Shaq Puts Blake Griffin in Elite Group with LeBron, Kobe, K.G. and 10-year-old son Shareef

If you thought Shaq was funny and strange during the season, just wait till the off-season. That's when people forget there's no good reason to listen to him, and lose sight of all the actual players whose comments should matter more. And that's when, like a giant moth just waiting to emerge, O'Neal really busts loose.

From SI.com:

"Every now and then you get that special case," O'Neal told SI.com. "Kobe was that special case, [Kevin] Garnett was that special case, and LeBron James ... And now I actually think this guy Blake Griffin is a special case. He plays the game like a big man should play -- hard-nosed, tough. I really like his game."

Usually, when Shaq says something patently ridiculous about how great another player will one day be, it's totally self-serving. Recall his pumping up (however justified) of Dwyane Wade and Amare Stoudemire. But Blake Griffin? What possible motivation could O'Neal have for laying out such outlandish expectations for the Clippers rookie, aside from the usual desire to make people talk? How about family business:

"My (10 year old) son is starting to play now, and I don't like to let him watch players that are really, really fancy. Of course, I'll let him watch Kobe, LeBron, T-Mac. But I show him Blake Griffin and I say, 'Shareef, this is the dude you should watch and pattern your game after.' Because my son, when he's older, I think he's going to have the same body type -- 6-10, muscular, freakish athletically."

So Blake Griffin will be a perennial All-Star because ... Shaq expects his son to grow up to be like Griffin. Notice, Shaq's son won't grow up to be Shaq. There will never be another Shaq. But he could be like this Griffin guy. And therefore, in a whirl of logic that might leave you cursing or kicking, Shaq must therefore elevate Griffin to the most rarified realm of rookie expectations.

Let's hope, for Blake's sake, this one doesn't stick.

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