Shaq and Amare: Their Relationship?

[The Diesel]

Hey guys,

I was thinking about this recently and I wanted to get everyone's thoughts on this issue.

1) How well - long term - will Shaq and Amare get along off-the-court?

We all know the issues he had with Kobe and Penny Hardaway, but he got along very well with Dwyane Wade.

As of yet, Amare hasn't gotten anywhere near the hype that those three have gotten over their careers.

I haven't followed the Suns that closely over the years, so I don't know too much about Amare personally, but will him and Shaq have a good relationship like Shaq and Wade did, or will they not get along?

Because if they don't get along and start having problems, this trade will only continue to look worse...

It's just something I am interested in. What is their relationship so far? Will they get along or will they feud in the future considering they both have big egos? (Wade is very humble)

What do you guys think based on what you know so far and what do you think will happen going forward?

Thanks!

[MaryvalesFinest]

Well Shaq was Amare's childhood idol growing up, Amare still thinks of Shaq that way. The difference between Amare and players like Kobe and Hardaway is that they were actually competing with Shaq while now that Shaq got older he even said the Suns are Amare's team. So basically there's no competition for the spot light on the Suns.

[PHXfan85]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6nTMRFxM ... re=related

Seems like they have a healthy relationship.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n84uExHV ... re=related

Couples therapy.

[The Diesel]

In addition to having bad relationships with Penny and Kobe, it seems things even got a bit bad with Wade when Shaq was apparently calling him "wonderboy" behind his back.

I hope he doesn't stab Amare in the back next!

But it doesn't seem that Shaq and Amare are that close and I don't think they have the relationship that Shaq had with Wade.

I just hope they don't have any issues in the future because the trade is already a disaster and it will only look worse if they have problems.

[Sun Scorched]

I just hope they don't have any issues in the future because the trade is already a disaster and it will only look worse if they have problems.

The trade wasn't a disaster. It accomplished exactly what we had wanted. By definition, the trade was a success.

To the point of the thread.

I haven't seen Amare listen so intently to anyone before now as he does with Shaq. When you watch those two on the sidelines, you can see Amare soaking up information. Although Amare was a highschool phenom, he is still relatively young and having Shaq around to boost his confidence (and not his ego) is a tremendous help.

I love it that Amare has someone beside him in the low-post like Shaq, he's never had that before.

[-SDU-]

shaq and amare have always had great respect for each other that wont change no matter what happens

[The Diesel]

But I don't know how receptive Amare will be in regards to Shaq being his "mentor" because Amare is already an established superstar and it seems he has a big ego.

Shaq is going to retire in two years; I doubt Amare cares what he thinks when you also consider they play two completely different games.

But thanks for letting me know that they have a good relationship so far.

I think it's only a matter of time before things will turn bad between them.

Why?

It happened with Penny, Kobe, and to a lesser extent, Wade.

Remember how Wade called him out on the first day of training camp? Remember how Shaq was calling him "wonderboy" behind his back?

It's just a matter of time, unfortunately.

Wade is one of the nicest guys in the NBA and I lost a lot of respect for Shaq when I read about him making fun of Wade behind his back.

Please don't do the same to Amare, Shaq!

[-SDU-]

amare was absolutely over the moon when shaq arrived so he could learn from the best bigment in the nba

amare has the upmost respect for shaq

shaq says jump and amare will say how high, no question

remember, penny kobe wade etc werent great friends with shaq before he played with them

[The Diesel]

^, That's a good point. I never thought about the fact that Shaq/Amare became friends before Shaq came to Phoenix while Shaq never had those friendships with Wade, Kobe, and Penny before they played together.

Good point!

[lilfishi22]

But I don't know how receptive Amare will be in regards to Shaq being his "mentor" because Amare is already an established superstar and it seems he has a big ego.

Shaq is going to retire in two years; I doubt Amare cares what he thinks when you also consider they play two completely different games.

But thanks for letting me know that they have a good relationship so far.

