Shaquille O’Neal has once again fired shots at 3-time Defensive Player of the Year Rudy Gobert. In fact, the Big Diesel mocked the former Jazz center for getting traded to Minnesota in the most recent episode of his podcast. Shaquille O’Neal also addressed Gobert messaging him on social media.
The Utah Jazz traded Rudy Gobert to the Minnesota Timberwolves in the offseason. After a dismal showing in the postseason this year, the decision wasn’t a hard one to make. In fact, the 7’1″ giant proved to be a defensive liability in Utah’s first-round exit against the Mavericks.
Shaquille O’Neal addresses Rudy Gobert’s DMs
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In his Big Podcast with Shaq, Shaquille O’Neal brought up the Utah Jazz trading Rudy Gobert to the Timberwolves. In fact, the Big Man believed that the Jazz trading Gobert corroborates his previous criticisms of the 30-year-old center. “If he so good, why didn’t they keep his a**,” Shaq said.
Incidentally, Shaq has taken shots at Gobert ever since he signed a five-year $205 million extension with Jazz. The Lakers legend thought that the French star didn’t deserve such a hefty fee with his stats. Since then, Shaq has publicly joked about Gobert’s contract on multiple occasions.
In this instance, Shaq compared Jazz trading Gobert to crashing a $350k Rolls-Royce for insurance money. Meanwhile, podcast co-host Nischelle Turner brought up Gobert dissing Shaq in his DMs. In response, the 7’1″ giant explained that he actually likes Gobert’s rebuttal.
“The fact that Rudy got in my DMs and barked a little bit as a puppy shows me that he has it in him,” Shaq said. He also revealed that his conflict with Gobert is nothing personal. In other words, he just likes to press buttons to bring out the best in players.
“It’s never personal with me,” he added. “If it ever get personal with me, you’ll know about it.”
Shaq’s advice to Gobert
In the meantime, Shaq advised Gobert to play mean. The Timberwolves acquisition is too nice on the court, according to the 50-year-old NBA veteran.
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In the 2021-22 season, Gobert averaged 15.6 points and 14.7 rebounds. However, he proved to be a liability on the perimeter in the playoffs. In fact, the three-time All-Star’s ability to dominate the paint didn’t help against the Dallas Mavericks as the Texas team kept on draining corner threes throughout the series.
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What is your opinion on Shaq’s comments on Gobert? Let us know your thoughts.