O'Neal eager to prove critics wrong after trade to Suns

PHOENIX -- Shaquille O'Neal had strong words for those who doubt he can fit in with the Phoenix Suns.

"I'm very upset," he said Thursday at a news conference to introduce him as a member of his new team. "You just don't really want to get me upset. When I'm upset, I'm known to do certain things -- like win championships."

O'Neal, once the game's dominant big man but now slowed by a hip injury, said he is motivated by the negative talk.

"This team has always been there in the Western Conference," he said. "They just couldn't quite get over the hump. I think with my experience and my on the court-off the court leadership, I can help them get over the hump."

Asked what he felt when he heard he could be going to Phoenix, O'Neal said, "I wanted it to happen because I was going to be coming to a fabulous team with a lot of unselfish players, a lot of great players."

He said people are "going to be very surprised" about his role in a Suns running game orchestrated by Steve Nash.

"The last couple of years I was in a system that we really didn't run, so you automatically think I can't run," he said. "But I love to run, especially if I'm playing with a great guy like Steve Nash. I look forward to making people eat their words, I really do."

O'Neal, who turns 36 next month, has been out for two weeks with a hip injury but cleared his physical Wednesday and hopes to play before the All-Star break.

O'Neal was his charming self throughout the news conference. Asked if he knew he looked good in purple, he smiled and said, "I did. Thank you very much."

On Wednesday night, he was also smiling. He stood from his seat in a suite high above the court at US Airways Center. He pointed to his ring finger and gave a thumbs up.

The crowd went crazy. The message he was sending on the big screen at the Phoenix-New Orleans game was clear: He intends to bring to Phoenix the championship that has eluded the Suns through their 40-year history.

The trade that brought O'Neal to Phoenix on Wednesday is one of the most unexpected in NBA history, a blockbuster that sent Shawn Marion and Marcus Banks to Miami and came together in just a few days under first-year Phoenix general manager Steve Kerr.

The criticism has been widespread from fans to talk radio hosts to newspaper columnists. All claimed that Phoenix had acquired a once-great big man far past his prime, a 7-foot-1, 325-pound Goliath who would stifle the Suns' trademark up-tempo game.

And the Suns were taking on a contract that pays O'Neal $20 million each of the next two seasons.

Yet coach Mike D'Antoni and the Suns players said they were elated, that they believe O'Neal will be reinvigorated by the move and become a crucial component of their title run.

"We feel like our players are giddy with the possibilities," D'Antoni said, "and he's ready and focused. It's up to the coaching staff to do the tweaks without changing everything, and I don't think we have to."

Nash was "shocked" by the trade. He is well aware of questions concerning O'Neal's health.

"There's doubts and a risk to everything," Nash said. "I know that's going to be a favorite talking point for all the media, but for us the talking point is we've got an incredible, huge, talented, charismatic player in our locker room now. ... This sounds like it's going to be a lot of fun."