Meanwhile, Back on the Basketball Court

Shaq, I read that, in response to questions about your contract extension, you said, “If the Lakers want to take care of me, they will.” Correct me if I’m wrong, but haven’t they paid you $200 million already? And I’ve repeatedly heard you say that you haven’t even touched your NBA money yet.

Shaq, please let the Lakers take care of you in other ways. Give them the financial flexibility to consistently put a great team around you. You have the opportunity to be the greatest center in history. Go out winning a bunch of championships. All of us in Southern California, and Lakers fans everywhere, want to see you here and winning, not here and surrounded by a bunch of second-round draft picks who, if you’re lucky, will get you into the playoffs.

Todd Hoskins

Costa Mesa

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Hey, Shaq, glad to see you’re back healthy, ready for the season. Good luck to you and the Lakers. Hope to see you in a Laker uniform for another seven or eight years, and I hope to see you in an L.A. County sheriff’s uniform after your playing days are over. Then you can rightly proclaim you are overworked and underpaid.

Michael Rubino

San Pedro