Posted on 07/10/2004 7:27:33 PM PDT by Pikamax
Saturday, July 10, 2004 Center is excited about Wade, Riley
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ESPN.com news services
Warm weather. Smaller centers. A star guard. Pat Riley. Life in South Florida sounds mighty nice to Shaq.
A source told ESPN's David Aldridge Saturday that the Lakers center has agreed to accept a proposed trade that would send him to the Miami Heat in exchange for guard Caron Butler and forwards Lamar Odom and Brian Grant.
The trade has not been finalized, but O'Neal has informed both the Lakers and Heat that he will not do anything to hinder the swap and would not opt out of his contract after next season.
The Lakers may be forced to take this proposal, as there are no other prospective deals on which O'Neal has signed off.
Dallas was the early front-runner to acquire O'Neal, but a Mavericks source seemed resigned Saturday to O'Neal's going to Miami. The source said that if the Heat can work out a contract extension for O'Neal when his current deal expires in two years, there is nothing the Mavs can do to thwart the trade.
Miami is one of five cities that O'Neal has told the Lakers would be acceptable to him.
O'Neal apparently agreed to accept the trade after spending part of Saturday morning in Orlando meeting with Heat president Pat Riley and general manager Randy Pfund. Riley, Pfund and O'Neal's representatives met for three hours. O'Neal was not present for the entire meeting, but hit it off immediately with Riley.
"He feels this is the environment he wants," a source who was at the meeting said of O'Neal. Riley "was really good about understanding what Shaquille wanted to accomplish," the source said. "He was a great listener."
According to the source, O'Neal likes how Riley used Kareem Abdul-Jabbar later in Abdul-Jabbar's career and believes a return to the Eastern Conference, with its relative lack of big men, will help extend his career. O'Neal also was excited about the prospect of playing with second-year guard Dwyane Wade, who he feels is a special player.
"You don't have to go back too far to see a guard and Shaquille being able to do some damage, even with role players surrounding them," the source said, referring to O'Neal's early years in the league with Orlando, when he and Penny Hardaway helped lead the Magic to the Finals in 1995.
O'Neal will remain in Orlando until the deal is finalized.
On Friday night, ESPN's Jim Gray reported that the Lakers had OK'd their end of the deal and the decision to make the trade, including either Butler or a first-round pick, was now in the Heat's hands. The Riverside (Calif.) Press-Enterprise had reported Thursday on the initial talks between the teams.
Nooooooo!
...in exchange for guard Caron Butler and forwards Lamar Odom and Brian Grant...
In other words, in exchange for NOTHING.
When Lakers management made it clear they valued Kobe over Shaq, I decided after 40 years I would no longer be a Lakers Fan. I will give the Clippers a try. I can't love the Lakers under the current circumstances.
Are the NBA playoffs finally over?
Not necessarily. Lamar Odom is a very good power forward who is definitely an upgrade over Karl Malone, Brian Grant plays at center but is really another power forward, and Butler is a good prospect but plays the same position as Kobe and probably will come off the bench next season.
Seems he found the grass is not always greener, but I lost all respect for him. He is a nothing.
Becki
The biggest loser: Dallas.
Next year's NBA final, Van Gundy at Houston (Yao) vs. Van Gundy at Miami (Shaq).
Dallas blew any chance they had of signing O'Neal when they didn't re-sign Steve Nash, letting him go to the Suns for nothing. Mark Cuban essentially blew up his own team.
Nope - the path for the T-Wolves is now clear (as long as Troy Hudson and Trent Hassell are re-signed). McGrady got eaten up by the Hassell/Garnett combo last year.
Buss is dumping Shaq for exactly the same reason. If they lose Kobe to the Clippers, I look for there to be a huge amount of cap room available to lure the best players in the game to L.A. with in the next few years. Look for someone like LeBron, Yao Ming, or Kevin Garnette in a Laker uniform in the near future. They got Jabbar the same way.
The trade is to Miami not Orlando.
This gets him closer to home to play out his last few years without taking a pay cut !
Kobe is entertainment in is acobatics and he fills the Staple center, therfore he stays and Shaq goes.
I like shaq and think Kobe is a punk though.
Good morning!
True, but my point was that the only team he would play for was the Lakers. That was the only real team in his mind.
Now he refuses to play for the Lakers and is dictating which teams he will accept a trade to.
He is an oversized cry-baby.
Becki
I disagree, I think Nash at 31 is near the end of his career. Point guards (with the exception of John Stockton) have a history of breaking down right around the age of 32. The Mavs have got two good young point guards that will be even better than Nash, especially on defense. I don't know what Coangelo was smoking when he gave Nash a six-year deal.
If I were Mark Cuban, I would have thought long and hard about it. Dirk is a stud hoss and it would have been a tough decision. But from where I sit, O'Neal was the Mav's last best hope for a title, and he could have carried even a Nowitski-less Mavericks team on his broad back to the promised land. As it stands now, they've still got Dirk and the overrated Michael Finley but no Nash and no Shaq. Therefore, no hardware.
Cuban made the wrong call on this one. The Mavs won't even make it to the playoffs next year and for some years to come.
