Pat Riley says Shaquille O'Neal deserves an All-Star role

[GangstaBoogy]

The voting is complete, the ballots have been counted and Miami Heat center Shaquille O'Neal's record-tying streak of 14 straight All-Star selections has ended.

Right?

Well, maybe not.

At least, Heat coach Pat Riley isn't quite ready to concede that.

"It's not done yet," Riley said Friday. "The final, final, final decision isn't done yet."

Stopping short of saying he'll personally urge the NBA to add O'Neal to the Eastern Conference roster for the Feb. 17 game in New Orleans, Riley did say he believes commissioner David Stern should have the option of adding someone to the roster when the situation is warranted.

In Riley's mind, this would be one of those situations.

"I really think that the 12 most deserving players should get it. I do," Riley said. "The most deserving should get it and I think the commissioner should always have the right, for somebody who has done so much for the league, for whatever reason, to add a 13th guy to come and be part of the whole thing."

O'Neal is still headed to New Orleans. The former LSU center, who championed a number of charity efforts after the Hurricane Katrina disaster, is expected to host at least two parties and appear at several other events.

"He's going to be part of the All-Star festivities specifically to raise money," Riley said. "So I would think the NBA should give him a role. A role. Just like they bring a lot of veteran players in that have retired, they're always around, I think he should have a major role in something."

If an All-Star roster spot opens, through injury or trade, Stern could add O'Neal to the East lineup.

Unless that happens, though, O'Neal -- one of only three players in history, joining Jerry West and Karl Malone, to be selected to 14 straight All-Star teams -- will just be a very large onlooker.

"We're thrilled that Shaq plans to be in New Orleans and we look forward to having him participate in any and all of the 'NBA Cares' events that we are doing," NBA spokesman Tim Frank said.

O'Neal is averaging 14.2 points this season, a career low, and is currently sidelined by a hip injury. In his last public comments on the issue last week, O'Neal said he didn't know if his hip would be healed in time for All-Star weekend anyway, something that may have had a role in the outcome of the coaches' vote.

Orlando's Dwight Howard won by a wide margin in the fan balloting for the East's starting center, and O'Neal said last week that he believed the fans made the right choice.

In the coaches' poll for the reserve spots, which the NBA revealed Thursday, there was no true backup center selected. Toronto's Chris Bosh, a forward, likely will wind up being the de facto backup center in the game that usually becomes a freewheeling offensive showcase anyway.

"It could have went a lot of different ways," said Heat guard Dwyane Wade, who was voted in as a starter by the fans. "I was actually surprised there were no centers selected at all, more so than Shaq not being selected."

What a homo.

[Doggystylin]

lmfao helllll naaaaaaahhhhhh, go quit your job you sleezy douche

[MontrealCity's Most]

Its funny how you guys react and just trash him.

Riley is just doing what any smart coach gm woudl do, protecting his player

[Doggystylin]

Its funny how you guys react and just trash him.

Riley is just doing what any smart coach gm woudl do, protecting his player

no, he's being unreasonable. phil jackson would not say lamar deserves and all star role even though he's put up better numbers than shaq. so we're just trashing him cause he's being a douche.

[MontrealCity's Most]

Its funny how you guys react and just trash him.

Riley is just doing what any smart coach gm woudl do, protecting his player

no, he's being unreasonable. phil jackson would not say lamar deserves and all star role even though he's put up better numbers than shaq. so we're just trashing him cause he's being a douche.

lol Lamar dont have the career Shaq does.

[Don Jacob]

you know what everyone knows about me and shaq....and i'll say it, he didn't deserve it this year. i mean yeah i wanted to agree with Kenny Smith's argument about how there's no true centers out there in the east and that shaq's numbers are better than many other centers , but no. dwight deserved that start, and someone else deserved that reserve spot shaq i think has been too beat up this year to contribute, plus the heat are in dead last. you reward winning in the all star game. shaq should BE there , cuz he's the coolest player out there every all star game. but he shouldn't be on the roster.

[blue crew]

shaq had something like 14 straight all star appearance and anybody who aint jsut some hater would agree that he always gave a fun ass vibe to the weekend. its hella stupid to compare a scrub like lamar to a nba legend like shaq. of course his numbers aint up there, but all riley was sayin is that the league coulda found a way to get him in for the history of it. it aint like we didnt see old ass legends get themselves into the game for the story and memory vibe to it.

some of u lil niccas is kids. i bet yall still in highschool talkin about the nba like yall know the history.

[WestCoasta]

Its funny how you guys react and just trash him.

Riley is just doing what any smart coach gm woudl do, protecting his player

no, he's being unreasonable. phil jackson would not say lamar deserves and all star role even though he's put up better numbers than shaq. so we're just trashing him cause he's being a douche.

lol Lamar dont have the career Shaq does.

come on man, just cuz he did something in the past means he HAS to go this year when he hasn't done anything?  what kind of way of thinking is that?

oh, and let somebody else who deserves it make the fuckin bonus money from bein an All-Star, wouldn't that be fair?

[Doggystylin]

once again....being selected into the all star team has nothing to do with your previous seasons, its about how you have been performing the year of...

[GangstaBoogy]

Its funny how you guys react and just trash him.

Riley is just doing what any smart coach gm woudl do, protecting his player

Protecting him from what? The guy is getting paid $20 million to put up rookie numbers. The All-Star game isn't a lifetime achievement award.

[WestCoasta]

^  why are we trying to explain, dude is obviously retarded

[blue crew]

hahahah you guys are showin that you all lil 20 year old kids who only know about the last 8 years of the nba. talkin all this shiet about the all star has nothing to do with the past, or lifetime acheivements and it should only go to current all star type players. u dumb muthafucas must not remember how magic johnson was let play in the all star game when he didnt even PLAY that year. if any of u kids wouldnt have been in diapers you woulda remembered that they even LET him win the game and didnt play the final minute after he hit the game winner. it was more about the legacy of the player and showing respect to a living legend, which shaq is. aside from jerry west and karl malone he the only other nicca to get to 14 straight all star games. i swear yall lil kids dont know nothin. shaq is a STAPLE of the all star game for the last 14 years and aint nothin wrong with riley sticcin up for him, shiet a gang of nba vets and commentators are doing the same.

u lakers groupies are crazy.

[Fuck Your Existence]

lol fuck him taking the spot of a deserving player just because hes Shaq...

[blue crew]

lol fuck him taking the spot of a deserving player just because hes Shaq...

did you not read the part where he said add a 13TH player? How does that take someone's spot? 

[Fuck Your Existence]

lol fuck him taking the spot of a deserving player just because hes Shaq...

did you not read the part where he said add a 13TH player? How does that take someone's spot? 

fuck that..if they wanna add more positions add them for the players that got fucked like baron davis....