By: Debadrita Ghosh Image credit: NBA and Twitter.
Former Los Angeles Lakers legend Shaquille O'Neal had some harsh words for the Lakers' acquisition of forward Rui Hachimura through a trade with the Washington Wizards.
In the recent episode of ‘The Big Podcast with Shaq’, Shaq stated that he is unaware of Hachimura's identity. Shaq was harsh on Hachimura who was selected in the first round of the 2019 NBA Draft.
It not only showed a fundamental lack of understanding of the league on O'Neal's part, but it also showed disrespect towards Hachimura, a young player who has demonstrated that he belonged in the NBA.
That was the feeling expressed by Durant in his tweet in reaction to O'Neal's statement. Kevin tweeted: “Shaq doesn’t know the ball?”
Kevin has also shared a post in which it was written: “Shaq on not knowing who Rui Hachimura was prior to the Lakers trade: “If you ain’t a top 10 player, I don’t know who you are… I’m not watching Bullets or the Wizards.””
A fan commented: “Everyone knows Rui he is the only Japanese guy in the league common Shaq.” Another fan commented: “Shaq a big time casual for making this comment. Rui is the first Japanese basketball player in NBA history to be selected in first round. What a hater.”
NBA Fans got furious with Shaq’s harsh comment on Hachimura. A fan wrote: “To be a former Laker, you would think he would show love to a 24-year-old kid but he always has to be the “funny” guy.” While another wrote: “Bro don’t watch the nba but he gets paid to talk ab it...”
O'Neal might not be pleased with the change, but the rest of the NBA was delighted by the arrangement. In fact, in recent years, the Lakers have come under fire for solely pursuing elite players in transactions.
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