This upcoming season, Shaquille O’Neal will be sporting the Celtic green in what could possibly be the final stop of his illustrious career. At first I was skeptical however after giving it some thought, I am very excited about the Big Aristotle joining the Celtics. Numerous thoughts ran thru my head like what about Kendrick Perkins? Will Shaq slow the Celtics down? How will Shaq impact the locker room? But the more and more I think about it the Celtics made a pretty smart gamble on the big man.

Perkins last season at some point lost his confidence and with him not expected to be healthy until the all-star break, I don’t anticipate the Celtics getting much from Perkins next season. Perk will benefit from the arrivals of Shaquille and Jermaine O’Neal with Kevin Garnett in the fold Perk will have over 40 years of NBA experience to learn and grow from.

The one big complaint about Shaq that we heard coming out of Phoenix and Cleveland was that Shaq clogged the lanes. I don’t see this being a problem in Boston for one Shaq and Perkins are so similar in their styles of play that Rajon Rondo is probably used to having Perk clogging up the lane. One big advantage Shaq has over Perkins is, he has better hands, and Perk often times fumbled passes.

Overall I think this is a good move for Boston. On the surface it would appear that there is a logjam at the center position but what are the odds Jermaine and Shaquille O’Neal will be healthy the entire season and Perk is already out for half the season. I also don’t see chemistry being an issue, this Celtics team is very close and I know collectively they won’t allow Shaq to disrupt their locker room and also this won’t be the locker room Shaq is accustomed to as it is filled with future Hall of Famers and All Stars.