team, also Magic started a AS game when he wasnt even on the ballot. It's a sign of respect and appreciation. TMac has done nothing it this league compared to the Fat Aristotle.

[Sedale Threatt]

Money, fame, glory, competition, everything you mentioned...most of us mere mortals don't even get to sniff any of that stuff, yet guys like Shaq are swimming in it for years on end. Mix in factors like pride and ego, and it's pretty hard for most stars to simply walk away.

Plus, I think we underestimate how much most of these guys genuinely enjoy playing the game, regardless of how much money they make.

I guarantee guys like Magic and Jordan -- Kobe, too, once he's finished -- would give up the vast majority of their fortunes for the chance to play NBA basketball for another five years at their prime.

[djericho]

I started to dislike Shaq when he wouldn't go all out anymore, the "I got injured on company time, I'll heal on company time". the work ethic, and time has caught up to him.


That said.... It doesn't bother me so much that he is on the eastern all star team... He's one of the few players that changed the game. Also, players don't step away at the height of their careers because of their love of the game and they miss competition. We all love to see players leave on top, but really it rarely happens.

[TonyMontana]

I agree

As far as some of these players I mentioned .
For example Shaq and M.J .
To me they stand alone , there will never ever be another M.J or Shaq .
Thats why it bothers me that a lot of peps compare KOBE to M.J , and now Howard to Shaq .
I personally think that they do need to step away from the game while they are on top , and like you said S.T its hard , but I think if they dont and they cant perform at the level that they are expected to or they use to , then basically they ruin their image .
I mean not ruin but they wont be remembered as the best .
Look at Shaq .
He promised he will win 3 rings with the Heat , he cant even run .
To me , and thank God Im not a Heats fan , but if I was .
I would hold Shaq accountable for his promises and seeing that he isnt full filling his promises and he is also taking away 20 mil of the money that can help my team to make progress , then I dont care if he's playing for the Glory or the challenge .
He is draging my team down to a lottery level .
Now one player comes to my mind is John Elway .
He did make a run for the Superbowl and he did achieve his goals , and when he finished , he finished on top.

I guess as time has gone by like djericho said it has been Shaqs greed that is sole reason of Shaq still playing in this league not his desire to help the Heat or win tiltes.

[hermes]

not every superstar has the chance to pull a John Elway
it would be great if they all could though

[TonyMontana]

not every superstar has the chance to pull a John Elway
it would be great if they all could though

Ya thats why I was rooting for G.B .
I would have love to see B.F win another S.B and leave on top instead of throwing an Int for his last play of his career .

[J Rob]

I believe its mostly ego.

Think about it, these guys already have the fame and fortune.

But a great athlete's ego is one of the main ingredients that makes them the best at what they do.

Jordan, Kobe, Jerry Rice, any of the great boxers, whoever, all believed they were the very best...which gave them that extra push to be better than the next guy who may have been just as athletic, strong, naturally talented, etc.

The problem is that the ego never goes away...even when the athletic ability does.

So basically, the very thing that made them one of the all-time greats, ends up causing them to at times damage their own legacy.

[Slava]

I'm surprised Shaq is still hanging in there cheating himself and the Miami Heat franchise thinking that he still deserves that kind of money. He was a dominant player and it must pain him and his fans to see him out there unable to run the court for 40 mins, jump up for a rebound like he used to or even dunk on people like he did when he was healthy enough. I've always respected athletes who retired when they were at the top of their game an I hope Shaq retires honourably before he's forced out by Pat Riley.

[DEEP3CL]

Good post TonyMontana, now to the point of players letting go it's just hard to shut off what you've been doing for over 75% of your life. That fire never goes out. I would love if Shaq just called it quits but I know he won't.

And it's not automatic that just because he quits and gives Miami back some salary space that they'll just be able to fix that thing quickly. They have a lot of holes on that team. I don't blame Shaq as much as I blame Micky Arison, he was the one who instructed Riley to slash salary. I said it then on this very board and I'll say it again, Riley and the Heat sold their soul to the devil to win a title as quick as possible.

