Wednesday, January 21st, 2009 at 10:00 am  |  25 responses

Shaq Wants to Bring the Nets to Newark

by Marcel Mutoni

Of late, the Nets’ dream of playing in Brooklyn seems like a fantasy more than anything grounded in reality. And as a result, the prospect of Newark, New Jersey housing a pro hoops franchise has grown in popularity.

Shaquille O’Neal, a New Jersey native, would like to see the Nets make the move to his hometown. And he’s willing to lend a hand if need be.

From the Star-Ledger:

“I have no idea why the Nets aren’t playing there,” Shaq said. “It makes no sense. I know they’re trying to get to Brooklyn, but if I was the general manager or the owner of that team, I’d be playing in Newark right now.”

“Yes. Yes. Yes,” O’Neal said in a phone interview when asked if he wanted to get into ownership when he retired. And if that team could be the Nets …

“It’d be nice — real nice,” he said. “I know the area, I know the people, it’s close to New York. Every organization needs two things: a great place to play and a couple of marquee players. You have that, and it’s a no brainer.”

Obviously, if the move was consummated, this would be a major PR coup for Shaq and the Nets. It also makes sense on a number of levels, which is probably why it has been so slow to develop.

But now, with Shaq in the mix, things might move a bit quicker in the right direction. Sorry, Jay-Z.

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  • Ken Posted: Jan.21 at 10:11 am
    I’m just glad Shaq is playing well again. All the headline grabbing is much sadder when it’s from somebody clearly on the decline. At least now it doesn’t look like he does it only to stay relevant.

  • Torrance Posted: Jan.21 at 10:12 am
    Shaq has been all over the place these last couple of weeks…

  • Ken Posted: Jan.21 at 10:13 am
    Oh yeah, and this actually does sound like a good idea too, which is a plus.

  • Cheryl Posted: Jan.21 at 10:14 am
    ^True.

  • BETCATS Posted: Jan.21 at 10:16 am
    I thought Shaq lived in Germany for more than a minute. Why not the Berlin Nets?

  • Gerard Himself Posted: Jan.21 at 10:22 am
    Because Dooling means “I like sausages” in German.

  • TADOne Posted: Jan.21 at 10:23 am
    This makes so much sense that it will never happen.

  • Eboy Posted: Jan.21 at 10:35 am
    I wish the Nets could stay in Jersey…..and while Newark isn’t the ideal place for a team….the arena is state of the art and it’s close enough to NYC that the appeal being there is still decent. Only bad thing? I doubt Bron is going to make a move, to Jersey of all places, but in actuality, if he played for the Brooklyn Nets….he’d problably buy a home in suburban North Jersey, so there’d be a similar outcome.

  • Gerard Himself Posted: Jan.21 at 10:49 am
    has anybody here been to the Prudential Center? Just wondering if it’s really that good.

  • Russ Bengtson Posted: Jan.21 at 11:04 am
    It can’t be any worse than Brendan By—uh, Continenta—er, the Izod Center, AKA The Worst Arena Anywhere.

  • BETCATS Posted: Jan.21 at 12:43 pm
    Shaq + Jay-Z = most talented old people tandem since Grumpy Old Men.

  • Tzvi T Posted: Jan.21 at 1:28 pm
    Russ: I like the Izod–cause it’s always empty. And has anyone else noticed that the only thing bigger than Shaq’s appetite is his mouth? He loves sticking in his two cents.

  • Dre Posted: Jan.21 at 1:37 pm
    It will be Brooklyn long before Newark. They are already have everything set aside for a land and a stadium.

  • NJ4Life Posted: Jan.21 at 1:41 pm
    Prudential (or “The Rock”) is a very nice arena. It’s fan friendly, is well built, has great acoustics, great seating, affordable prices and some of the best arena food around. If you by v.i.p tickets they also include passes to the “ice bar” which is like a bar/grill where they cook right in front of you, overlooking (what would be the court) the ice. In addition, it’s clean, the employees are helpful and friendly, and the area/building itself isn’t an eyesore like the IZOD. Oh, and I’d be curious as to what the best nicknames for IZOD are. so far i’ve heard INOD and ISORE.

  • Ben Osborne Posted: Jan.21 at 2:03 pm
    I’ve been saying this for over a year. Glad Shaq is on my team.

  • tapion786 Posted: Jan.21 at 2:06 pm
    to dre:
    you need money to build a stadium, and even though the owners are multi millionaires, they cannot fund such an expense. therefore they need investors and as of late, everyone is being very cautious with their money in the current economic crisis.
    so no matter how much bruce ratner and jay z want to move them to the BK, it won’t happen if the major investors drop the project. they aren’t getting funding from the city and they sure as hell won’t be able to pull off a bank loan.

  • Josh D Posted: Jan.21 at 3:07 pm
    Jay Z and Shaq owning the Nets, hey knicks, tell me how my ass taste!

  • Shaq Wants To Be The Face Of Nets Franchise Posted: Jan.21 at 3:51 pm
    [...] “It’d be nice — real nice,” he said. “I know the area, I know the people, it’s close to New York. Every organization needs two things: a great place to play and a couple of marquee players. You have that, and it’s a no brainer.” Said Shaq from Slam Online [...]

  • JoeMaMa Posted: Jan.21 at 3:57 pm
    I’ve come to expect every Shaq article will have an “ass taste” note to it. Thanks for keeping the tradition, JD. Isn’t Newark one of the murder capitals of the US? What’s next, the Kabul Krossovers?

  • Shaq Relocating the Nets to Newark? | NBA Rumors Posted: Jan.21 at 4:39 pm
    [...] Slam Online [...]

  • Teddy-the-Bear Posted: Jan.21 at 6:02 pm
    Tony Soprano will be happy.

  • Teddy-the-Bear Posted: Jan.21 at 6:02 pm
    Though Brooklyn is still the better location.
    But what about Boogie Down?
    Or Shaolin?
    Or Queens?
    Hmm…

  • donlaker Posted: Jan.21 at 6:20 pm
    SHAQ concentrate on the suns for right now. 1st your jersey getting retired, now the nets in newark
    dude when you host saturday night live then you can talk

  • Yung-G Posted: Jan.22 at 11:48 am
    Hey I’m a proud nets fan but here’s my issue with shaq’s idea new jersey takes care of it’s hockey team and put’s it in an area where it’s not cared about, the arena in newark ive been to two or three times is like a really nice high school gym. also after a certain time it’s not a safe place to be i like where the team is in right in the meadowlands so shaq can stop dreaming he needs to focus on giving himself a new nickname or something.

  • Doc Funk Posted: Jan.22 at 1:35 pm
    They could build the stadium out of shipping containers and phlegm.

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