Shaq likes DeMarcus Cousins' passion: 'I want my big man to be mean'

In addition to his role as an analyst with TNT, Shaquille O'Neal serves as a minority owner of the Sacramento Kings, and he told Dime Magazine earlier this week that he keeps himself involved in the team's affairs.

"I’m really involved. I talk to them all the time. I’m like a loud silent investor. Every now and then, they’ll consult me on moves. I’m not the main man, but I’m part of the team," O'Neal told Dime.

The Kings, of course, have a polarizing big man of their own in DeMarcus Cousins, and Shaq took some time to discuss the 24-year-old.

Via Dime Magazine:

Dime: What have you been telling DeMarcus Cousins about improving his game?
Shaq: I tell him, ‘be yourself and dominate.’ First of all, if you don’t put numbers up, nobody’s going to look at you. Now that people are looking at you, you have to make them respect you. Sometimes when you do crazy stuff, nobody’s going to like it. But you can’t tame that passion. I want my big man to be mean. I don’t want my big man smiling all the time, so I don’t mind. All the greatest players were angry, and they talked all the time. Charles Barkley, myself, so many others. But we also put up numbers, we were positive and did the right things in the community.

Cousins will get technicals, he’s going to argue with the referees. That’s called passion and you never want to take a guy’s passion away. And not every guy has passion. I know, because I can give you five big guys right now who don’t have passion. I won’t tell you, but you know who they are.

Cousins certainly gets his numbers, as Kings center averaged 22.7 points, 11.7 rebounds, 2.9 assists, 1.5 steals and 1.3 blocks in 2013-14 - his fourth NBA season. However, despite the gaudy personal numbers, the Kings remain near the Western Conference basement and Cousins remains near the top of the technical fouls leaderboard, so the young star still has a reputation as somewhat of an enigma.

Of course, while Cousins does need to do a better job of keeping his emotions in check at key moments, that reputation isn't entirely fair - Kevin Durant and Blake Griffin finished last season tied with Cousins atop that leaderboard with 16 technicals apiece, and Joakim Noah, another emotional big man, finished sixth with 12 technicals to his name.

Noah's emotional outbursts are perceived as passion, while Cousins' only add to his bad boy image. Such is the difference between winning and losing.

Lastly, if Shaq was taking another shot at Dwight Howard - one of his favorite whipping boys - with that line about big men without passion, he might be interested to know that Howard finished fifth in the league with 13 technicals.