Smush Parker says Shaq got him a deal with the Heat after sharing Kobe Bryant stories: "The very next day, my agent had a two-year contract"
After his two-year run with the Los Angeles Lakers was over, Smush Parker ended up playing for the Miami Heat.
However, Parker's solid performance in Tinseltown wasn't the reason why the Heat inked him to a two-year $4.7 million deal. According to Smush, Shaquille O'Neal was the one who got him a gig in Miami after the two exchanged stories about playing with Kobe Bryant.
"He asked me where I was playing at next, and I said, 'I'm a free agent, still hopping around," Parker said in an interview with Pablo Torre. "And he makes a phone call. Long story short, the very next day, my agent had a two-year contract with the Miami Heat, guaranteed this time. My first guaranteed contract out of the six-year career that I had in the NBA."
Kobe feuds
Parker told Torre about going to the 40/40 club in New York to watch a Roy Jones fight. He bumped into Shaq, and they ended up watching the event in the same VIP room.
While at the club, Smush said that he and O'Neal compared their Lakers experiences before realizing that they shared something in common.
Shaq's nasty quarrel with "The Black Mamba" led to his move to Miami. Meanwhile, Parker claimed he and Bryant never talked. Smush ended up calling his Kobe experience overrated, and that later snowballed into a public feud.
"The man never spoke to me," Parker said. "I wasn't the 12th man on the bench. I wasn't the call-up from the G League who was there to fill up a roster spot. I started with this man; I was his co-worker like we shared a cubicle side-by-side. How do you do that for two seasons and never hold a conversation?"
Did Shaq really help Parker get a Heat contract?
Shaquille making a phone call and Parker getting a contract with the Heat might have been just a coincidence. The only decision-maker for the Heat is Pat Riley, and it's unlikely that "The Godfather" would sign a player just because Shaq said so.
Also, Parker said he came to the club to watch a Roy Jones fight and got a Heat contract the day after. Well, Smush signed with the Heat on July 26, 2007. Meanwhile, Jones fought once in 2007, on July 14, against Anthony Hanshaw for the vacant IBC light heavyweight championship.
When the Heat signed the 6'4" guard, they probably needed backcourt depth with Jason Williams' injury issues. That said, Parker played decent basketball on a playoff team while starting with Kobe in Los Angeles. But then again, maybe Shaq just wanted to annoy Bryant by proving he could win with someone he described as "the worst."
