"I'm a Ben Roethlisberger fan," Shaq said.

Of course, it doesn't hurt to be 7-foot, 350 pounds and a pal of LeBron James. Chances are pretty good Shaq won't get accosted on the streets.

Still, O'Neal doesn't seem to let any doubt or insecurity rot inside of him. So if you believe for one second he buys into the idea that the Suns (14-4) are winning this year because they got rid of him, well, just listen to the man.

"I only take advice from experts," Shaq told the East Valley Tribune after Cleveland's shootaround Wednesday morning. "There are only two experts in the game today. That's Tim Duncan and myself. He has four rings, I have four rings.

"I've been around for a long time. I know what works. ... It doesn't matter what the so-called experts say because I'm the expert. I've been there and done that."

O'Neal, it should be noted, holds no bitterness toward the Suns . He welcomed the off-season trade to Cleveland and an opportunity to win a fifth title. He also praised general manager Steve Kerr for the way he handled the deal.

"Steve was very honest and up front," O'Neal said. "I actually knew I was being traded before everyone else. That's the first time that's happened in my career . . . It's Basketball but at the end of the day it's about business. He's one of the most honest businessmen I've ever dealt with."

O'Neal resolutely believes, however, that the Suns could have been just as successful had he stayed. Their 46-36 record last season and failure to make the playoffs, he said, was more about the turmoil caused by the coaching changes and the eye injury that cost Amar'e Stoudemire the final 29 games of the season.

"Of course it could have worked if everybody was healthy like they are now," he said. "But I don't believe in ifs. What's done is done."

And the notion that O'Neal and Steve Nash were a bad fit together because Nash needed space to operate and Shaq took up more space than any player in the league?

(Not to mention the trouble they had defending the pick-and-roll).

A bunch of malarkey, O'Neal insisted.

"Every big on a championship team has a one-two punch," he said. "Last year it was too much for us with all the other stuff and it didn't go well with coach (Terry Porter). We never really got to click.

"I've been in the league 17 years," he added. "My way has been proven."

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(c) 2009, East Valley Tribune (Mesa, Arizona)

Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services.

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