An Open Letter to Shaq

An Open Letter to Shaq.
By zodogg34 | June 25th, 2009 2:02 PM



Shaquille O’Neal,

It is with great pleasure that I write this letter today upon the news of your trade to Cleveland. As a lifelong Suns fan I’m happy to see you go. When the Suns traded Shawn Marion, my favorite player, for you in February of 2008 I was angry. After all, the Suns were a first place team at the time. At your press conference you made a show of telling all the media how you would win a championship in Phoenix. I didn’t believe you. You made a show of pointing to your ring finger with the implication to Suns fans that you would bring the Suns franchise their first championship. Still, I didn’t believe you.

As your Suns career began, the team made a steady decline in playoff position from first in the West all the way down to the sixth spot and were eliminated in just five games. Your lack of mobility on defense and inability to hit free throws were the deciding factors in the series.

During an offseason of change you again made big promises that you failed to deliver on. You talked about playing a role on a successful team but it was soon clear once the season started that your ego wouldn’t let you step out of the spotlight. While the Suns were struggling with a weak offense, a porous defense, and internal discord, you went about your business and even had the nerve to talk about the number of shots you were getting. Players such as Raja Bell and Boris Diaw were dealt to accommodate your slow, plodding style. When Terry Porter was fired you were the only Sun that went out of your way to defend him, because he designed the offense around you.

As the season went on you became more of a distraction and the Suns playoff chances dwindled. Sure, you had good numbers but at what cost? The more shots you took the slower the offense was and the worse the Suns looked. Playing the team game, and allowing 11 other players to be efficient was not part of your plan. The Suns failed to make the playoffs but all we heard was how great you were all season.

Sure, there were some good moments. You interacted with fans on Twitter. Lots of #32 O’NEAL jerseys were sold at Suns games, making the owner some much needed cash, and you brought some entertainment to the All-Star game – a much needed distraction from the Terry Porter situation going on at the time.

Overall, though, Mr. O’Neal, your tenure in Phoenix was filled with broken promises and disappointment. I hope the good people of Cleveland don’t buy into what you are trying to sell them. If they do, they’ll be in for a rude awakening like many in Phoenix have realized.

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