Shaq, Redick likely headed elsewhere
"Otis Smith, you son of a bitch, you can't let me play in Boston? But I want to play for a championship, damn it!"
Two players who had once been targeted by the Boston Celtics are likely headed elsewhere.
Shaq is highly interested in joining the San Antonio Spurs or Atlanta Hawks and acknowledges the Celtics have little interest in him. And it is highly probable J.J. Redick will stay in Orlando.
Shaquille O’Neal’s first choice is to join the San Antonio Spurs for one final run at a fifth NBA title, and he wants to play two more seasons before retiring, a source told FanHouse on Wednesday.
The source spent time Wednesday with O’Neal in the Orlando area, where the legendary free-agent center makes his offseason home.
The source said O’Neal said the Spurs and Atlanta are at the top of his list since there is interest with those teams on both sides. FanHouse’s Tim Povtak reported Monday the link between O’Neal and the Hawks, and there were indications from San Antonio on Wednesday that the Spurs do indeed have interest.
O’Neal also is interested in Boston but the source said he realizes the Celtics don’t have much interest in him.
Right now, the Magic seem inclined to bring back Redick even though it would plunge the team further into the luxury tax.
“I’m not worried about what J.J. might get from somebody,” Van Gundy said Wednesday between games of the AirTran Airways Pro Summer League at RDV Sportsplex. “That would simply leave us with a decision, but the ball rests in our court. We’ll just have to make the decision when the time comes. Our intention is — and I know that from talking to [General Manager] Otis [Smith] — our intention is to match.
“Now, if he gets a max offer — $17 million a year — I don’t know,” Van Gundy added, a smile on his face. “If somebody gives him, you know, $1.8 million, he won’t take it. So, somewhere in-between there is the number. But we go in with the intention that we’re going to match.”
I was fairly certain the Magic would never let Redick leave and,when it comes to O’Neals, I like Jermaine far better than Shaq. So consider me completely unsurprised by these reports.
Related posts:
Around the NBA, Celtics Blog, Featured | Jay King | July 8, 2010
Atlanta Hawks, Boston Celtics, J.J. Redick. Shaq, Orlando Magic, San Antonio Spurs, Shaquille O'Neal
It was bad enough when we had one Dukie on the squad in Sheldon, to have signed Redick would have been unbearable! I like the Jermaine idea much better than Shaq as well, at least he’ll provide some outside touch. I really would not want to see Shaq on the front of every publication sitting with the Big 4 like he is actually a factor, cause you know that’s how it would be!
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hahah about the Shaq comment. It’s so true.
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The one problem with JO is he’s really not an elite rebounder anymore. He’s a capable rebounder, but he’s not a 10 boards a night guy like he used to be with the Pacers.
I love his mid-range game though, and he’s a legitimate post presence. He defends well (has great numbers against Howard) in the post and there’s a lot to like about his game.
But he has a lot of trouble scoring against elite defense (see: playoffs vs. Boston) and can’t be relied upon night in and night out to give you that scoring post presence.
All in all though, you can’t expect a 100% complete player for the piece of the MLE their looking at paying him, so for the price, it’s a great pick up.
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I’m with you, but it’s sad that “not an elite rebounder” immediately makes him Boston’s best rebounder.
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