Divac: Cousins the best I've seen

[Im Still Ballin]

http://a.espncdn.com/photo/2015/0111/nba_g_cous_400x600.jpg

"I've been in basketball a long, long time, and I have to say he's the most talented big guy I have ever seen," Divac said Monday. "Shaq wasn't talented -- he was just strong. I was talented, but I wasn't strong."


"I want to see him be a leader of this team, truly the leader, and make everybody better," Divac said. "He can do it with his passing, with the ability to score. He can do everything."


Divac averaged 11.8 points, 8.2 rebounds, 3.1 assists and 1.4 blocks over 1,134 career NBA games with the Lakers, Charlotte and Sacramento. Divac is one of only four players in league history with at least 13,000 points, 9,000 rebounds, 3,000 assists, 1,200 steals and 1,600 blocked shots, along with Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Hakeem Olajuwon and Kevin Garnett.


http://espn.go.com/nba/story/_/id/12497891/vlade-divac-says-demarcus-cousins-most-talented-big-man-ever-seen

Divac played against them all; Jordan, Hakeem, Shaq, Robinson, Mutombo, Ewing, Kobe, Malone, etc... I think there's no denying the talent of Demarcus Cousins and I TRULY believe that George Karl is the man to spark the engine for what could be something special.

[BigNBAfan]

No one's going to spark anything with all the methane in the air in SAC

[Rooster]

Sure he's talented but I have not seen that talent creating an impact on his team like his numbers suggest. Can he even anchor the team defensively?

[SCdac]

"Divac rejoined the Kings earlier this month as vice president of basketball and franchise operations"

eh, he's just saying the things he needs to say and propping up his guy imo

[Orlando Magic]

If anyone actually in their heart of hearts thinks that Shaq wasn't talented... they should never comment on anything pertaining to basketball ever again.

[HomieWeMajor]

No one's going to spark anything with all the methane in the air in SAC
:roll: :roll: :roll:
Repped.

[outbreak]

"Divac rejoined the Kings earlier this month as vice president of basketball and franchise operations"

eh, he's just saying the things he needs to say and propping up his guy imo

:applause:

He's also saying that he was more talented than shaq but just lacked the strength.

[Legends66NBA7]

"Shaq wasn't talented -- he was just strong. I was talented, but I wasn't strong."

Divac actually said this ?

Damm, the Lakers beating th Kings all those years must still hurt. He's nuts if he thinks Shaq was just strength, which is part of a player’s talent FYI .

[ButterFace]

Does Divac still work with the Kings? Because his love for that franchise has obviously blinded him.

[sd3035]

seems a bit salty towards Shaq still lol

Shaq was very skilled, he just couldn't shoot

[bizil]

What the hell is Vlade talking about? Shaq was a 7'1 320 goliath who was a FREAKISH ATHLETE! He had great handles, footwork, and IQ on the block. Sure he couldn't shoot from the outside, but in my opinion that's a bonus for a dominant low post big man. The NUMBER ONE JOB of a great center (at least old school wise) is to wreak havoc in the paint. And Shaq did it better than ANY CENTER in NBA history!

It takes a lot skill to do what Shaq did. BOTTOM LINE! And besides the most skilled player ISN'T the best player in all cases. It's about being DOMINANT at the things u do best. Guys like Odom and Vlade were very versatile and skilled for a PF and C respectively. But they are NOWHERE near as good as a peak Amare or Shaq.

[24-Inch_Chrome]

Shaq was talented. At times he may have made it look as though it was pure physical domination but there's no denying his talent.

Vlade might just still be pissed about the 2002 WCF.

[DonDadda59]

Vlade still salty as hell about Shaq's Lakers beating them :lol

But to be fair, he has every right to be salty... Kings got jobbed.

[Im Still Ballin]

He's played against them all

Good authority

[RedBlackAttack]

I guess Shaq's brilliant footwork was due to him being strong. Hm. Weird, for all this time, I thought it was because he was a talented basketball player. Thanks for clearing that up, Vlade.

Also, his comments are a testament to where talent alone gets you. It takes more than that. No one ever denied Boogie's talent level, although Divac is taking it a bit far.

[IGOTGAME]

so being strong is part of being a talented basketball player

[SaltyMeatballs]

"Shaq wasn't talented -- he was just strong. I was talented, but I wasn't strong."

That salt.