As an individual player, I agree and would have generously figured him for 2, maybe even 3 more years of productive play. As a part of a new Shaq/Dirk/Nash triumvirate, he could have helped bring at least a pair of titles to the Mavs during that time. Its the combination, not the player by himself.
Good Afternoon! OK...I don't see him as much of a crybaby as you do...he is reacting to changing conditions at the Lakers. I find it very unfortunate that current practices in the NBA, MLB and NFL do not allow you to root for your home/favorite team anymore...they change personnel so much every year!! My beloved Oakland A's are like a Farm Team for the rich Yankees!
I don't see it that way. Cuban let himself get whipsawed, first by the Suns' stealing Nash out from under him, then by the Heat recognizing O'Neal's franchise status and doing what it took to get him. And while I've never thought of Mark Cuban as a hapless victim, he got two major professional wedgies administered to him this year.
If the Mavs were to include Dirk in a deal for Shaq, they would have also had to throw in Howard and probably Walker.
I think they could have gotten it done for Laettner, Stackhouse, maybe Howard, and some cash in addition to Nowitzski. Remember, O'Neal was the prime mover when it came to this trade - he was motivated not to be in LA any more and the Lakers had to deal him. If Cuban hadn't gotten rid of Nash, he would have had O'Neal, Nash, an already-admittedly overrated Finley, AND possibly even the aforementioned Howard and Walker around which to build a team. As I mentioned before, I concede that Nowitzski is a great player. But he's hardly in Shaq's class.
Shaq and an overrated Finley, no Nash, and no Dirk means no hardware.
You're right, at least when it comes to Nash. Cuban screwed up badly when he let Nash go for not even a bag of used jockstraps. He threw a third of his talent in the trash can for nothing - isn't a championship worth $10 million and an option year that Nash would never had seen anyway?
The Mavs with Shaq and without Dirk would have sucked with no depth and a bunch of unproven players or overpaid spares filling out the rest of the roster.
Finley is "unproven?" Nash is "unproven?" Wow.
At least now the Mavs have something to build around in Dirk, Daniels, Howard and Harris. Along with the Russian and the huge beast from Africa, they something to start with.
I don't know that much about Daniels and Harris, so I'll concede the point on them. But the Mavericks have been "starting" for going on 15 years now while the Spurs and Lakers of the world beat them like a rented mule in the playoffs. They were a very good second-echelon team last year but have dropped to third echelon at best due to Cuban's boners this year. As the caption on the cartoon with the two buzzards reads, "Patience my a** - I'm gonna KILL something!"
Having O'Neal would have meant a championship or two now, and if you'll remember, Nowitzski was a project to begin with (a big, gawky white European guy who happened to pay off handsomely for the Mavericks).
Signing Nash to that insane contract would have been stupid and trading Dirk to get Shaq would have been stupid.
"Insane" contract? Cuban's initial offer to Nash was 5 years and $51 million. The extra option year and the extra ten mil the Suns offered don't seem that "insane" to me, especially when they get a player that fills a lot of their needs for them.
With Shaq, Nash, and Finley on the team, my sainted granny could have coached the Mavericks to an NBA title.
I agree with you on both counts.
I don't hold it against Shaq what he said when he arrived in Los Angeles. And when they went through an overhall after being embarrassed by the Pistons, they basically gave him the cold shoulder. I don't want to make it sound like he's a victim, but I don't blame him for wanting out.
As for baseball, yeah, it's tough the way it is. I'm not a fan of, say, the old reserve clause, but the wild spending that makes it hell for the small market teams to keep their best players is often a shame.
And I say that as a Red Sox fan, so I'm on the opposite side of the spectrum in regards to the spending ability of my team.
You obviously know very little about the NBA if you think Odom, Bulter and Grant are "nothing."
Who cares the NBA is worthless. It is boring! Who really watches?
It's hard to miss from 6 inches away.
Yep. They could've got Shaq for Nash, Nowitzki plus one more salary-eating stiff. Losing Nash for nothing made that equation into Shaq for Nowitzki + a stiff.
They could've been a contender...
I love the NBA.
A lot of people watch it, becuase it's a great game played by the best athletes on earth. If they didn't watch, they couldn't afford to pay all these high salaries.
Miami Is Back In PrimeTime!!Baby!!The Diesel!!!
My dad hates the trade, I like it.
Time will tell.
I can't believe it,until I see him in Uniform.
Funny I couldn't stand the Guy.
But now I feel he is going to be in great shape for
2004,and is going to be psyched for the season.
I've always liked Shaq.
After the season ended I thought to myself "Wow wouldn't it be nice if we could make a trade for him," but at the time I figured we'd have to give up Wade, and I knew that wasn't happening.
FYI I saw Shaq today at Bangor International Airport...I catered his plane. I've got to say, this is the most interesting job I've ever had...in two weeks I've met Tiger Woods, the Deputy Prime Minister of Ireland, Benny Hinn (What a nutjob...) and the SHAQ.
TROLL!
Just kidding...
There was an article on ESPN.com today in which Shaq stated he was going to spend huge amounts of time doing cardio work in the off season. Did he look any thinner yet?
He looked solid, but not thinner
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