Yahoo Sports - Could Shaq end up jobless next season?
I don't know if you guys realize it, but we're pretty close to entering a new era in the NBA. No, not the superteam era kicked off by the Miami Heat, though that's happening too. Rather, I'm talking about a Shaquille O'Neal(notes)-free NBA for the first time since 1993. That's pre-Justin Bieber being born, people. It's kind of like a big deal.
And while we knew this day would come eventually, no one figured it would be next season. However, now that the Atlanta Hawks are signing Josh Powell, The Diesel might end up without a team. From ESPN's Ryan Corazza:
As ESPN's Marc Stein reported earlier this week, the Hawks were the only team with a "live" interest in Shaq, but with them signing another center in Powell, it seems unlikely they'd also bring Shaq on board as well.
Bottom line: It's looking like Shaq needs to bite the bullet and drop his asking price -- as well as his request for healthy playing time -- or he may not be getting a contract at all for next season.
It's hard to even imagine what an NBA without the league's biggest goofball would be like, but after scoring just a shade more than 600 points last year it wouldn't be terribly surprising. Shaq's one remaining skill is being huge, and while he's very good at that, he doesn't have a lot left to offer. Some post scoring, sure, but that often comes at the expense of a free-flowing offense. And let's not even consider defense, since Shaq doesn't.