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

I'm actually extremely leery of any greats that try to coach or teach because a lot of what made them great can't be taught. And Shaq always seems a bit out of touch with what made him great and what he was allowed to get away with.
 
Kevin's Good Feet said:
I'm actually extremely leery of any greats that try to coach or teach because a lot of what made them great can't be taught. And Shaq always seems a bit out of touch with what made him great and what he was allowed to get away with.
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I kinda agree with you here. I'd rather see someone like Olajuwon or Ewing teach Cousins over Shaq. But I don't think it'll hurt either way
 
Is there an ex-NBAer who's shown he knows less about understanding the game than Shaq, other than Magic?

His analysis on TNT is awful. Just awful. What's he going to teach Cuz? Drop step, elbow to the face? He's exactly the wrong type of center you'd want to work with Cuz. He had a fraction the skill Cuz has. He basically had a drop step with each hand, a jump hook with his right and a little 5-8ft turnaround going right and good at spinning off defenders(dislodged them half the time though). Much of his game was based off his size.

Cuz has game similar to Webber, and just what exactly would a guy like Shaq have taught Webber? Webber could teach Cuz a helluva lot more. So could Hakeem. So could KG when he retires. So could Vlade. You need a guy who's game relied on skill and developing and adding to that skill, not just overpowering smaller players because he's the biggest freak the league has ever seen.
 
rainmaker said:
Is there an ex-NBAer who's shown he knows less about understanding the game than Shaq, other than Magic?

His analysis on TNT is awful. Just awful. What's he going to teach Cuz? Drop step, elbow to the face? He's exactly the wrong type of center you'd want to work with Cuz. He had a fraction the skill Cuz has. He basically had a drop step with each hand, a jump hook with his right and a little 5-8ft turnaround going right and good at spinning off defenders(dislodged them half the time though). Much of his game was based off his size.

Cuz has game similar to Webber, and just what exactly would a guy like Shaq have taught Webber? Webber could teach Cuz a helluva lot more. So could Hakeem. So could KG when he retires. So could Vlade. You need a guy who's game relied on skill and developing and adding to that skill, not just overpowering smaller players because he's the biggest freak the league has ever seen.
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Bingo! Well said. Also, fugg Shaq
 
rainmaker said:
Is there an ex-NBAer who's shown he knows less about understanding the game than Shaq, other than Magic?

His analysis on TNT is awful. Just awful. What's he going to teach Cuz? Drop step, elbow to the face? He's exactly the wrong type of center you'd want to work with Cuz. He had a fraction the skill Cuz has. He basically had a drop step with each hand, a jump hook with his right and a little 5-8ft turnaround going right and good at spinning off defenders(dislodged them half the time though). Much of his game was based off his size.

Cuz has game similar to Webber, and just what exactly would a guy like Shaq have taught Webber? Webber could teach Cuz a helluva lot more. So could Hakeem. So could KG when he retires. So could Vlade. You need a guy who's game relied on skill and developing and adding to that skill, not just overpowering smaller players because he's the biggest freak the league has ever seen.
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I see where you are coming from... but I can also see the benefit of a guy like shaq coaching Cousins. Cousins has all the skill in the world and relies a lot on finesse....many times to a fault where he is over complicating things. That's where a Shaq teaching Cousins how to use his size and strength more could be extremely beneficial.
 
Kings Faithful said:
I see where you are coming from... but I can also see the benefit of a guy like shaq coaching Cousins. Cousins has all the skill in the world and relies a lot on finesse....many times to a fault where he is over complicating things. That's where a Shaq teaching Cousins how to use his size and strength more could be extremely beneficial.
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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.
 
My question is is this Vivek or PDA.

Appears to be Vivek given he's the one who sat down with Shaq. I appreciate everything Vivek is doing but this IMO might be a step too far. If it's a basketball related decision, not operations but development, it should be PDA making this decision and I'd hope he doesn't think Shaq of all people is the guy you'd want teaching Cuz. PDA's quote the other day about needing to add excitement ASAP can go both ways. It can result from great decisions and improved play, and most decisions have been good(Malone, PDA), but it could go the other way as well if you're going after name recognition to excite fans instead of substance, and IMO that's what Shaq would be, more name recognition to generate excitement than substance. And if the intent is more substance based, I'd prefer PDA making these decisions as I think Vivek's intent is misdirected here, if true.

Shaq reeks of a distraction. Wouldn't be surprised if he does this more for publicity. And while he often supported us and Mastrov on TNT, he rarely actually knew what he was talking about. Bill Walton would be better, if we're talking about helping Cuz develop, on top of Webber, Vlade, Hakeem, Kareem, even Ewing.
 
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Imo he will be a mentor to Cuz and talk to him about things rather than actually working on his game (because Cousins is a completely different player), it will be like a big respected brother Cousins can look up to and maybe gain more confidence that one of the greatest big men of all time wants to work with him.
 
