After reading Shaquille O'Neal's books recently, and now having him sign a smaller contract, I'm starting to love the big man that I used to hate when he was a Blazer-killing Laker.

But he's not a bad guy. He's smart and funny and has reasonable perspective.

And he just opted out of a $30.6 million one year deal, for a $20-million-dollar-a-year deal. He could have made more on the open market, but opted not to. Now he gets to play out his career on a contender.

Granted, by the time the deal is over--it's for five years and $100 million--as a player O'Neal won't be worth the bag of Italian potato chips he is probably eating right now. (Funny side story, Shaquille O'Neal's in Rome, and team doctors are headed there as we speak to administer the physical that comes with his contract.) But that's beside the point: he could have gotten more.

Is it just me, or have players been getting smarter lately? Ray Allen's innovative deal, Udonis Haslem's sacrifice, and now this. Players are walking the walk of winners in a way that was very rare five years ago.