Shaq Got Rid of Stan

[Heat3]

[HeatSince88]

Eleven NBA observers out of 10 surveyed believed Riley coordinated Van Gundy's exodus ...

An identical percentage was convinced Riley's renovation of the roster and the ensuing tension caused Van Gundy to vanish.

What rubbed him the rawest? It may very well have been the nickname. Nobody's more adept (mocking) at branding people, including himself.

According to the reporter, Shaq would refer to Van Gundy as (porn star) Ron Jeremy, whom he strongly resembles, at least from the neck up.

Who was the one source cited -- referencing Shaq's behavior while on the inactive list at the beginning of the 2005-06 Heat season? An online Magic reporter.

Um, yeah ... note the article was written April 1st using impossible attributions and dumb humor. By the always unbelievable Peter Vescey of all people.

That being said, we've all known for years that Shaq preferred Riley to SVG. But I would take this article with a grain of salt, considering it was obviously a product of Vescey's infamous overactive imagination.

C'mon guys, we're better than this.

[heat4life]

True, but it is refreshing for once to hear the media call out Shaq instead of making someone else the scapegoat.

[tessai]

-= original quote snipped =-



Who was the one source cited -- referencing Shaq's behavior while on the inactive list at the beginning of the 2005-06 Heat season? An online Magic reporter.

Um, yeah ... note the article was written April 1st using impossible attributions and dumb humor. By the always unbelievable Peter Vescey of all people.

That being said, we've all known for years that Shaq preferred Riley to SVG. But I would take this article with a grain of salt, considering it was obviously a product of Vescey's infamous overactive imagination.

C'mon guys, we're better than this.

It doesn't seem like an April Fools story to me. First, it's in a major newspaper. Second, the original link is page 2 - it is part of a larger article than when read as a whole makes more sense in context.

"Eleven out of ten" - he is just using hyperbole to say that basically EVERYONE believed Riles was the culprit, not Shaq.

"at least from the neck up" - that was clearly a joke, since Ron Jeremy has often been seen from the neck down, shall we say, unlike SVG.

Maybe this isn't the best news reporting, but I doubt it is really an April Fools prank.

[Flash3]

[quote="HeatSince88"][/quote]Vescey hates Riley, why would he in a way 'defend' Riley for what many think otherwise about?

[HeatSince88]

I'm just saying that Vescey is known to be the least dependable reporter in all of sports. As a Heat fan, I wouldn't go pointing to this article as some sort of definitive proof of anything. Vescey, and this article, are plain laughable ... and if you read that article closely, it's intended to be just that. Laughable.

Dissect the content itself, and the only "meat" he has is that a guy who blogs about the Magic said to him in February that Shaq didn't like Van Gundy back in 2005.

I mean, Lane would be a better source than that --- at least he blogs about the Heat. Any of us on this board could have told Vescey the same thing. So big effing deal.

Let's not make ourselves look foolish by pointing to this as some sort of truth. I'm sure there are better, more reliable sources out there than this clown and his comic strip articles.

[Miami's Finest]

This has been obvious since it happened. Van Gundy was not going to pamper Shaq the way Shaq felt he should and Shaq was not going to listen to some1 he felt was a nobody. Shaq even continued to take shots at Stan after Riley warned him not to. But i think Stan was at it with a lot of the veterans who thought they could run the team with him in charge, remember this line from his last game i think, "You're not experienced, just old." I would keep Stan over Shaq any day.

[theonlyeastcoastrapsfan]

Raps fan here...I always felt Shaq had such an ego that he couldn't take coaching from a guy like "Ron Jeremy" but from the esteemed "Pat Riley" his ego allowed him to do that. It's hard to respect some you feel should have to look up to you, and Shaq being Shaq, should tell you there are few who shouldn't have to. He'll be good in Phoenix, becasue for now his ego needs him to. But listen to the names he drops, it's always "Bill Russell" told me to make up with Kobe, "Wilt" told me blah, blah. Not sure how long till he goes on TV and says "Mike D'Antoni told me to push the guy off the block." He even feels the need to make statements that put players like now Amare, and then DWade as his "pupils". His ego is likely what drives him the most, and what drives people away from him the most. Still you got a banner, so whatever your going through now was likely worth it, and your rebuilding period will be less than most with a tops two year turn around to the playoffs IMO, if you can get Wade healthy.

