Shaq, Planning Escape from Phoenix?

by Marcel Mutoni

With his team going nowhere fast, it wouldn’t exactly come as a shocker to find out that Shaquille O’Neal is looking to get the hell out of Dogde Phoenix.

The LA Times ran a story yesterday discussing the possibility of the Cavs and Suns revisiting their trade talks from last month following this season.

As for Shaq, he wasn’t in a talking mood when reporters broached the subject. From the Arizona Republic:

The Los Angeles Times reported that center Shaquille O’Neal “is saying privately he wants out” of Phoenix because the Suns pondered trading him last month and/or because they returned to their up-tempo offense. He declined comment Monday morning.

“That’s intangible stuff,” guard Steve Nash said. “It’s hard to quantify. I hope he’s not unhappy. We just want him to be happy, feeling good about himself and ready to play.”

With Phoenix owner Robert Sarver swimming in dangerous financial waters, and O’Neal on the hook for another $20 million after this year, you can be sure that this kind of chatter will only increase going into the 2009-’10 season.