NBA Legend Gets Honest on How Shaquille O’Neal Would Fare As Lakers Coach

While the NBA finals are around the corner, most teams are focusing on the next season. One of them comes to the Los Angeles Lakers. After having one of the worst seasons in franchise history, the purple and gold have a lot to think about. One of their main objectives is securing a great coach. Firing Frank Vogel has left that job open. Even former Lakers center, Shaquille O’Neal has offered his services to coach the team. However, NBA legend Gilbert Arenas thinks he won’t be a good coach.

As a player, Shaq is arguably the most dominant force in basketball. With a natural gift of height and athleticism, the Big Diesel was a force like no other. Over his illustrious career, Shaq emerged as an unfair weapon. He looked like a big man among little kids when he stepped on an NBA floor. However, after winning the championships, Shaq put a stop to the hard work. This was believed to be the main reason his dynamic duo with Kobe Bryant came to an end.

Giving a look to Shaq having natural talent, Arenas feels the Big Aristotle can’t become a great coach.

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Arenas say Shaquille O’Neal can’t coach the Lakers

Amassing over 20k points and winning 4 championships in his career, Shaq the player is one of the best to ever enter the NBA system. However, his work ethic was never a stand-out factor. The Big Diesel had natural gifts which he used in the best way. Speaking about Shaq’s work ethic, Arenas feels he won’t be able to break down a team. On the other hand, Arenas gave credit to Kobe’s desire to become better as the reason for him being a great coach.

Arenas said: “This is not a knock against him because he was great, but he was gifted great. He was born big, athletic, and was skilled. So, the mentality of what it takes to day in and day out be a great player, that was Kobe’s complaint. You know, that I get here at six o’clock in the morning working on my craft and you’re just god’s gift. So will he have the brain and capacity to break down for the lames? That’s not him. And that’s where greats usually have a problem with, making it normal. That’s why Kobe was a great coach, he didn’t have the 48-inch vertical and all this. He had to work on his craft, he had to understand the game, he had to understand angles. That’s why mediocre players make better coaches.”

There are no complaints about Shaq having great knowledge about the game. However, coaching a team is a whole different ball game. They need to understand how to make everyone on the team better and have synergy. One of the Lakers’ main problems this season was not having a clear understanding of the roles. And for Shaq, it would be really tough to understand how to fix this kind of problem.

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However, over all his business deals and investments, the Big Diesel has the discipline. Shaq knows he needs to be completely dedicated if he wants to coach his former team. While it is an unreal scenario at his asking price, there is no doubt fans would love to see the Big Diesel suit up in the role of a coach. But for the Lakers, they need someone who knows how to recognize and solve their current problems. And Shaq may not be the right person for that. Who do you think the Lakers should hire?