"This is not a knock... Mediocre players make better coaches" - Gilbert Arenas outlines reasons why Shaquille O'Neal won't be a good NBA head coach
Hall of Fame big man and four-time NBA champ Shaquille O'Neal expressed an interest in coaching the LA Lakers last month. However, former player and three-time NBA All-Star Gilbert Arenas believes Shaq won't be a good head coach in the league.
O'Neal said in an episode of "The Big Podcast with Shaq" last month that he would be willing to become the new head coach of the Lakers after they fired Frank Vogel. The topic came about due to Master P saying that he will coach the Lakers with Shaq as an assistant coach.
The Lakers legend is open to coaching his former team, but he put a very high price tag on his services. Shaq stated:
"If the Lakers offer me $25 million a year for four years, I'll coach the Lakers. I need a four-year contract. I'll coach them right now... I know you ain't consider my good friend Master P, but if you want me, this is the fee."
"If they offered me $25M a year for 4 years, I'd coach the Lakers." 👀
@SHAQ ponders a coaching career on #TheBigPodcast: bit.ly/3L7t0Bo https://t.co/SDrN1AbDlc
If the LA Lakers give Shaquille O'Neal what he wants, he'll be the highest paid head coach in North American sports history. However, Gilbert Arenas does not believe Shaq would be a great head coach.
In a recent interview with VladTV, Arenas was asked about the big man possibly becoming the head coach of the Lakers. "Agent 0" reasoned that O'Neal would not be a good head coach in the NBA because of his God-given talent. Arenas pointed out Shaq's work ethic that might not translate to coaching.
"This is not a knock against him because he was great, but he was gifted great. He was born big, athletic and was skilled. The mentality of what it takes to day in and day out to be a great player, that was Kobe's complaint, 'I get here at six o'clock working on my craft, you're just God's gift,'" Arenas said.
Arenas added that great players like Shaquille O'Neal are destined to fail in coaching. He also said that mediocre players will likely end up becoming great head coaches, with the exception of a few greats such as Jason Kidd and Steve Nash. He even noted that Kobe Bryant would have also been a great head coach.
"Usually greats have a problem with making it normal. That's why Kobe was a great coach. Kobe didn't have the 48-inch vertical and all this. He had to work on his craft. He had to work. He had to understand the game. He had to understand angles. That's why mediocre players make better coaches," Arenas explained.
Shaquille O'Neal's head coaching preference for the LA Lakers
Shaquille O'Neal wants the LA Lakers to hire Mark Jackson as their new head coach next season. O'Neal told Reuters in late April that Jackson may be the key to making the trio of LeBron James, Anthony Davis and Russell Westbrook work like a cohesive unit.
However, the Lakers have reportedly narrowed down their head coaching search to Golden State Warriors assistant coach Kenny Atkinson, Milwaukee Bucks assistant coach Darvin Ham and former Portland Trail Blazers head coach Terry Stotts. The team has been linked to more than ten candidates and could still be in the hunt for more finalists.
Sources: Finalists for the Los Angeles Lakers head coaching job: Bucks assistant Darvin Ham, Warriors assistant Kenny Atkinson and former Trail Blazers coach Terry Stotts. Next stage of interviews are expected to take place in-person in Los Angeles.