[Mars]

I've never once put stock in anything Peter Vecsey or Sam Smith has ever written. I'm certainly not about to start now.

[Flash3]

I'm just saying that Vescey is known to be the least dependable reporter in all of sports. As a Heat fan, I wouldn't go pointing to this article as some sort of definitive proof of anything. Vescey, and this article, are plain laughable ... and if you read that article closely, it's intended to be just that. Laughable.

Dissect the content itself, and the only "meat" he has is that a guy who blogs about the Magic said to him in February that Shaq didn't like Van Gundy back in 2005.

I mean, Lane would be a better source than that --- at least he blogs about the Heat. Any of us on this board could have told Vescey the same thing. So big effing deal.

Let's not make ourselves look foolish by pointing to this as some sort of truth. I'm sure there are better, more reliable sources out there than this clown and his comic strip articles.

I still don't see how Vescey goes and says any of this, as a way of dismissing the idea of Riley being behind SVG's departure; given how the dislike he has for Riley, for w/ever reasons.

Yes, Vescey has said and written some bogus stuff in the past. But, this is only loosening any blame off of Riley....

[Lane1974]

I'm just saying that Vescey is known to be the least dependable reporter in all of sports. As a Heat fan, I wouldn't go pointing to this article as some sort of definitive proof of anything. Vescey, and this article, are plain laughable ... and if you read that article closely, it's intended to be just that. Laughable.

Dissect the content itself, and the only "meat" he has is that a guy who blogs about the Magic said to him in February that Shaq didn't like Van Gundy back in 2005.

I mean, Lane would be a better source than that --- at least he blogs about the Heat. Any of us on this board could have told Vescey the same thing. So big effing deal.

Let's not make ourselves look foolish by pointing to this as some sort of truth. I'm sure there are better, more reliable sources out there than this clown and his comic strip articles.

my sources have corroborated this story more or less

[G.cracker]

Zo openly questioned Stan too. Especially after the last few mins against Detroit in game 7 05.

[DBurks2818]

Quinn and forward Ricky Davis confirmed Shaquille O'Neal called them in the wake of his comments that denigrated the Heat duo last week. "He spoke to me like a man," said Quinn, who declined to go into details. Said Davis, "I told him I consider it all old stuff now."

http://blogs.sun-sentinel.com/sports_basketball_heat/

That's good. I knew he would call though. Shaq's not really a bad guy, he just enjoys trash talking.

[Lane1974]

BFD, you can't put the toothpaste back in the tube

him calling out Ricky & Quinn was national buzz, no one will know (or care) he called them

[DBurks2818]

I'm not saying that made it right, but he could've been a jerk and not called at all. In the end, none of us know the relationships between players. Stuff like this is probably nowhere near as big a deal to them.

But still, calling them out nationally was wrong. I'm not denying that.

[Chessboxer]

e. Shaq is to much of a sensitive baby that you need a coach that is going baby sit, instead of coach.

Phil Jackson mentioned the same thing in his book. Shaq has such a monstrous ego, so much that it is fragile. Its like a balloon. The bigger it is, the bigger it pops when something pricks it.

He mentioned he had to constantly remind and reassure Shaq that he is the man on the team. Part of that had todo with Kobe but also Shaq's ego as well.

[Heat3]

Zo openly questioned Stan too. Especially after the last few mins against Detroit in game 7 05.

I blame Damon Jones for passing the ball to Rasheed instead of one of his own teammates for our loss that year.

[Lane1974]

Ira was on the radio with Jim Mandich and confirmed this, saying Shaq was like the class clown when Stan was coaching -- always making fun of him, in the locker room, on the bench, it was not a secret to the reporters, said it was untenable for Stan at the end

also said Billy Donovan was courted to come here when he was also deciding between Orlando, but told Riley he couldn't coach here with Shaq... and said that was first hand information.

[MartyConlonJr]

Do you mean Billy Donovan had been told by Shaq? Or that he had been told by other coaches?

I'm assuming Billy Donovan had such a hard time leaving his college job the first time that he probably never will now right?

[Lane1974]

told by other coaches that he couldn't deal with Shaq

he's staying in college, I think he can't go to the NBA for 5 years, the length of his Orlando contract he walked out on as per an agreement with ORL

but Riley was high on him, they are friends