Shaquille O’Neal planning to bring an NBA franchise to Newark, New Jersey – NBA Update
After retiring from NBA as a player early in the off season, former Los Angeles Lakers centre Shaquille O’Neal joined Turner Network Television (TNT) as an analyst. However, as the league has been locked out for some time now, O’Neal hasn’t had much to talk about the game of late.
However Shaq doesn’t like it that way and recently he decided to do something about it. While giving an interview to the New York Times, Shaq disclosed his desire to own an NBA team and bring a franchise to Newark, New Jersey.
“Yes. And I’m looking forward to bringing a team to Newark. I haven’t spoken to Mayor Booker about it yet, but I’m working on it. I know Newark can support an NBA team.” O’Neal said.
Shaq was born and brought up in Newark and this long time association has encouraged him to bring an NBA team in the city, which will soon part ways with the New Jersey Nets. The Nets are moving to Brooklyn after the next season and the completion of their new arena is in its last stages.
The average attendance for the New Jersey Nets last season was 14,179, which is almost 80 percent of the building capacity. On the paper, Newark doesn’t give a strong market outlook as compared to some of the other teams in the league; however the involvement of Shaq might change things.
The four-time NBA Champion is fully confident that Newark can support an NBA franchise and the big man is has started working to bring his plan to reality.
However, this is not the only thing Shaq is looking forward. Never the one to back away from a challenge, the big man is relishing the prospect of working with Charles Barkley on TNT. The two centres are downright outspoken and have also had a bit of a history. When asked about the mouth watering prospect, Shaq was adamant; he was going to have the edge;
“I’m going to get all the airtime. I’m going to handle him like I’ve always handled him. I’m going to knock him out if I have to.”
Tags: