Shaquille O'Neal's new book, Shaq Uncut: My Story, digs up a little dirt on teammates from the multiple franchises that dotted his career. And though The Diesel only spent one year in Boston, he had enough ammo to sully some of his old Celtics 'mates, too.
One particularly entertaining excerpt explains how Shaq and fellow Louisiana State product Glen Davis had it out in the middle of huddles because Big Baby didn't like to pass:
Big Baby Davis kept looking me off and taking it himself. Doc is shouting at him to go inside, but he wont. So Doc calls timeout and draws up a play for me. I go out there, and I back Andrew Bynum way under the rim. Im loose, Im ready. Ive got Bynum under the basket and again, Baby wont give me the ball. So I go up to him and say, If you ever miss me again Im going to punch you in the face. I was hot.
Two nights later were playing in Sacramento and here we go again. I take three shots the entire game and again Ive got my man isolated underneath the basket, and Baby ignores me and takes a jump shot. So the next time were in the huddle I let Baby have it.
I tell him, Pass the expletive ball inside. He comes back at me a little bit and now Im really heated. All hell is breaking loose. Were going back and forth. Doc is standing there and hes not saying a word. The message is pretty clear: Work this out yourselves. I tell Baby, Youre a selfish player. Everyone on this team knows it. Hey, all the fans knew it. He takes shots when he shouldn't."
Davis will be a free agent if and when the NBA offseason comes back from its lockout and the free agency period officially begins.
Other highlights from Shaq's book include the time President Barack Obama dissed Rajon Rondo's free-throw shooting ability and sent the point guard into a tailspin. . .
Boston Celtics
Remember that stretch right after Perk got traded and Rondo was struggling so badly? He definitely was nicked up and fighting some injuries, but something else happened that I think affected him. In early March some of the guys went to the Museum of Fine Arts for a fundraiser and got to hang out with President Barack Obama. Everyone was a little bit in awe. The president turns to Ray, points to Rondo and says, Hey Ray, why dont you teach this kid how to shoot. Everyone starts laughing, and Rays says, Nah, thats why hes got to give the ball to me. Ill take care of the shooting.
KG told me he saw the look on Rondos face and the kid was devastated, embarrassed. Dissed by the president, even though Im sure Obama didnt mean any harm. Rondo smiled and went along with all of it, but KG told me he could sit it in his eyes. It bothered Rondo. It killed him.
. . . and why Nate Robinson was traded:
I wasnt surprised at all when he got traded. Nate was always trying to get noticed by the public. He was always tweeting videos of himself punking his teammates ... Some people are a little too focused on Twitter and Nate was one of them. He was too worried about how many followers he had. He kept saying, Shaq, I need more people. Help me out.
Celtics fans looking for a little more reason to hate Kobe Bryant and LeBron James can revel in some of Shaq's other anecdotes. He said he wanted to kill Bryant over an interview with Jim Gray, and explained that LeBron James basically got away with whatever he wanted in Cleveland.