Shaquille O'Neal Swats Mo Williams: Boston Celtic Takes Shot at Former Teammate

He's never the one to bite his tongue.

Last week, Shaquille O'Neal made "nasty" comments directed at Cleveland Cavaliers' guard Mo Williams.

O'Neal was at his charity golf tournament in Springfield, L.A, answering questions about his recent signing with the Boston Celtics. He spoke of what attracted him in joining the team, "I like that they play together and nobody really worries about shots" were his words.

This leads us to believe that Shaq was insinuating that maybe his former team didn't play in unison?

Now, Shaq is 38 years old and is known for jumping around different rosters, so his comment couldn't have been directed to any team in particular, let alone any player.

According to New Orleans Picayune, Shaq said: "When I was with Cleveland, guys who couldn't even play were worried about shots. Why was Mo Williams taking 15 shots, and I'm only taking four? If LeBron takes 20 shots, that's cool. So I said, let me get with a good team for the last two years."

This comment can be taken in more ways than one. The question that comes to mind is what did Mo Williams say for Shaq to throw such hostility at him?

Sources report that Williams, who was interviewed at the Cavaliers' youth charity event in Westfield, Ohio, touched again on the regularly criticized decision of LeBron James' announcement in early July: "I want to look back at my legacy and say, I had a great career in Cleveland. I don't want to say I had a great career in Cleveland, Portland, Chicago, and Dallas. You can't have a legacy that way."

We don't know exactly who Williams was referring to, but that probably caused a spark for Shaq to retaliate.

Last season, Shaq had one of his worst rankings and failed to live up to the league's expectations of helping Lebron win a championship. In comparison to Williams' 12.4 field-goal attempts, O'Neal's 8.7 included that he was adjusted for playing time. Also, if it wasn't for O'Neal's poor free-throw shooting, the Cavaliers would've had more time to attempt field-goals. Not only was the addition of O'Neal and Antwoine Jamison supposed to strengthen power for the team, but convince James that he will bring a NBA championship to his hometown.  

In February, Shaq went down with a thumb injury and for the rest of the regular season, his offensive low-post spot moved on with J.J. Hickson, who's quicker and a better replacement. As the Cavaliers went into the playoffs against Chicago and Boston the contests were difficult, resulting in another frustrating season for Lebron and his teammates.

As stated by NBA.com, Cleveland won 66 games in 2008-09, improving by 21 victories in Williams' first season. Last season, with O'Neal, the Cavaliers dropped back to 61 and were out of the playoffs one round sooner.