[theaussieguy]

If anyone actually in their heart of hearts thinks that Shaq wasn't talented... they should never comment on anything pertaining to basketball ever again.

I prefer to use the term gifted. He was gifted with size and the ability to manouvre well for a man of his size. In terms basketball talent he was a sh!tter but he didn't need it, he just had to stand under the rim and put the ball in it. Not a very hard task when u are so big. This is why most big men are boring.

[24-Inch_Chrome]

I prefer to use the term gifted. He was gifted with size and the ability to manouvre well for a man of his size. In terms basketball talent he was a sh!tter but he didn't need it, he just had to stand under the rim and put the ball in it. Not a very hard task when u are so big. This is why most big men are boring.

This reminds me of your pro-Rondo arguments. Which center do you think is equivalent to Rondo as far as ability? :lol

[RedBlackAttack]

I prefer to use the term gifted. He was gifted with size and the ability to manouvre well for a man of his size. In terms basketball talent he was a sh!tter but he didn't need it, he just had to stand under the rim and put the ball in it. Not a very hard task when u are so big. This is why most big men are boring.
Shaq's footwork was freaking amazing for a man that size. He was ridiculously light on his feet.

http://www.totalprosports.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/2-shaq-jordan-one-on-one-shaq-gifs.gif


Even on his last leg, he was capable of embarrassing the best in the NBA because of his size and skill.

http://i.imgur.com/N3UrD.gif


Yeah, he was impossible to move off of his spot because of his size and strength, but there are a lot of big/strong guys in the league. Shaq was a basketball player. Either way, I think we can all agree that Shaq would eat Boogie's lunch.

[FKAri]

Theres a difference between athletic talent and game talent. I think that's what Vlade is talking about. Though I disagree with him. Shaq might not have had the most talent in that sense but he was well above average.

[theaussieguy]

Shaq's footwork was freaking amazing for a man that size. He was ridiculously light on his feet.

http://www.totalprosports.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/2-shaq-jordan-one-on-one-shaq-gifs.gif


Even on his last leg, he was capable of embarrassing the best in the NBA because of his size and skill.

http://i.imgur.com/N3UrD.gif


Yeah, he was impossible to move off of his spot because of his size and strength, but there are a lot of big/strong guys in the league. Shaq was a basketball player. Either way, I think we can all agree that Shaq would eat Boogie's lunch.

Oh yeah as soon as I saw ur gifs i remembered that vid of shaq going coast to coast then putting on a spin move then dunking it. I concede I lose this round.

[theaussieguy]

This reminds me of your pro-Rondo arguments. Which center do you think is equivalent to Rondo as far as ability? :lol

lets not bring the best pure PG in the league into this, but to answer ur question, if Pau Gasol officially played a center it would be him. Extremely talented big man.

[ralph_i_el]

lets not bring the best pure PG in the league into this,
:facepalm have they not shown any NBA games in Australia since 2010?

[24-Inch_Chrome]

lets not bring the best pure PG in the league into this, but to answer ur question, if Pau Gasol officially played a center it would be him. Extremely talented big man.

Does his vertical come into play for that ranking? Or is that only for PGs?

[dazzer87]

Divac just pissed that Shaq was the reason why he never won a ring.......

[theaussieguy]

Does his vertical come into play for that ranking? Or is that only for PGs?

vertical only matters for people with a reputation of being good dunkers, makes or breaks that reputation

[24-Inch_Chrome]

Divac just pissed that Bavetta/Bernhardt/Delaney was the reason why he never won a ring.......

FTFY.

[24-Inch_Chrome]

vertical only matters for people with a reputation of being good dunkers, makes or breaks that reputation

Gotcha, just checking to see where that criteria applied. :D

[theaussieguy]

Gotcha, just checking to see where that criteria applied. :D

no worries mate, if you need to know anything else about basketball dont hesitate to ask, im basically a human encyclopedia on that shit

[ralph_i_el]

no worries mate, if you need to know anything else about basketball dont hesitate to ask, im basically a human encyclopedia on that shit
http://media.tab.co.uk/blogs.dir/41/files/2013/04/ft_uncyclopedia-2.jpg
^more like this

[Imtheman]

I guess Shaq's brilliant footwork was due to him being strong. Hm. Weird, for all this time, I thought it was because he was a talented basketball player. Thanks for clearing that up, Vlade.

