 |
|
|
|
 |
 |
Motor City Blues
posted 07/02/09
8:11 pm
"Win a ring for The King," O'Neal said in reference to his new pairing with reigning MVP LeBron James.
O'Neal has captured four NBA titles -- three with the Los Angeles Lakers and Kobe Bryant and one with the Miami Heat and Dwyane Wade. He appeared intent on winning another with a different NBA superstar by his side.
"They say things happen in threes," O'Neal remarked. "I won with Kobe and with the great Dwyane Wade."
O'Neal, however, couldn't get it done with Steve Nash and the Suns, who sent the 15-time All-Star to Cleveland in exchange for center Ben Wallace, guard Sasha Pavlovic, Cleveland's second-round pick in the 2010 NBA Draft and cash considerations.
In the last year of his contract, O'Neal is not the dominant force he once was from earlier in his career, when he won the MVP Award in 2000 and was the NBA Finals MVP in each of his three title runs with the Lakers from 2000-02.
However, the 37-year-old showed signs of rejuvenation last year, putting up 17.8 points and 8.4 rebounds in 75 games for the Suns, who just missed out on the postseason.
The Cavaliers, meanwhile, were unable to reach the NBA Finals after posting the best record in the regular season at 66-16. They were eliminated by the Orlando Magic in the Eastern Conference finals.
"I'm not going to do it by myself, LeBron's not going to do it by himself," O'Neal stated. "It takes a team, an organization.
"I'm just here to do my part and help a damn good team get over the hump. It's LeBron's team. I'm here. He's the captain. I'm here to protect The King."
Over his illustrious 17-year career with Orlando, LA, Miami and Phoenix, O'Neal has logged 24.7 points, 11.3 rebounds and 2.4 blocks per game, to go along with accolades such as: the 1992-93 NBA Rookie of the Year and two scoring titles.
Copyright 2009 The Sports Network
All rights reserved
read more stories in Sports
Talkback - Story Comments
Not a member yet? Click Here to sign up.
Please leave your comments below:
Messages that harass, abuse or threaten other members; have obscene or otherwise objectionable content; have spam, commercial or
advertising content or inappropriate links may be removed and may result in the loss of your posting privileges. Please do not post any
private information unless you want it to be available publicly. Never assume that you are completely anonymous and cannot be identified by your posts.
More News and Videos
© 2009 NewsChannel 8, a division of Allbritton Communications Company
NewsChannel 8 to leave comments on news stories.