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Shaq Said No to Utah in 04

AKistheFEARFACTOR

AKistheFEARFACTOR

Well-Known Member
Damn, who would we have gave? Kirilenko and a bunch of picks? Boozer? just wow tho. shaq averaged 23 and 10, 20 and 9, and 17 and 7 respectively for three years in miami. wiilliams wasnt drafted yet tho, im thinking its very possible we wouldve traded our pick, then would have no williams. so it works out prolly

https://www.nola.com/hornets/index.ssf/2010/09/qa_with_nba_great_shaquille_on.html

Are you surprised that you have played for four different franchises since 2008?

No, but I made the comments in Boston that when I was the CEO, things would have to go my way. The one thing I don’t tolerate is BS. You cannot BS me and I’m not a boy. I’ve been here a long time, and I understand the business. You always have to look at a bigger part of it. Like in Phoenix, the guy (Suns owner Robert Sarver) was out of money, and I’m the big salary. So what do you do? You get rid of the big salary. It wasn’t because he didn’t like me. It was the same thing in Miami, me and Pat (Riley) didn’t get along, so what do you do? But nothing goes down without my OK. Like when I was in L.A., I said I’ll go, but I’m going to Miami. They were saying we want to send you to Utah, and I said, ’Guess what, I’m not doing it.’ I told them they would have to settle out and write me a check, and then I’ll go, but they said ’all right, we’ll send you to Miami.’ In Miami, I told them I want to go to Phoenix.
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Yeah, I'm gonna have to go ahead and call BS on Shaq. I think he's dramatizing to make a point. Not that I think he would have ever wanted to come here, but I don't believe it was ever on the table.
 
If that is true, the Lakers would have sent him to Utah as a punishment.

What could the Jazz have offered? AK, Harp, Raja, Mo Williams were our most attractive players I guess.

The Jazz wouldnt have had a team outside of Shaq.
 
I really dont think that the lakers wanted Shaq in the west. So utah would not have been a good pick. Plus AK was the only chip utah had at the time.
 
The Jazz were rebuilding so Shaq probably didn’t want to be in that situation also why LA wouldn't have mind since the Jazz weren't a threat at that point.

Remember Miami got Shaq by dealing Odom, a player similar to AK (whose value was really high back then). Not too far-fetched to think LA would’ve envisioned AK as Kobe’s Pippen and built around them.

The Jazz did have cap space so that plus a young AK and a pick or so could have done it for a Shaq still good enough to bring Miami a ring. But then again the Jazz could’ve balked at sending their then best young player.
 
jimmyjazz said:
Remember Miami got Shaq by dealing Odom, a player similar to AK (whose value was really high back then). Not too far-fetched to think LA would’ve envisioned AK as Kobe’s Pippen and built around them.
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In addition to Odom, The Lakers got Brian Grant and Caron Butler - both starters. And a #1 pick.

The story is BS - and even if it's true The Lakers FO just said it to piss off Shaq.
 
candrew said:
In addition to Odom, The Lakers got Brian Grant and Caron Butler - both starters. And a #1 pick. .
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Grant was on the decline and actually lasted only a seaon in LA even with Shaq gone. And with Shaq and Wade on Miami, that Heat #1 was conceivably going to be a late one. If this was around the draft, the Jazz had a couple of mid-1st rounders that might have offset Butler and a late pick -- LA could've come away with say drafting Al Jefferson instead of Humphries and Josh Smith instead of Snyder.
 
argh... had it been 05 after we had just drafted Dwill and were already having problems with booze...]


championship
 
Would've been a really interesting alternate history.

The Jazz could've S&T'd a young AK and sent a couple of picks.

The Jazz would still have had Harp at SF (then 28, averaging 16-17ppg the previous 2 seasons) and Bell, also 28, at SG.

If the Jazz somehow got Shaq, maybe FAs would've taken notice too in that year when the Jazz had massive cap space -- big enough to sign Boozer and Okur on top of maxing out AK. If the Jazz needed a PG, Nash, on his way to back-to-back MVPs, was also an FA. Spare cap space left for the likes of Ginobili too.

If the Jazz had pulled off that Shaq trade, it would've been incredible.
 
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