Interesting thought. Tmac stays in Orl & Kobe in LA, while Shaq moves. Although this is just one of the many rumors floating around..but who knows. I think LA mgmt knows Shaq's on the decline and they want Kobe to hold center stage for the next decade. ----- By CHRIS BROUSSARD Published: May 23, 2004 haquille O'Neal has won three N.B.A. championships with the best swingman on the planet, and a fourth title appears likely. How many could he win with the second-best? If this is indeed the final act of the Los Angeles Lakers' O'Neal-Kobe Bryant dynasty, O'Neal may one day team with his good friend Tracy McGrady in his old digs, Orlando. Although it would take several steps for O'Neal to join the Magic, a person close to McGrady said he and O'Neal talk often about playing together in the future, that is, the 2005-6 season. Both players can opt out of their contracts after next season, and O'Neal has said he would be "highly upset" if Coach Phil Jackson were forced out of Los Angeles. Jackson is in the final year of his five-year, $30 million contract, and negotiations for an extension broke off in February. The rumblings in Los Angeles are that if Bryant, a free agent this summer, remains, Jackson will not. Upset or not, O'Neal will not have much leverage heading into next season, but he could decide to walk in the summer of 2005, when McGrady enters the picture. Magic officials hope McGrady will tell them before the beginning of next season whether he plans to opt out of his contract. He has told them nothing yet, but when asked about his plans late in the season, McGrady grinned deviously, then gave a convoluted answer. "I know exactly what I'm going to do," he said before backtracking a bit. "I don't know; we'll see. I haven't made up my mind yet, but I kind of have an idea of what I want to do." McGrady, who won his second straight scoring title this season, may be waiting to see how the O'Neal-Bryant saga plays out, as well as how Grant Hill's recovery goes. After four ankle operations, Hill is working hard to return next season. But if he is unable to play, his maximum-level salary will come off the Magic's payroll after next season, an Orlando official said. Without the contracts of Hill, Drew Gooden and Andrew DeClercq, who will be free agents after next season, the Magic would have enough room beneath the salary cap to offer O'Neal a sizable free-agent contract, perhaps paving the way for him and McGrady to link up. Though he left Orlando as a free agent in 1996, O'Neal remains fond of the area, where he owns a home. And in McGrady, O'Neal would have a teammate with the ability of Bryant but who would probably happily defer to him. As for now, the Magic is not getting too excited about a reunion with O'Neal. "That's too good to be true," one team official said. As far as McGrady goes, if he tells Orlando that he is leaving after next season, the Magic will immediately begin seeking trade opportunities. After losing O'Neal for nothing in 1996, the team will do anything to avoid the same fate with McGrady. He is one of the few talents worthy of being traded straight up for Bryant, but such a blockbuster deal is not likely to happen. Bryant would have to agree to a sign-and-trade deal, and there is no incentive for him to go to Orlando. Furthermore, the Lakers' general manager, Mitch Kupchak, said they would not trade Bryant under any circumstances, even if it means losing him without getting anything in return. "We're going to do everything we can to re-sign Kobe," Kupchak said. "If he wants to go somewhere else, he'll just have to up and go. If he doesn't want to re-sign with us, he'll have to do what he has to do. But we are not going to trade him." ---- http://www.nytimes.com/2004/05/23/sports/basketball/23HOOP.html
& it looks like Shaq's buying his own ticket out of LA. ---- Shaq won't take less for team's sake Shaq wants money at expense of team By Steve Dilbeck Staff Writer MINNEAPOLIS -- He's the big man, making the big bucks, making big history. He's just not interested in making the big sacrifice. Not the kind that leaves less in his wallet, even if it helps assure the Lakers can surround him with quality players. Shaquille O'Neal is not interested in signing another extension for any less than what he can be paid, which is considerably more than any other player in the NBA. Kevin Garnett is the big man in Minnesota. He was faced with the same situation as Shaq. The last two exceptions to the current collective bargaining agreement, players who could sign for beyond the new designated individual maximum. Garnett signed last fall for considerably less than what he could have. He'll take a $12 million pay cut next season alone and passed up a potential $83 million over the life of his five-year contract. But he did it to leave the Timberwolves room under the salary cap to add other key players. To keep them competitive. Shaq will have none of that, and it threatens the Lakers' future. "I won't be devalued," Shaq said. "Never, ever devalued. I will never take less than what I am worth. "I'm the one that's bringing the players in anyway. And I can bring in players for no money. I've done that before. I've been the general manager of this team for the last two years. "So I don't want to hear that crap about blah-blah-blah, blah-blah-blah. Because I'm the one who's bringing them in. I'm the one making the phone calls." Two cornerstones of their franchises will walk onto the floor tonight for Game 2 of the Western Conference finals, headed toward dramatically different personal paths. Certainly Shaq was key to the Lakers signing Karl Malone and Gary Payton this past offseason. Both spurned millions elsewhere to sign on the cheap with the Lakers, Payton taking the $4.9 million mid-level exception and Malone the $1.5 million exception. But the Lakers got incredibly lucky. Found two All-Star caliber players near the end of their careers who wanted to pursue an elusive championship. It's likely a one-year phenomenon. The Lakers can't count on being able to sign significant players below market value every year. That's not a realistic business plan. And they had to sign for much less because Shaq had taken up so much salary-cap room. He apparently has no problem with someone else signing for less than they're worth. How much money does one man need anyway? Shaq's contract with Orlando was for $40 million. His first contract with the Lakers was for $121 million. His contract extension was for $83 million. That's almost a quarter of a billion dollars, not even counting endorsements. Some countries survive on less. Shaq was already