“You can’t miss no games, I don’t give a damn what the reason is, you can’t be disruptive to the team” - Shaquille O'Neal believes the Brooklyn Nets should put stipulations in former NBA champion’s contract

Shaquille O'Neal previously commented that he does not have any idea how the Brooklyn Nets will proceed with Kyrie Irving’s incoming contract negotiations. The seven-time All-Star is eligible to receive a max contract worth close to $250 million for five years if he opts out and becomes a free agent.

On an episode of The Big Podcast with Shaq, Shaquille O'Neal was asked to play GM and do what’s best for the Brooklyn Nets and Irving. Here’s how the Hall-of-Famer big man would frame his proposal to the ultra-skilled point guard:

“My favorite word in dealing with contracts is stipulations. Yeah, you're worth it, but it’s gonna be about 5 to 10 mandatory stipulations. You can’t miss no games, I don’t give a damn what the reason is. You can’t be disruptive to the team.

"you can’t down-talk organizations, you can’t down talk to a coach. You gotta average this many points, gotta make the All-Star team, we have to make the finals.”

Kyrie Irving has only played 103 out of 218 games (47.2%) in three seasons for the Brooklyn Nets. He has also missed numerous games for varied, mind-boggling reasons. Outside of New York City’s vaccination laws that made him ineligible to play at the Barclays Center, he’s left his team just to get a “pause.”

Irving has also dealt with different injuries since signing up for the Nets, which is also a big reason for not playing a full season.

Shaquille O'Neal also contended that putting stipulations on NBA contracts is not something new. He revealed that he previously had conditions that former LA Lakers GM Jerry West asked him to comply with during his stint with the purple and gold.

Shaq believes that the aforementioned stipulations are justifiable and should not be a problem for Kyrie Irving if the latter intends to get the max contract.

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Shaquille O'Neal guarantees two championships in 5 years if he were to receive the kind of money Kyrie Irving could get

Shaquille O'Neal guarantees two championships in five years if he gets Kyrie Irving's max deal. [Photo: Bleacher Report]

Shaquille O'Neal was one of the highest career earners in the NBA. Per Spotrac, O’Neal’s total earnings spread across 19 seasons was $286,344,668, roughly Irving’s purse if he gets the max contract for five years.

When asked what it felt like looking at the dazzling numbers on the table that Kyrie Irving could earn, Shaq had this to say:

“Veterans, old school veterans like me, when we see stuff like this, we get jealous, professional jealous. I’m mad. Guess what? For them numbers, I wouldn’t give you no problems and I would give you 35, 15 and I’m guaranteeing you two championships out of those 5 years. If not, the last year I’ll play for free.”

An argument could easily be made that the max contract Kyrie Irving could get is better suited for a franchise player. Irving miserably failed as a franchise player for the Cleveland Cavaliers without LeBron James and in his short stint with the Boston Celtics. And there’s very little chance he can lead the Nets to an NBA title as the team’s best player.