Shaq had an interesting career. If someone without his stats played for a new team every three years or so, the pundits might be tempted to use the "journeyman" label. He's one of the greats in the last few decades (maybe not all-time) and is absolutely worthy of the Hall of Fame.
For the first 12 years of his career, he played for 2 teams. That's not a journeyman. Almost all the movement came late. He wanted out of Orlando, but the Lakers traded him. Almost all his voluntary movement came after age 35. And it wasn't just the stats. He got Orlando to the Finals, three-peated in LA and lost a 4th Finaks with Kobe, and promptly won a ring with Wade after being traded. 4 titles, 6 Finals, 1 MVP, 3 Finals MVPs. Never on a team with a losing record. He is certainly an all-time great and easily a top Tier HOFer. Probably top 10 all time, certainly top 15. Chronologically: Mikan, Russell, Wilt, Kareem, Bird, Magic, Jordan, Shaq, Kobe, Duncan, LeBron, Curry. For me, that is a pretty clear top 12. Surefire Tier 2 guys: Oscar, West, Havlicek, Dr. J, Moses, Dream, Durant, Giannis, Jokic. Probably Tier 2: Cousy, Pettit, Baylor, Zeke, Mailman, Admiral, Wade. That's 28. There are certainly others. Dirk, KG, Barkley, McHale. A healty Bill Walton or Kawhi Leonard or Joel Embiid. Stockton. Scottie Pippen. Willis Reed or Walt Frazier maybe. SGA could be closing in.
Shaq averaged 18 and 9 for Phoenix in the first half of the 2008-09 season at age 36 ... and was named as a reserve for the the West All-Stars. A legit reserve ... named initially as rosters were released. Not an injury replacement. Led the entire league that year with 61% field goal percentage. A force of nature. And no one has more nicknames on their Basketball Reference page. https://www.basketball-reference.com/players/o/onealsh01.html
Peak Shaq is one of the most dominant athletes I've ever watched in any sport. He has a very strong argument as the best #5 in NBA history.
My basketball watching goes back to the mid 1970s. I still have vivid memories of The Greatest Game Ever Played in 1976. Guys like Mikan, Cousy, Russell, Chamberlain, Pettit, Baylor, West, and Robertson were before my time. As were peak Kareem and Havlicek and early ABA Dr. J. But I have seen everyone else, and just as a pure physical, unstoppable force, Shaq stands alone. The most dominant force I have ever seen on a basketball court. And I do mean FORCE. Maybe not the best. As a C he was dependent on being fed. Not a good FT shooter, so down 2 late, or even 1, was not a great option. But man, dunk after dunk after dunk after dunk if not doubled. The most dominant.
Its certainly between him and Wilt, but he was so long ago that its impossible to compare. Whole different game, but the great Bill Russell - when someone else wins 11 rings give me a call - once said that he honestly believes Wilt was the strongest person who ever lived. Which he proved, reportedly, by bedding over 10,000 women. Then again, Shaq is the one who heard a couple guys in a hotel lobby talking about this new thing they were trying to launch called Google. He thought it sounded cool so he gave them $250k, and then completely forgot about it until a few years later when they got ahold of him to find out where to send the $100 million. Wilt can keep.the broads. (Of course he also took some of the money and invested in Ring because he thought that was cool too and then Jeff Bezos paid them a billion dollars for it. My fave Shaq: his son came to him for money and got turned down. The kid complained "but Dad,we're rich. Shaq replied "No, WE arent rich. I'm rich, you dont have shit")
Anyway... I'm not giving up on Gazdag. First of all, as has been pointed out, he's a proven, solid MLS player who's had really good years except for this one. It's very possible that this was just an anomaly, and with a different coach and a different system he could fit in better. And second, this team needs... what's the word... PLAYERS. We're not exactly bursting at the seams with offensive superstars at the moment. We have Rossi and not much else. I'm not looking to sprint at full speed towards buying someone out when we don't have anything else there in his place. Given how much this board has (rightfully) criticized the front office for failing to bring in talent in recent windows, it seems odd that so many of you want to cut him for nothing with no reassurance that anyone better is coming in. And if the coaching vacancy doesn't get sorted out right quick, player acquisitions could be slowed even further. I'm by no means a Gazdag fan, but... slow down.
