Kings new Owners meet with Shaq!?!!???!?

jalfa said:
Stoudemire apparently paid 100k for two weeks of training. if that's the going rate, then it's no wonder that Hakeem hasn't yet become an assistant somewhere or that there aren't that many players working out with him.
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So 2.6 million a year. Guess it depends on your budget and how much you think he could help Cousins and how much Cousins is worth long term.
 
VF21 said:
I agree. People seem all too quick to dismiss this because it's Shaq. Well, Shaq just happens to be one of the most successful centers to ever play the game. If he can help DFC deal with nothing more than having to take more than his share of hits, lack of calls, etc. because of who he is, I'm not gonna object.
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This makes so much more sense to me. We tend to not like Shaquille around these parts based on the past, but man, did he know how to use his big *** body. Of course he isn't here to teach Cousins how to shoot a 15 footer - Cousins should teach that to Shaq. My guess, if this is more than a rumor, is to both offer support and to help Cousins refine his inside game.

Shaq may be a big goofy dope, but I think he's a good dope for Cousins to have right now.
 
Tyndel said:
So 2.6 million a year. Guess it depends on your budget and how much you think he could help Cousins and how much Cousins is worth long term.
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it's more than some headcoaches (our own, for instance) are making and based on the assumption that he wouldn't ask for an increase in salary if he's going to work a whole year and with more students.
 
Shaq is mentoring DMC, not coaching. Big difference. Shaq will be the guy to teach him how to handle himself as professional player on and off the court. You don't need PDA's input for this because Shaq is not part of the staff, so I'm good with Mastrov setting it up. DMC obviously agreed to it as well. This will be a good thing. It potentially has the same impact as bringing in a veteran free agent to add leadership.
 
Mentoring can be a big difference. Cuz needs to know what is a foul and what is not, etc. The rules tend to change the bigger you are or so I would guess. He also needs to know that even the best refs make mistakes and it's not a plot against him. His outbursts tend to be a result of him thinking he is getting screwed by the refs and Shaq could educate him a great deal about this. Maybe he will get some hints as to how to deal with refs also. This makes a lot of sense and certainly isn't a full time job but perhaps a dinner or two together and looking at tapes of Shaq and Cuz. Considering about 100% of us think his reactions to refs is his major problem, this could be great. I'm sure they will get along.
 
Livinthedream said:
Shaq is mentoring DMC, not coaching. Big difference. Shaq will be the guy to teach him how to handle himself as professional player on and off the court. You don't need PDA's input for this because Shaq is not part of the staff, so I'm good with Mastrov setting it up. DMC obviously agreed to it as well. This will be a good thing. It potentially has the same impact as bringing in a veteran free agent to add leadership.
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Of course the problem there is Shaq was rampantly unprofessional himself.

Just not as unprofessional as Cousins has been. If you want a class infusion you'd call up the Spurs and see if you could borrow Admiral or something. Certainly not a huge egomaniac who never kept himself in shape, feuded with teammates, and killed coaches.
 
mac said:
Question is - does Cousins want to listen to Shaq? I remember it was either Shaq or Barkley who informally "reached out" to Cuz a year back or offered to talk to him or something and Cuz reportedly said he didn't want to talk with him.
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Yeah, that was Barkley, and another unfortunate immature Boogie thing. Even if he's right, even if he legitimately felt that way.
 
Bricklayer said:
Of course the problem there is Shaq was rampantly unprofessional himself.

Just not as unprofessional as Cousins has been. If you want a class infusion you'd call up the Spurs and see if you could borrow Admiral or something. Certainly not a huge egomaniac who never kept himself in shape, feuded with teammates, and killed coaches.
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The number one criteria for finding a mentor for DMC is getting a guy who he will listen to. So it has to be a guy Cousins approves. Getting a guy like Chuck Hayes simply because of his character doesn't work. and all of Shaqs mistakes can give him some credibility when he goes to Cousins and says I know what you're going through.
 
Livinthedream said:
The number one criteria for finding a mentor for DMC is getting a guy who he will listen to. So it has to be a guy Cousins approves. Getting a guy like Chuck Hayes simply because of his character doesn't work. and all of Shaqs mistakes can give him some credibility when he goes to Cousins and says I know what you're going through.
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Its possible, and the credibility thing is key. But Shaq is immensely immature and insecure. I don't think he's ever said he's sorry to anyone in his life, so I'm not sure he is even willing to acknowledge he makes mistakes.

