jeff played it right
Van Gundy probably signed Oakley in order to have a sub to take up space and help out on D when dealing with the likes of Shaq. So far Yao has shown that he is one of the best big men in the game right now, Period. However, when you have an oversized, player like shaq, you need some backups with size if you want to compete. As for Van Gundy, he managed to do something right, as he left a knick team that was plagued with inconsistency and internal drama that stood with the likes of Rodman, and ended up a couple years later on a rockets team that looks like they have a much more realistic chance to compete for the championship. It was messed up how he left the knicks in the middle of the season, hurting the fans more than everyone but atleast he found a team that can be stable with his game plan, and allowed the knicks to better develop their team with a new game plan. Of all else, maybe all NBA fans (minus the laker fans) will get lucky and Oakley will deliver the kind of abuse to shaq that has made him an intimidator down low in the past. Maybe Oakley is looking for the championship that he was never able to get as a knick.