Here's another Shaq story: This one just goes to show how funny Shaq can be. The video is work-safe, but the audio probably not so much.
1) You buy him out precisely because this team doesn't have difference makers. There are no DP spots available to add that next Lucas or Cucho type of player if you keep Gazdag. 2) All reports are that the Crew are targeting a new manager who will play the same style as Nancy did. In that system, Gazdag is not a fit. He worked in Philly because that system suited his play. 3) Philly was not bursting at the seams with offensive talent when he was scoring goals. Flowchart back to #2: he is not a fit for the style of soccer that Columbus plays with three in the back and a fluid possession-heavy scheme. He works with a 4-man back line, defined and fixed positioning in the formation, and a scheme that cedes possession and relies on converting turnovers into quick counters.
I’m not disagreeing that Gazdag sucked last season, but they’re going to want to see how he plays with Abou Ali before making any big moves. I’ve also learned some new information that leads me to believe that Gazdag has a chance of improving under a new coach.
Well, this tells me the team remains unserious. If the plan is to just largely run it back and add a few marginal players to fill out the lineup card, then next season is completely pointless. They either need to be aggressively buying to contend or tearing the roster down to the studs to rebuild. Tweaking around the edges is a waste of everyone's time and money.
Doyle's article on the crew gets into Gazdag's underlying numbers. https://tacticsfreezone.substack.com/p/offseason-guides-columbus-on-the
Ive been asking for major renovation for a year or more, but it seems to me that it was impossible while Nancy was here. Between Isaa Tall's basic lack of skills and Wilfried Nancy's obstructionism, nothing was possible. Now Nancy is in Glasgow telling everyone the team needs to make SEVEN major moves in the January window, while in Columbus getting him to make even one was like pulling teeth, and half the time when the team did acquire someone he'd refuse to play him. Add to that the sending away of a guy like Ramirez, who wasnt the second coming but had his uses, in favor of JRR who contributes precious little and seems bored most of.the time. Its a new day here in Crewville, but the coaching hire will be crucial. It needs.to happen yesterday, particularly since Issa assures us that hes been diligently working on it.for several months. Sadly, Issa seems to work at a glacially slow pace and since nothing can or should happen until someone is sitting behind Wilfrieds desk, it would seem that we are more or less up shit creek.
While I agree with most of this, JRR put up some pretty good numbers that were very similar to what Ramirez contributed. I’m not the biggest JRR fan and he can be frustrating to watch sometimes and you forget that he’s there other times, but on paper, those two are similar.
Agreed. The last two regular seasons with the Crew: Ramirez - 55 Appearances, 35 Starts, 3,058 Minutes, 16 Goals, 6 Assists. Russell-Rowe - 53 Appearances, 29 Starts, 2,765 Minutes, 12 Goals, 3 Assists. Goals per 60: Ramierez - 0.47 Goals Russell-Rowe - 0.39 Goals Numbers are fairly similar, and remember that Ramirez had Cucho that whole time and was a role player, whereas JRR didn't have Cucho last year and was forced into a role he shouldn't have been. It's basically even between the two, or not a big enough difference to get worked up about IMO.
In a vacum the release of Ramierez was fine. The timing being immediately after the Cucho transaction is the problem I had with it; and Im sure Im not alone in that camp.
I believe you’re all smart enough to read between the lines on that one. And Curtin’s a no due to family health reasons. Providing things go to plan, we’re about 1 - 2 weeks out from announcing the new coach.
I think the amount of change the fans want won't materialize. It's hard to move that many dudes in the winter (thus the calendar switch) and I can't believe the club will be willing to sell a big money DP after just 6 games or whatever when he scored in three straight games before getting injured working hard defensively.