I think Hakeem or Ewing would be great mentors and solid players DFC could model his game after. Big and strong, but with athleticism and touch.
 
andremiller07 said:
Imo he will be a mentor to Cuz and talk to him about things rather than actually working on his game (because Cousins is a completely different player), it will be like a big respected brother Cousins can look up to and maybe gain more confidence that one of the greatest big men of all time wants to work with him.
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This is the primary value as I see it as well.
 
HereWeVivek said:
he can help him work on his post up game and going to the basket strong when he has the ball in the paint. Cousins loves to go up to the rim soft and get his shot blocked.
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I can tell Cousins how to fix that right now. Lose weight. He's lost a ton since college, and he's noticeably more athletic, but he can still lose more.
 
If Shaq can teach DMC how to use his big body to move and overpower opponents without getting called for it AND to play with more aggression and power around the rim, it'll pay huge dividends.

As long as Shaq doesn't try to teach him his free throw technique, it should all be ok.
 
cuad said:
I can tell Cousins how to fix that right now. Lose weight. He's lost a ton since college, and he's noticeably more athletic, but he can still lose more.
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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?
 
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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Listen to Shaq tell him to lose weight??? :rolleyes:

There is a limit there as a big guy anyway. In much of basketball skinny does well. But when you are a big guy banging with big guys, raw size and weight is as big an advantage sometimes as being a scrawny leaper (not that Cuz will ever be scrawny). Its like a football lineman. Maybe you want your cornerback to have 4% bodyfat. But you want your lineman to be a man mountain because he's going to be pushing and shoving around other man mountains all afternoon. You want guys to get tired from Cuz banging into them all night. You want bodies to bounce when he slams into the middle. You want him to be a wall when a guy tries to get post position on him.

One thing that Shaq or somebody has to get through Boogie's thick skull is to train with weights. Lift. I remember Cuz saying he didn't believe in that, and its just one of those headshaking I'm a stubborn teenager sorts of comments. Lift, gain bulk, and you can lose some weight while still retaining strength.
 
Bricklayer said:
One thing that Shaq or somebody has to get through Boogie's thick skull is to train with weights. Lift. I remember Cuz saying he didn't believe in that, and its just one of those headshaking I'm a stubborn teenager sorts of comments. Lift, gain bulk, and you can lose some weight while still retaining strength.
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This is what I was hoping that Shaq would teach him too(IF the new owners are really looking to add him to the Kings' staff).
 
Although I would prefer CWebb to mentor Cuz for several reasons, I think we are underestimating Shaq. We are assuming he can't teach anything other than his style. We don't know what Shaq's skill as a coach would be and if any coach was limited to being able to teach only what they could do, there would be no good coaches. I think in part this is Vivek's further attempt to bolster Cuz' self esteem, teach a few more real big man tricks, and what can it hurt? I love it that other players are showing an interest in Cuz. I wouldn't be surprised if Shaq didn't achieve his goal although I think Cuz could could end up the best anyway. Certainly Shaq will take a lot of credit and speed up the process. :) I sure as heck wouldn't want to be in the middle of a Shaq/Cuz sandwich.
 
Yes, I remember being completely shocked when he made the weights comment a few years back. He's extremely lucky that he has so much natural strength and power, because if he didn't and he still didn't lift, he'd be struggling. But lifting will certainly help him get leaner and possibly more explosive whilst keeping the brute strength he has.

I'm curious as to the Shaq thing. Is he going to train him or what did he mean with his comment? Obviously Shaq is a joker, but I'm sure he could teach Cuz a lot. His post game close to the basket and footwork were extraordinary for a big man, and he was an excellent passer out of the double team. Cousins has the tools to those things equally well (just without the freak athleticism), so it could really help. I'd prefer Olajuwon, though...
 
Shaq the notorious goofball and funster combined with the fun loving Cuz would be a good time! If anything I think he would be a good friend to have. Kind of like a big brother who has been there before and he can talk to. From a pure teaching and skill standpoint I have no doubts there are better guys out there like Hakeem, but from the personality perspective I see Shaq as the best fit with Cuz.
 
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.
 
Dime Dropper said:
Yes, I remember being completely shocked when he made the weights comment a few years back. He's extremely lucky that he has so much natural strength and power, because if he didn't and he still didn't lift, he'd be struggling. But lifting will certainly help him get leaner and possibly more explosive whilst keeping the brute strength he has.

I'm curious as to the Shaq thing. Is he going to train him or what did he mean with his comment? Obviously Shaq is a joker, but I'm sure he could teach Cuz a lot. His post game close to the basket and footwork were extraordinary for a big man, and he was an excellent passer out of the double team. Cousins has the tools to those things equally well (just without the freak athleticism), so it could really help. I'd prefer Olajuwon, though...
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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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