The NBA free agency has lit up the market just two weeks after the conclusion of the 2022-23 postseason. Many teams have made bold moves to alter the fate of their franchise in the upcoming season. While some teams have gone all in to contend for the 2023-24 title, others have decided to sell their major assets to initiate a rebuild. The NBA summer kicked in with two massive trade updates-the Phoenix Suns acquired Bradley Beal from the Washington Wizards to form a Big Three in the Desert, while trading Chris Paul to the Golden State Warriors.
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The past two days saw some other major moves that could impact the hierarchy of the league. For instance, Draymond Green and Kyrie Irving signed extensions with their current teams, the Rockets acquired Fred VanVleet from the Raptors while the Lakers shipped Dennis Schroder to the Toronto side. However, Denver Nuggets star Bruce Brown joining the Indiana Pacers on a two-year $45,000,000 deal prompted Shaquille O’Neal to call out head coach Michael Malone for his comments during the Nuggets parade.
Brown had been a crucial player for the Nuggets in this year’s Championship run. The 26-year-old averaged 11.5 points, 4.1 rebounds and 3.4 assists in 80 games this season to help the Colorado side secure the best record in the West. He tallied 12 points per game in the playoffs and did a good job complementing the All-Star duo of Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray.
Shaquille O’Neal calls out Michael Malone for his Bruce Brown ‘lies’
During the Denver Nuggets’ victory parade following their 2023 NBA Championship win, head coach Michael Malone made some big claims. While addressing the crowd, Malone had pointed to a shirtless Brown standing next to him and said, “Hey Y’all tell me! Is Brucey B going anywhere? Hell no, hell no. hell no…Aye, we run this shit back.”
Malone seemed inebriated during the remarks. However, Shaquille O’Neal probably took his comments a little too seriously. The Diesel shared Overtime’s reel of the clip on his Instagram stories, along with the caption ‘Cap. Cap. Cap’.
Brown played a pivotal role in helping the Nuggets seal their first-ever NBA title in franchise history. The former Nets guard registered 21 points in Game 4 of the NBA Finals, 11 of them coming in the fourth quarter, to give the Nuggets a 3-1 lead against the Miami Heat. Brown also contributed with some clutch points in the dying seconds of Game 5 to take Denver over the hump in a closely contested 94-89 victory against the Heat.
Shaq called out Malone and the Nuggets’ front office because he knows very well how the loss of good role players can deeply impact a team and ruin their chances of repeating their feat. For instance, the Milwaukee Bucks failed to run it back in 2022 after they traded P.J Tucker following their 2021 Championship win. The same is applicable for the Dubs trading Otto Porter Jr. Now we’ll have to see if this trade impacts Denver’s showing next season.
