"Benedict Arnold" comments no shock from Shaq

I won't say "I told you so" ... eh, okay, I will.

Shaq and his former coach Phil Jackson are now in what appears to be a war of words through the media. Phil essentially said Shaq wasn't a hard worker, and the future Hall of Fame center called his nine-time champion coach Benedict Arnold.

Now, ESPN reported that Shaq didn't elaborate on his "Benedict Arnold" comments, but you don't have to be a genius to figure this out.

In April 2005, I wrote about how if Jackson returned to the Lakers, no one should be more upset than Shaq.

Why? Well think about it.

Shaq demanded a trade because: A) he couldn't get along with Kobe, and B) Phil and Jerry Buss "mutually agreed" that his coaching tenure in LA was over. A year later, Phil - who called Kobe one of the most difficult players to coach in his book "The Last Season" - returned to the Lakers to coach the superstar.

Think about how good the Lakers would still be if Shaq and Kobe could have worked things out and if Phil had never left. It wouldn't have been Miami hoisting that trophy last June; it would have been #4 for the new showtime Lakers.

Instead, Kobe and Phil must help rebuild the franchise while Shaq and his new buddy, D-Wade, start their own winning tradition in South Florida.

Good for the Big Aristotle. He got burned when Phil returned to LA and agreed to work things out with Kobe.

Who do you think can help the Lakers win more games? Kwame Brown or Shaq?