In any case, I don't mind this in concept, but I certainly think its far from a sure thing and Shaq is basically a petulant attention seeker looking to take credit for Cuz, and who may lose interest in a few months like he does with everything else. I also have a little question in mind how Cuz takes this. Cuz is a pain in the ***, but I have some appreciation for his arrogance. No awe-struck puppy is he, and I would actually be more amused than not if he resented the attempt to inflict the Big Dope on him and saw through the mumbling B.S.. But hey, whatever works is fine by me. It just reinforces the commitment of ownership to Cuz, and that at least has to just reinforce Cuz's position and loyalty tot he franchise.
 
dukeswh said:
I think most of the members of this board can do that too, but the question is will he listen to you or will he listen to someone like Shaq?
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I don't think he would listen to Shaq because he isn't seeking him out. It's the other way around, which usually doesn't give results.
 
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There's no downside to this. First thing Shaq is going to say, which is what he always says: get your butt down the floor fast before everybody else sets up the defense and plant yourself in the paint. Makes life a lot easier if he does that. And yes, in his younger days, Shaq did just that.

Whether Cousins will listen is an entirely different matter. He may not listen to an amalgam of Phil Jackson, Pat Riley, Kareem Abduhl Jabbar, Bill Walton, Hakim, Bill Russell and Jesus all rolled into one. But you can't say management didn't try to get through to him.
 
Is he going to do it or does he want to do it?

And like others have said, Shaq is far from the best guy for this job. Vivek likes the big names, though, which in this case may not be the best thing for the Kings or Cousins.

I don't like a lot of this. New ownership group, new front office, new coaching staff, and the first Cousins news is of Vivek meeting someone who is more of a celebrity than basketball player at this point. No coaching history whatsoever. I think this is the wrong way to approach Cousins this early. Get to know him first, have the coaches work with him a little bit, then find someone. I sure hope Cousins knew about this arrangement before last night.
 
hm. i'm unsure of what to make of this. i see plenty of upside just in having a legend around to help bolster demarcus' confidence and drive to be great, but, as has been pointed out, shaq isn't exactly the kind of personality you'd expect to help demarcus smooth out his rougher edges. of course, demarcus is an extremely intelligent and intuitive young man. if he accepts shaq's mentoring, he'd likely cherry-pick the things he finds useful and reject the things he doesn't...

beyond that, i'd be interested to know just how "official" this relationship would actually be. i certainly doubt shaq would be interested in becoming a full-time big man coach for DMC, and i'm not even sure he really intends to engage in a hands-on mentoring role. i imagine he'd work out with demarcus here and there, especially in the offseason, and offer up some of that Big Aristotle wisdom via text message and phone call during the regular season. if it amounts to nothing more than that, it's hard to criticize the outreach. DMC could definitely learn a thing or two from shaq about using his body more effectively on the low block...
 
shaq is a champ.. say what you want about shaq but he was a winner and had the right mindset on the court.... cousins problem is his mindset
 
another thing to consider is whether or not Cousins would want any mentor/coach. As emotional and fiery as he is on the court, he is reserved in the sense that he doesn't trust people or rather it takes a lot of trust and time to get close to him.
 
just think about having the name Shaq associated with your franchise and a part of it. what does that do for free agent pickups? I think it helps.
 
I have an appreciation for Shaq.. I can recall when he wanted a trade from the Lakers that we were a preferred destination, has supported the team throughout the Seattle ordeal, and now this
 
As others have said, the main thing that DMC needs is to get his head straight. If Shaq can just talk to DMC about what he went through, how he learned to approach the game, and how he handled different situations, I think that will be a huge help to DMC. The fact that Shaq was one of the bad guys is completely irrelevant. Yes, he's a goofball, but he has a lot he can teach DeMarcus, both on and off the court.

Good move, in my opinion.
 
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shaq helping cousins from a mindset point would be great. get cousins to stop cryn so much and he would be alot better
 
the cool thing is, a couple months ago we didnt know if the Kings would still exist. now we are debating the pros/cons of a Hall of Fame center tutoring our young big man
 
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