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After the Los Angeles Lakers won three straight NBA titles with the dynamic one-two punch of superstars Shaquille O’Neal and Kobe Bryant, things got a bit heated between these two players, forcing then-owner Dr. Jerry Buss to make a decision on which player he was going to part ways with.
With O’Neal being older and potentially nearing the end of his prime years in the league, Buss traded O’Neal, shipping him off to the Miami Heat in a blockbuster trade that brought Lamar Odom and Caron Butler back to Los Angeles, among other pieces.
This blockbuster trade sent shockwaves throughout the NBA, with the Lakers dynasty ending, and there was no telling what the future held for Los Angeles and Miami.
Ultimately, Miami went on to win it all in 2006, which was a bit of a revenge moment for O’Neal, but it could’ve gone much differently, with the four-time NBA champion telling fellow Hall of Famer Dirk Nowitzki that he was trying to get traded to the Dallas Mavericks instead of Miami via The Big Podcast with Shaq.
“I tried to get to Dallas many times,” O’Neal said. “Me and Mark Cuban were working behind the scenes.”
“I tried to get to Dallas many times. Me and Mark Cuban were working behind the scenes.”
– Shaq on trying to get traded to the Mavs
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— The Big Podcast (@bigpodwithshaq) June 5, 2024
Obviously, Dr. Buss didn’t want to face O’Neal in the NBA playoffs, nor did he want his former superstar center to dominate the competition alongside Nowitzki, who was in his prime in Dallas.
The smart move was to get O’Neal as far away from the Lakers as possible, and Miami fit the bill, even though the Heat went on to win a title before the Lakers got back to their winning ways in 2009.
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