Also, his comments are a testament to where talent alone gets you. It takes more than that. No one ever denied Boogie's talent level, although Divac is taking it a bit far.
Shaq never had brilliant footwork

[Dro]

Shaq never had brilliant footwork
:wtf:

[HiphopRelated]

Shaq never had brilliant footwork
said someone who never watched Shaq play

[Hotlantadude81]

I've seen Cousins play twice the last week. This dude is talented, but he is not even in the same ****ing ball park as Shaq.

[Timmy D for MVP]

We have a tendency to hyperbolize things occurring now opposed to things in the past because it's a what have you done for me lately type of mentality.

But I've watched a fair amount of Kings, I've seen Boogie in person a couple times, and he IS unreal and almost unfairly talented. It's a shame that he has the other issues and is in a black hole of a franchise.

[bigt]

Shaq never had brilliant footwork

Don't be an idiot, Shaq had great footwork. We're not talking Hakeem level but don't think it was all strength with Shaq. Honestly don't know where Divac is coming at from this, must be the pain of the 2002 playoffs

[NoGunzJustSkillz]

Doesn't Shaq own a small percentage of the Kings? Gonna be awkward when they run into eachother.

[Prime_Shaq]

Hmmm talent doesn't win championships it seems

[Prime_Shaq]

Shaq never had brilliant footwork
:roll: :roll: :roll:

[Meticode]

Divac just being a homer right now. Pay no attention.

[Uncle Drew]

Shaq never had brilliant footwork
Negged.

[Foster5k]

Michael Jordan wasn't talented. He could just jump high. - Divac

[SpecialQue]

If anyone actually in their heart of hearts thinks that Shaq wasn't talented... they should never comment on anything pertaining to basketball ever again.

I'm pretty sure that a guy who frequently played against him has a much more valid opinion than random keyboard ballers on ISH.

[BigNBAfan]

I'm pretty sure that a guy who frequently played against him has a much more valid opinion than random keyboard ballers on ISH.

There's no such thing as more valid - this topic is a matter of opinion as talent can't be objectified.

Sure Divac has experience playing with Shaq, but his opinion about him is biased much like any NBA fan, so don't take anything away from any posters if they feel otherwise.

[SwayDizzle]

I would attribute Shaq's dominance (and he was the MDE) to brute force and incredible strength. There is no denying he was extremely skilled too as he was trained by the all time great centers at an early age. Why was Shaq so successful tho? Because he was a bulldozer with unmatched strength. Divac was a twig compared to Shaq.

[Psileas]

So, he actually believes that Cousins is more talented than Hakeem or Robinson or a healthy Sabonis, all of whom are big men he's seen play?

[Taller than CP3]

Funny Vlade would say that considering Shaq is his boss. He should be careful about what he says, Shaq tends to get really salty, as seen on Inside The NBA.

[oarabbus]

No one's going to spark anything with all the methane in the air in SAC


Methane is flammable........

[NoGunzJustSkillz]

Methane is flammable........
which is why nobody is gonna be sparking anything.

[G-train]

If Shaq was all about size and strength, then Stanley Roberts and Yinka Dare would be all time greats.

[G-train]

So, he actually believes that Cousins is more talented than Hakeem or Robinson or a healthy Sabonis, all of whom are big men he's seen play?

That's not even mentioning Chris Webber, who he saw everyday for years.

[G-train]

I'm pretty sure that a guy who frequently played against him has a much more valid opinion than random keyboard ballers on ISH.

I think NBA players have more than proven over the years that this is not always correct.

[33teeth]

So, he actually believes that Cousins is more talented than Hakeem or Robinson or a healthy Sabonis, all of whom are big men he's seen play?

I think Cousins is more talented than Hakeem and Robinson. I don't think I could say so for Sabonis. Not confidently, anyway.

Keep in mind, wer'e taliking about talent - that excludes maturity, fitness an anything else.

[G-train]

I think Cousins is more talented than Hakeem and Robinson. I don't think I could say so for Sabonis. Not confidently, anyway.

Keep in mind, wer'e taliking about talent - that excludes maturity, fitness an anything else.

I think Cousins is no where near as talented as either. Both were extremely skilled players, and all time greats.

Cousins has done NOTHING but put up numbers on a hopeless team for a couple of seasons.

He isn't at Derrick Coleman or Shawn Kemp level of talent as of yet.