I think it's only a matter of time before things will turn bad between them.

Why?

It happened with Penny, Kobe, and to a lesser extent, Wade.

Remember how Wade called him out on the first day of training camp? Remember how Shaq was calling him "wonderboy" behind his back?

It's just a matter of time, unfortunately.

Wade is one of the nicest guys in the NBA and I lost a lot of respect for Shaq when I read about him making fun of Wade behind his back.

Please don't do the same to Amare, Shaq!

"Mentoring" isn't always about teaching new moves. Amare is one of the most naturally gifted and talented player in the league, and there isn't much Shaq can teach Amare in the game. However, being straight out of high school and never having a true big body to play with in the post, Shaq can help change Amare's game mentality. By game mentality i mean, if Amare gets fouled hard in a game, Amare should learn how to react in such a situation. Amare will also gain a lot of mental toughness that is needed in being a leader and in clutch situations, just being around Shaq.

Another thing is, Amare is a PF/C, and he's looked up to Shaq since he was young, whereas players like Kobe, Wade and Penny, they are all guards, they had nothing to gain from Shaq. Amare can learn a lot about positioning and other useful stuff from someone who has been so dominant on both ends of the court. These things Amare can learn from Shaq, aren't really that useful for players like Kobe etc etc. So just from that, to Kobe and Wade, Shaq was nothing more than a teammate, whereas Amare looks at Shaq as a teacher.

At this point in Shaq's career, it's clear to both players that Amare is the more dominant one, and Shaq knows it so there is no need for them to fight about who is the "sidekick." Just that alone takes away a lot of competition that Shaq and Kobe and Penny had. Also, when Shaq came over from Miami, he knew what his job here was, to play defense on the Duncan's and the Garnet's, be a good locker-room guy, and take Amare's game to knew heights. There is absolutely no competition between the two.

With that being said, I can't see a reason why their relationship will turn sour.

[The Diesel]

There was no competition between him and Wade either and it seems things turned bad between them...

And since Amare isn't as humble as Wade, I think there's a huge chance him and Shaq are going to start having problems.

[lilfishi22]

There was no competition between him and Wade either and it seems things turned bad between them...

And since Amare isn't as humble as Wade, I think there's a huge chance him and Shaq are going to start having problems.

There was competition. Shaq's job here is different to his job in MIA. Shaq was a pivotal part of their offense. Shaq complained about not getting enough touches etc etc. Since much of MIA's offense ran through Wade, whether Shaq got the ball or not, was really up to Wade. When he first got traded from Lakers, he was still "the man," and being "the man" was his job at MIA.

He came to PHX knowing he won't be "the man" and with a new role. He is here mainly for defense, and offense is not a part of his job description. So as far as competition goes, only Lopez has to compete for minutes.

[The Diesel]

Even some Heat fans feel that Shaq became a bad influence on Wade.

Here is a post from a Heat fan recently:

I just finished reading that blog (nice interview btw) and had some thoughts that might be worth discussing (Lane beat me to posting the article).

Anyways, reading the article made me think about the difference in Wade's attitude now vs the last two seasons after the championship. I compared it and tried to find a common denominator in the type of influence he had around him then and now. Obviously "The Big Lazy" came to my head. My question is, just how much of a setback was having Shaq around Wade the last two seasons in the development of his team leadership and preparation?

I mean, Shaq cruised through the season, never took conditioning seriously, he was all about the fanfare, accolades, promotions, partying etc... mostly the same traits we saw from Wade's behavior the last couple of seasons. It is no surprise his season ended like Shaq's did almost every year; injured.

I read the article and just amazed at the different perspective Wade has on his ear this time and we are seeing the early stages of that influence with a more dedicated franchise player. I know you can't take back the past but somehow I wonder if Pat Riley put up with Shaq's influence for far too long until he finally realized that he was tarnishing the team's next franchise player.