They did now their paying the price for an athlete thats over paid and holding them hostage with his salary for 2 more seasons. I feel sorry for Shaq in a sense that he can't compete like I know he can. I don't feel sorry for Arison or Riley because Riley came to that dinner meeting with Dr.Buss got the info he needed and ran back to Miami with Shaq in tow a few weeks later. We all know what went on in between then and now, we've moved on and seem to be recovering.

[TonyMontana]

Good post TonyMontana, now to the point of players letting go it's just hard to shut off what you've been doing for over 75% of your life. That fire never goes out. I would love if Shaq just called it quits but I know he won't.

And it's not automatic that just because he quits and gives Miami back some salary space that they'll just be able to fix that thing quickly. They have a lot of holes on that team. I don't blame Shaq as much as I blame Micky Arison, he was the one who instructed Riley to slash salary. I said it then on this very board and I'll say it again, Riley and the Heat sold their soul to the devil to win a title as quick as possible.

They did now their paying the price for an athlete thats over paid and holding them hostage with his salary for 2 more seasons. I feel sorry for Shaq in a sense that he can't compete like I know he can. I don't feel sorry for Arison or Riley because Riley came to that dinner meeting with Dr.Buss got the info he needed and ran back to Miami with Shaq in tow a few weeks later. We all know what went on in between then and now, we've moved on and seem to be recovering.

Thanks for the love Mang .
When I post threads I like to be a bit different than the normal traffic that moves through our boards .
Like to change flavors , but back to your post .
Props , but to take your post and redirect a question to you or anyone in general .
Do you see the Celtics doing the same thing with K.G and Ray.A

Seeing how they drop the enitre youth movement on lets get a championship now and worry about the Luxuray tax , health , productivity , and contracts for a later time ?
Do you see that going down with them as well ?

The way I see it , the same way I apply my project cars that I built .

I have someone that walks in and asks me to add horsepower to their cars .
I advise them to start by building the engine first and then basically go to the drivetrain and built their gears and rear ends , yet they keep on telling me that they only want to add a supercharger to their cars .
I try to explain to them that with the mileage their cars have and with the way their transmission and their differental is designed it wont hold up to the power .
I mean it might be fine for a few thousand miles but after that it will blow the engine and everything else .
But at times even though its wrong , people look for that short term fix .

I see the Heat and the Celtics the same way .
I realize that we lost on the K.G deal , but honestly as time has gone by and this team has geled so good together .
Im actually gald that we didnt go after K.G .
I guess only time will tell , it is very obvious that they are doing good , but the minute that one of them goes down , then the team falls apart and lose games .
I think the longivity of the season will be a focus on them , since they might be able to win and win impressively , but what happens when the playoffs arrive .
Are they going to be healthy , are they going to be able to play back to back games ?
If they do will this team still be a force in the up and coming years or will it be another championship team today and a lottery bound tomorrow ?
Only time can tell .

[Squirrel Boy]

The difference between Shaq and the three in Boston is that the Boston trio is young and their style of play can allow them to play longer, esp. Ray Allen since he is a jumpshooter.

[sarah42]

shaq has diminished, but them losing like that isn't his fault entirely.

their front office let go posey, eddie jones, kapono and walker - all the three point threats and shooters.

so if when shaq is doubled and he passes it out, or even when wade is doubled and passes it out, there isn't a real shooter to pass it too.
the front office messed up by not drafting anyone who could shoot or being letting so many players go.

wade isn't healthy either. they lose a lot of close games, because they don't have anyone reliable to shoot. thats not shaq's fault. i do think he'll be bought out in a season or so if he doesn't get healthy. he's been the true mvp for years now. but he's also been playing forever. we expected this, but the miami fo didn't help by not signing any shooters.

[Slava]

Letting Kapono walk was one of their worst mistakes but not as much as signing "you know who"!

[spree2kawhi]

I would never give up playing basketball if not for some doctor telling me that it would become dangerous. and I didn't earn a single cent with basketball (yet )... think about it, basketball is a passion and these athletes have literally dedicated their lifes to it. players who make it to the NBA are hard workers, they really want it, that's what sets them apart. you can't simply stop...

[Phil Jackson]

Shaq is fat