Shaq Calls Out Dwight Howard; LaMarcus Aldridge Wants To Play With Jamal Crawford

We wouldn’t exactly call it airing dirty laundry, but Shaquille O’Neal is definitely getting a few things off his chest now that he’s retired. We aren’t hearing anything new. It’s just that O’Neal is making no mistake about anything: he had some serious problems with Kobe, he left Pat Riley on really bad terms, and that he’s not into Dwight Howard‘s whole Superman routine and thinks Orlando’s big man needs to be his own man. In Shaq’s new book (Shaq Uncut: My Story), Superman takes a couple shots at Superman 2.0, telling Howard to “be his own man.” Shaq and Howard have never really gotten along, so this news comes without any surprise. Shaq has always been someone who spoke his mind, and in his new book, he holds nothing back. He basically calls out Howard, saying if the game’s new biggest man doesn’t end up with at least four rings, he’ll be disappointed in him. O’Neal says: “There’s no one for him to go up against. When I was playing I had [Patrick] Ewing in his prime. I had Rik Smits, Arvydas Sabonis, Alonzo Mourning, Dikembe Mutumbo. I had Vlade Divac, Kevin Duckworth. I caught some of David Robinson. [Greg] Ostertag. Guys with size. Now, I couldn’t name five centers.” Disregarding a few of those names (seriously…Ostertag?), we get what Shaq is saying. The game is different, so someone as big as Howard should have an advantage. Then Shaq sort of lit into Howard about the whole Superman thing, basically telling him: be your own man. You have to admit, as much as you want to like Howard, and as funny and charismatic as he is, it’s hard to argue with The Big Aristotle. He is the original Superman … But Shaq wasn’t done there. He goes on to tell about his year in Cleveland – more specifically, his year with LeBron and the apparent doormat that was head coach Mike Brown. Shaq says that nobody was supposed to be confrontational with LeBron. Nobody wanted James to leave, so he was allowed to do whatever he wanted, like the time they had a film session where LeBron missed a bad shot, then failed to get back on defense. Mike Brown skipped the clip without saying anything, then went forward to a play in which Mo Williams failed to get back as well. Brown called out Mo, telling him they just can’t have that. Delonte West, sitting in the back of the room, stood up and defended Mo, telling Brown that everyone needed to be held accountable. According to Shaq, Brown knew Delonte was right and yet didn’t say anything (and really didn’t say anything all year). Shaq admits LeBron never listened to Brown, and that he wasn’t sure if Kobe would either … Keep reading to hear about LaMarcus Aldridge’s obsession with getting Jamal Crawford …

Portland Trail Blazers big man LaMarcus Aldridge shared his thoughts with The Oregonian recently, basically saying Portland is fools for letting assistant coach Bill Bayno go, that he loves Raymond Felton and that Jamal Crawford better get his behind out to the Northwest. Aldridge didn’t have much to say in regards to the lockout, but said he really enjoyed playing with Crawford at Kevin Durant‘s charity game in Oklahoma City last month and that Crawford felt the same way. According to Aldridge, then Portland GM Rich Cho tried to acquire Crawford at the trade deadline last season but couldn’t get a deal done. Aldridge said he remembers hearing rumblings of the possible trade, and sees a good fit in Crawford: someone who can shoot, run pick-n-rolls and doesn’t care about starting or coming off the bench. Crawford is a nice player, but do the Blazers really have room for yet another swingman? With Gerald Wallace, Nicolas Batum, Brandon Roy, Wesley Matthews and 2011 first round pick Nolan Smith, is there any room for Crawford? The Blazers did ship off Rudy Fernandez but filled that spot with Nolan Smith. Crawford is a good player who could really help a team out. We’re just not sure it’s the Blazers … There were rumors a few weeks back about a game pitting the old Warriors – the “We Believe” team – versus the current squad. For a while, it didn’t seem to gain any traction. But it’s here – being hyped as “The We Believe Vs. Dub Charity Basketball Game” – and it’s happening. This Saturday at 6:30 p.m. (doors open an hour early), at San Jose State University, the “We Believe” squad will be led by Matt Barnes, Jason Richardson, Gilbert Arenas and Antawn Jamison. Not all of those guys were technically on that team, but we’ll let it slide. The current squad will have Stephen Curry, Monta Ellis, David Lee and Dorell Wright among others. We’ve got to say, this sounds like a blowout for the new school. We’ll be in the house either way. The other confirmed players at this point are Ike Diogu, Al Harrington, C.J. Watson, Anthony Morrow, Lou Amundson, Jeremy Tyler, Charlie Bell and everyone’s favorite, Jeremy Lin … And Rudy Gay announced plans for his own charity game next Tuesday night at 7:30 p.m. at DeSoto Civic Center in Southaven, which is just outside of Memphis. This one figures to be popping: Kevin Durant, John Wall, Zach Randolph, O.J. Mayo, Josh Smith, Kyle Lowry and even Penny Hardaway are all scheduled to play. Penny’s one of those dudes who could suit up with any player or any team in the league, and we’d probably be more hyped just to see him stick a couple of Js like the good old days … We’re out like Mike Brown’s voice.