Normally one never to fray away from the controversy, from confrontation and from justification, Shaq shamelessly sold himself out on ESPN during an interview with long time friend and sparring partner Stephen A Smith.

Shaq’s new book promises to be one of the highest selling sportsman autobiographies in American history, mostly because it is basically a several hundred page tabloid magazine which gives an unedited look into the lives of some of America’s highest profile athletes.

A few excerpts have been leaked over the past month, most notably involving LeBron James and Kobe Bryant.

Shaq appeared on Sportscenter to respond to the claims he made in the book, and we were expecting another great Shaq moment.

“Even though we had media friction, if you look at another clip that you just showed, when I won my first championship, who jumped in my arms? The second championship, who was on stage laughing at me and Mark Madsen? In the third championship, who hung out and partied together? … We haven’t played together in 10 years, you guys are still talking about it. Twenty years from now, you guys are still going to be talking.

I left because I was traded. Being the businessman, they offered me money, and I thought I deserved more. Being the type of player I was, I knew there was always going to be other teams that wanted me. I made the business decision. I went to Miami, had a great time, and then, toward the end of my career, I went to two or three other teams. But it’s all business, Stephen. Nothing personal.”

That was obviously in response to the claims he has made against Bryant both in the book and ever since their ugly separation nearly 10 years ago. He then continued to decrease book sales as the conversation moved into the subject of LeBron James.

“Basically I was just saying that Delonte was a no-nonsense type of guy. He felt at that time that Mke Brown should be talking to everybody the same way, and everybody has different styles on what they do.”

Shaq seems to have been neutered since he retired.

I guess Bob Barker finally got to him.

Whilst the line about Delonte West is more than likely true, considering he left for Boston not long after their 2009 playoffs failure, it’s really surprising to see Shaq on the defensive like this.

If he truly felt that way about Bryant why would he have made all those blatantly obvious comments, constantly been a contributor to the friction between the two each time they meet and sung all those god awful rap songs dissing Bryant. All the nonsensical drama that has come out of his mouth since he was infamously kicked out of the Lakers at the hands of Bryant and the management, and he tries to cover it up saying it was merely a contract disagreement.

Give us a little more respect, and where has the real Shaq gone?

Perhaps he was worried about making such statements on the international spectre that is Sportscenter, especially considering he is a member of TNT’s NBA crew now. But you still wouldn’t think that would have been enough to muzzle the man of a million (mostly self proclaimed) nicknames.

Don’t get me wrong, I love Shaq. He is one of the most entertaining, dominating and real sportsman out there. But the responses he offered to statements he made were anything but the three superlatives I just labelled him with.

I think it’s fair to say this interview has cost him a fair few book sales.

A few weeks ago, I wrote a Should I Stay or Should I Go? segment that summed up all of my arguments for the King continuing his reign over Cleveland.  He likes the attention that comes with being coveted by nearly every team in the league; therefore, it would be foolish of him to fess up and say, “Ah, I was never going anywhere. I’m staying home” now.  He’d be a fool to turn down all the free dinners and trips around the world to speak with the league’s top executives.  I understand that.

But the fact remains, LeBron James will remain in Cleveland this offseason.  He may have never attended a college or university but the guy is an extremely bright individual.  He knows what is best for him and his family.  He knows what’s best for his brand.  And he knows what’s best for his career.  That is staying with Cleveland.

Now, since we’ve been taking it easy this offseason as I’ve tried not to get too caught up with all the drama, let’s recap the few moves Cleveland has made this offseason:

Mike Brown is Fired

Brown was let go after failing to advance to the NBA Finals this season simply because he did not make adjustments when the season was on the line.  He beat his head against a brick wall – also known as Doc Rivers – and came out a loser on every account. 

Danny Ferry Resigns as General Manager

It is rumored that Ferry was looking for the same amount of power as he was given when he first signed a contract with Dan Gilbert and the Cleveland Cavaliers.  With the uncertainty surrounding LeBron and the Cleveland coaching staff, Gilbert was unwilling to hand over the keys to his franchise.  Ferry wasn’t happy.  So he quit.

Tom Izzo is Heavily Recruited, Rejects Cavs Offer

After taking a long look at the Cleveland Cavaliers’ offer sheet, Tom Izzo rejects the Cavaliers offer that would have doubled his salary at Michigan State.  Prior to Cleveland, the Chicago Bulls are said to have made an offer at the Spartan coach – which was also rejected – so it may have had some correlation to LeBron’s interests.

Cleveland Turns Coaching Pursuit to Byron Scott

Dan Gilbert sets his sights on Byron Scott to be the new Cavaliers coach.  Scott will likely wait until the Lakers and Clippers fill their coaching vacancies before making a final commitment but his style of offense would certainly be a great fit for a player like LeBron James.  The only downside is that his offense has been run through an extremely talented point guard in the past – not Mo Williams.

**I don’t mean that as a bash on Mo Williams.  He’s just a score-first kind of point guard in comparison to Jason Kidd and Chris Paul, who were both very successful with Byron Scott.

Cleveland Does Not Hold a 2010 Draft Pick

Though the Cavaliers do not have a 2010 draft pick, they did send a recruit to the workouts.  That leads me to believe that they are looking to make a move through which they can acquire either a solid, young point guard or a young, talented big man.  My vote is for Chas MacFarland of Wake Forest – he kind of reminds me of Zydrunas Ilgauskas and Anderson Varejao mixed together.  He’s a strong physical defender but he can step out and knock down a jump shot or two.  But, of course, that all depends on how high of a pick they can acquire.