Shaquille O'Neal: Lakers Front Office Said I'd Be Traded If We Lost 2004 Finals
Shaquille O'Neal requested and was granted a trade from the Los Angeles Lakers in the summer of 2004. Apparently, the seeds for the breakup of O'Neal and Kobe Bryant were sown ahead of the 2004 NBA Finals.
In an appearance onĀ The Odd Couple with Chris Broussard and Rob Parker, the 15-time All-Star said it became clear the Lakers were going to reshuffle the roster if they failed to beat the Detroit Pistons in the Finals.
"Same thing that was going on in this documentary now; same thing that was going on with me," O'Neal said. "It was told to me that if we don't win the series, I'm out of there."
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O'Neal was referencing the documentary series,Ā The Last Dance, which centers on the Chicago Bulls' 1997-98 season as their dynasty drew to a close.
In the series, Phil Jackson recalled Bulls general manager Jerry Krause told him before the season the team wouldn't renew his contract beyond one year, regardless of whether Chicago won a sixth championship.
Whereas one could blame Krause's hubris partially for ending one of the most dominant runs in NBA history, the Lakers were in a somewhat different position when they dealt O'Neal to the Miami Heat.
One frustrating aspect of Chicago's demise is that Jackson, Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen weren't afforded the opportunity to be dethroned. Nobody will know whether the franchise could've pulled off a fourth consecutive title.
The year after winning the third of its three straight titles, Los Angeles lost to the San Antonio Spurs in the second round of the 2003 playoffs. To follow that with a five-game drubbing at the hands of the Pistons in the Finals showed something needed to change.
In particular, O'Neal and Bryant had reached a point where they could no longer play together.
Rumors about O'Neal's unhappinessĀ dated backĀ to at least 2001. Perhaps the comment from upper management before the 2004 Finals was the straw that broke the camel's back, but a breakup was almost certainly inevitable.
