Shaq's Hip to Keep Him Sidelined 2 Weeks

I think enough is enough. I speculated recently that this hip injury would be more serious than previously thought. So far, that prediction is coming true. Despite claims by the Miami Heat that Shaq was healthy enough to return, his 2nd halves of games of late proved otherwise. Now he is out another two weeks with inflammation in his hip, and some are suggesting he shut it down for good.

Frankly, these minor injuries flaring up into serious issues for O'Neal are becoming tiresome. He is getting paid $20 million a year to basically play 45-55 games and contribute what Udonis Haslem does on a pretty good night. He can still go out there and give you the occasional half of dominant Shaq, but never has enough gas left in the tank (or fouls to give) to finish the game.

For a guy who is ultimately concerned with his legacy, I would seriously advise him to retire. There's no way this team is winning a title in the next 2 seasons and that was his goal, to add more rings before hanging them up. His production is in severe decline even now. People are doubting him more and more every day and he is proving them wrong less and less. Eventually, all these nagging injuries are going to prevent him from playing at all.

A guy his size simply doesn't have the shelf life of a Sam Cassell. It was inevitable that his body wear down. What Shaq should do (but he won't for any number of reasons) is retire at the end of the season, preferably with the consent of some favorable doctors who will contend he is physically incapable of playing. With those waivers, we could get the cap charge back for 2009 at least (since you need to either wait a year or the waiver is applied the following year, I forget which) and perhaps for 2008. Otherwise, retiring doesn't do us any good either. Still counts against the cap.

A buy out or trade is probably unlikely, though the former is about a million times as likely as the latter. I can't fathom any reason why a team would want to take on Shaq's contract. It's a sad situation, because Shaq has been the model teammate since he's been on this team. He has embraced the 1a/1b role, even allowing himself to become the 2nd option recently behind Wade. He helped bring us the title he promised and kept himself in good shape more for Pat Riley than for any other previous coach.

The reality though, is that his contract really holds this team back from improving in the next couple of seasons. Granted, the contract came with the reward of an NBA title, so both the deal and the trade that brought Shaq to Miami paid off. We're just taking our lumps now. Unfortunately, the window is closed.