screaming "pay me" to owner Jerry Buss at Hawaii in the preseason, and his extension had yet to kick in. Meanwhile, Garnett signed a five-year extension for $100 million. He left the Timberwolves with options, with a promise of a bright future, with a budget not drained by a single player. "Kevin wants to win," said Timberwolves coach Flip Saunders. "He knew the flexibility with the salary-cap issue would give us the opportunity to keep us surrounding him with quality players and help put us in position to try and win a championship. "It shows he cares about the team, cares about his teammates. It shows he has great loyalty to both the organization and the state and city. It also establishes that we're going to be here for a while at the level we're at." The Timberwolves are a tougher sale to free agents than the Lakers -- frigid Minneapolis is a tougher sell than sunny Los Angeles. They needed him more than the Lakers need Shaq. "I didn't need to break the bank," Garnett said after signing. "Just because you have some leverage, you know? My thing, man, I want to be on a solid team and I like it here. I wanted to show Mac (general manager Kevin McHale) and the organization it's not always about dough." What a concept. Apparently a foreign one to Shaq. Shaq will be making over $30 million in the final year of his contract in 2006. That's over two-thirds of the team's current $44 million salary cap. If he opts out and leaves next summer, the most any team other than the Lakers could sign him for is $15.4 million. And he'll be 34 and nearing the end. This cries out for Shaq to be flexible, but he's having none of it. He remains confident he can continue to draw significant players, willing to sign for less, for the privilege of playing with him. "Of course, I can," Shaq said. "Because everyone wants to play with the Diesel. I make people's game easy. You double- and triple-team me, I'll kick it out to you for a wide, easy shot. I'll add years to your career. If you don't play with me, then you have to do (stuff) on your own. It makes it much harder. "A lot of people don't understand that. But they will if they don't make the right decision." The right decision for Shaq is to put aside ego, be happy with his fortune and leave the Lakers with a bright future. For reference, all he has to do tonight is look across the court.
I read the article yesterday. Shaq wants max of what he can and expects others to grovel for the right to play with him.
Lol, I like the writer's spin on the Garnett contract. Forget that his 6 year, $126 million dollar deal hampered Minnesota's ability to add parts to the roster and was a catalyst for the NBA lockout and subsequent re-evaluation of the maximum player salary. Now he's a saint because he took a pay cut down to $20 million a season.
Karl Malone and Gary Payton must feel great right about now. They sacrifice millions to get a chance at the ring, and here comes Shaq saying all the things he just said. I don’t know why any free agent would ever want to sign with the Lakers again after reading that. Kobe might want to think about asking for a sign and trade, because if the Lakers are going to commit all that money to Shaq, Kobe is going to be stuck their with an out of shape, past his prime center and absolutely nobody else on the team for many years.
I bet shaq has some under the counter deals w/ gary and karl, even if its not for what their contracts were, i bet karls not playing for less than 2 mill this year w/ shaqs help
Probably the only way that Shaq and T-Mac can play on the same team is if T-Mac takes a major pay cut. Won't happen. His value is still sky-high. Shaq won't accept less than a ton, either. If Grant Hill this year finally is found to be unable to play, then his contract would come off the books after this season; but the Magic still would not be able to afford Shaq back in the fold. This article, I think, was written w/o T-Mac's recent "Phoenix or Houston or SA or LAL" statements in mind.
bs. if the magic don't add anymore salary (writer probly didn't take into consideration of the rook contracts as well)... if Hill doesn't play again... if they don't re-sign anyone... if they don't trade for anyone with a larger contract... if Tmac and/or Shaq is willing to take a paycut... if Tmac isn't traded... if Tmac is willing to go through a similar season to this year... if no one else is interested in paying shaq... then maybe, just maybe, in 2 years, Tmac and Shaq would hook up in Orlando. yeah, shore.
Why would they care? Clearly, they themselves don't really care all that much about money. I don't think they are necessarily against people who want money. They knew when they signed with LA, that Shaq commands a large contract.
Instead of showing some gratitude, Shaq is taking them for granted. He’s completely downplaying those two putting aside their ego’s and sacrificing millions by acting like he could get anybody he wants to sign with the Lakers for nothing just so they can play with him.
I would punch Shaq in the face if I were Malone or Payton. He's basically saying that they should play for nothing and thank him for letting them win a championship with him. Man, what an ego maniac. I don't know how anyone can't see it as an insult to his teammates.
Yeah, but can you really say that Shaq's wrong? I mean, would the Lakers be in the same position if they didn't have Shaq? Would Karl or Gary be competing for a title if they were in Utah and Seattle? Shaq makes a good point. It may be insulting to his teammates, it may be classless, but it's a good point.
For the next three years, adding Shaq to any playoff team will make them instant championship contenders, no question. So I guess Shaq does have a RIGHT to say those things, but he is an idiot to say those things out loud. He is going to burn all his bridges and end up like old and lonely one day like another generally disliked Laker center, Kareem.
Hmm, I wouldn't go that far. I'd say.. about 1-2yrs tops. I doubt he'll be able to muster up a good third year, maybe a decent third year as a second or third scoring threat on a team.
Shaq, you are "worth" what your employers competitors are able to offer you. End of story. That said, I love the Diesel.
Yeah, signing a $100 million contract - that'll show 'em it's not about the dough. If you've got that much money it shouldn't need to be about dough.
I personally think it fits with Shaq’s ego. His self-image is so bloated and unrealistically warped that I can see all of those words coming out of that third grade brain of his. Sorry Shaq but you can’t be king of the playground forever you idiot!!
