by Abe Schwadron / @abe_squad
Yesterday, the NBAPA announced it had rejected the owners’ offer and would disband, taking the lockout fight to the courts.
Shaquille O’Neal, never one to hold his tongue, is in New York City, promoting his book (Shaq: Uncut) and the launch of Shaq.com. Today, SLAM sat down with the Big Fella to get his thoughts on the latest lockout news, among other things.
Shaq was a big-time player in the ’98-99 lockout process, and helped get things on track. So when asked how he would, hypothetically, end the lockout, as a mediator, Shaq had this to say:
I would talk business. You know, the owners talk about how they lose money. So I would tell them that maybe they need to do their own deal, so they can create ways to make money. Second, I would realize that we’re in a recession, so why don’t we do the 50-50 split, and if we get to a certain number [of overall league revenue], then escalate the BRI back up. Instead of focusing on one number that’s going to last for 10 years—we don’t know what the economy is going to be like—so leave it at 50-50, and if we reach a certain number as a league and it raises up, then just keep raising us up. With the economy being what it is, that’s what I would say.
When pressed, Shaq added that were he still a player, he knows the “tactic” he would use, but “I’m not going to diclose that.”
Then again, he admitted to “not really paying that close attention” to the news, so perhaps it’s simply a case of Shaq being Shaq. Look out for much more from this sit-down with O’Neal later this week.