Shaq was a fun guy but his negatives at this stage of his career overpowers all the positives. Just read that article and notice how someone who cares about the franchise, someone who cares about the city, someone who cares about his body, how much of a different influence Wade has now. No wonder Pat Riley has talked about going back to the "Heat" culture over and over again.

That is why Riles always had a spot for players such as PJ Brown and Udonis Haslem making it hard for him to do a trade that involves them. I just hope that Wade takes all he can from Zo and is smart enough to learn to balance fun and his commitment to the team and the city he is representing as opposed to being who we saw the last couple of seasons; a Shaq-like Wade.

Will he become a negative influence on Amare, as well?

[-SDU-]

i reckon youre trying to find something out of nothing

and these fans hating on shaq are just doing the same thing shaq did with penny, kobe etc, they are finding his bad points after he has left

[The Diesel]

What do you mean? Can you clarify?

[flanpaw42]

kobe and penny always wanted to be the man, when clearly they were shaq's team. when he went to miami, him and wade got along great. when problems started happening is about the time shaq and his wife were having problems. combine that with managament essentially destroying that championship team, and shaq not having the offense ran through him anymore (eventhough it should have been).

i think his miami problems were more about many different things all together.

in l.a. kobe couldnt accept being second fiddle. thats what id boils down to. every nba champ in except jordans bulls and the pistons one year, have had a dominant big man. jordan is the exception to the rul, kobe is not jordan. the lakers beat themselves more than the pistons beat them.

amare listens to shaq, has respect for shaq, but at the end of the day, they both know the suns are amares team. having nash helps them alot. nash will get the ball to the right player every time. kobe, penny, and wade are all players that need the ball.

i dont worry about the chemistry, i worry about shaq coming into camp in shape, and i worry about how porter will use shaq and amare together

[lilfishi22]

Like I said, the difference in their role is the difference between his relationship between Amare and Wade. Even though Shaq is a starter, he's been brought over to PHX as a role player. That's the fact. He isn't battling for touches, he's there to assist Amare, not the other way around. When Shaq got traded to MIA, Wade was still a rising star but here in Phx Amare is already an established superstar. There's no two ways about it. Here Amare is the man, Shaq is a role player, albeit a future HOF role player.

SDU is right, you're trying to find something out of nothing.

[TXSun]

good relationship. Shaq always said that he was there to make Amare a better player and if fact he did. After the arrival from Shaq, Amare was putting up MVP-type numbers. He played superb in the 2nd half of the season.

[tsherkin]

flanpaw touched on it...

The Kobe and Penny things, those are easily explainable. Shaq was young and both he and Penny were hot-headed and looking for the limelight. Kobe was mostly fine when he was younger but started getting restless as the sidekick and wanted to be the one in control of the team, wanted to be the Man. Shaq is not absolved of blame, he never reacted to Kobe in an especially mature or positive way, but those issues were started by Bryant (in Orlando, he and Penny were equally culpable).

In Miami, things were fine until the team started to break down. Injuries, mistakes by management, Shaq's troubled personal life, all of those things contributed to problems; losing never does positive things for team morale or interactions. Too, Shaq had to still be struggling a little with finding his new niche, accepting that he wasn't a dominant player anymore and taking on that second-man role for the first time. It worked early in his time there, but the losing made him struggle with the idea once the team started falling apart after the title.

In Phoenix... the team will win whether he's on the court or not. He's not an offensive focus, there is another former MVP on the team, there's a young 20+ scorer on the team... It's a different situation that's pretty positive. Too, his contract is very short; Shaq's only signed through the 09/10 season, this year and next year. So he doesn't really have the time left in the league needed to really build up bitter problems. Remember, Shaq was in Miami for 3.5 seasons that included 1.5 realy bad losing seasons and the 06-07 flameout against Chicago.

I don't think it'll be a problem; he knows he's basically an uber-roleplayer and he knows that it isn't his team and such, and that the team can succeed without him, so I think he'll be chill and there will be no problems with Amare and Shaq or Diesel and anyone, for that matter.