Boston + Shaq = ?

So LeBron is off to Miami, and to further take the Cavaliers apart, Shaq is headed to... Boston? Really? Admittedly, he can still be a problem for opponents in the paint, and he's got the rings to prove he could still be an asset to the team. But there's still a little echo from the past that's been nagging me for years, and makes this idea that much harder to swallow without a bitter after taste.

"The Garden is closed."

Shaq uttered that statement in a post-game interview after the Orlando Magic beat Boston in the first round, bouncing the Celtics from the playoffs, in the last year of the original Boston Garden. No sign of respect for the tradition, the history of professional basketball that had played in that building. Nothing.

I hope the team does well (and can put a little more distance between them and the Lakers for most titles), but it's going to take a lot for me to come back around to being a Shaq fan, even if he is wearing green and white.