Despite the fact that he's played for no less than six NBA teams throughout his 19-year career, there's no denying that Shaquille O'Neal's loyalty will always lie with his beloved Los Angeles Lakers. Nevertheless, Shaq is the type who always calls a spade a spade, and unsurprisingly, he had some brutally honest truth to share with LeBron James and Co. ahead of the new season.

According to Shaq, there's a simple recipe for success for the Lakers — one that requires a handful of key factors that must all fall into place (via Bill Difilippo of Uproxx):

“Yes, LeBron and [Anthony Davis] stay healthy, they’ll be okay,” he said. “But in order to be championship quality, they need to pieces around them. Pat Beverley is a good piece, he’s a defensive piece. Russ, I don’t know what he’s gonna do, I don’t know how they’re going to use him. But they need some dogs like Beverley, they need some rebounders, and they need some shooters. That’s all you need. It’s not rocket science. You need a floor leader, someone that’s gonna dominate consistently, every night, you need a knockdown shooter, and you need a guy that’s gonna ruffle some feathers. That’s it. That’s how you win a championship.”

If you put it that way, it does sound like it's quite simple. You also have to note that Shaq is a four-time NBA champ, so he definitely knows what he's talking about here.

Shaq clearly likes the addition of Patrick Beverley, though. He knows that the Lakers need “dogs” on their squad, and Pat Bev seems to be a perfect fit for this requirement.

The same cannot be said about O'Neal's feelings for Westbrook. He appears to be the wildcard in Shaq's equation and based on what we've seen last season, finding Russ' best fit for the Lakers is anything but a simple task.