Hey I'll miss Shaq the personality in the NBA. But I won't miss the Shaq that was supposed to be a missing piece here, or the Shaq that was supposed to make the Kendrick Perkins trade hurt less, or the Shaq that had time to be a statue in Boston Common but not enough to time to avoid the statue of Nenad Kristic starting at center.
Shaq's season here in Boston was one to forget. Sure, I'll remember his 25 point, 11 rebound game against the Nets in November which made us all think "wow, once Perk is back, this is our backup center!" But the end has been near for Shaq for some time now. I'll never forget in history class, junior year, where my teacher Mr. Nugent compared Shaq to the Spanish army in the 1800's. "At this point, Spain was a washed up power. They were sort of like Shaq. I'm sorry, but he's done!" This monologue was made four seasons ago. Nuge couldn't have been more right then, and he sure looks like a genius now.
Did Shaq hurt his legacy with the Lakers by playing a season in Boston? If Roger Clemens joining the Yankees was a 10 on the vengeance scale, and Hal Gill joining the Canadiens was a 1, I'd say the Big Fella's move to Boston was about a 3. Weird, sure, but in the end, completely and utterly meaningless. So no, zero tarnishing of his Laker years.
And of course, this isn't really good-bye for Shaq. You really think he'll fade out of the picture into oblivion? He'll land up on his feet somewhere. I'm pretty sure Dancing With the Stars has already contacted his agent about appearing on next season. And maybe the reality series Shaq Vs. will make a comeback. Think he has what it takes to compete on Survivor? What about the possibility of Shaq and Sir Charles in the same studio, breaking down game film?
The possibilities are endless. It's just too bad his career in Boston couldn't have been. That 18th banner woulda looked mighty fine.
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