In a move that can only be described as ironic, Shaquille O'Neal has been made a part minority of the Sacramento Kings. Via USA Today:
As the Kings continue their image makeover that was sparked by the late May sale of the team to Vivek Ranadive, they have made a big and bold move by adding O'Neal as a minority owner. The TNT analyst once gleaned pleasure in deriding the Kings, whom he owned in a very different way when his Lakers thrice knocked their rival out of the playoffs en route to titles in 2000, 2001 and 2002. Now his joy will come from seeing one of the league's worst-performing franchises turn things around.
This is the same O'Neal who referred to the Kings as "Queens." Now he's all, "oooh I love this new vision." My how things change.
It seems like quite the conflict of interest with Shaq being an NBA analyst for TNT, but keep in mind that ESPN put Magic Johnson on set when he was a Los Angeles Lakers executive. Given Shaq's just a minority owner, I don't think it should be a major issue. The most interesting thing might be his relationship with controversial center DeMarcus Cousins, who O'Neal wants to mentor. (Good luck with that.) If cousins blows up it might make things awkward for Shaq, but the hope is the rest of the Inside the NBA crew would keep him accountable.
If Shaq can bestow his winning ways on a struggling franchise, one he once derided, it could make for a very interesing storyline in the coming seasons.
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About Reva Friedel
Reva is a staff writer for Awful Announcing and the AP Party. She lives in Orange County and roots for zero California teams.