“‘I’m gonna trade him and it won’t matter to you because you’re not coming back’” - Jeanie Buss says her father had a stern conversation with Phil Jackson over trading Shaquille O’Neal
LA Lakers president Jeanie Buss recently shared the story of how her father decided to trade Shaquille O’Neal. Buss explained how the conversation between her father and then head coach Phil Jackson went down.
O'Neal was one of the best players in the NBA. In 19 years, Shaq won four championship rings, two scoring titles, an MVP award, among many other accolades.
Despite being a dominant center who impacted the game on both ends of the floor, O'Neal was traded a couple of times during his career. His first trade took place in 2004, when the LA Lakers sent him to the Miami Heat. The late Jerry Buss, who ran the team in 2004, also decided to get rid of Phil Jackson.
Jeanie Buss was a recent guest on SiriusXM NBA Radio, where she was asked about the one thing that she wished the Lakers didn't do.
"When Shaq got traded, that was really hard. ... My dad made the decision, he couldn't pay Shaq the money that Shaq could earn under the collective bargaining agreement. And a trade was coming up.
"So it's the end of the season and Phil [Jackson] went to meet with my dad. ... Phil went in and said, 'You can't trade Shaq, he's the most dominant player in the league.' And my dad said, 'I'm gonna trade him, but it won't matter to me because you're not coming back as a coach either.'"
Shaquille O’Neal was traded when the Lakers were falling apart
The LA Lakers, led by Shaq and Kobe Bryant, won three championships in a row in the early 2000s. They were knocked out in the second round in 2003, and a year later, they lost to the Detroit Pistons in the NBA Finals.
The Lakers dealt with a lot of issues that season, so it's not surprising that they lost. The front office decided to trade Shaquille O’Neal to the Miami Heat and fire Phil Jackson.
Also Checkout:- Shaquille O’Neal Net Worth
Want to hear how the conversation about trading Shaq went between Dr. Jerry Buss and Phil Jackson? Jeanie Buss fills us in ⬇️
Hear more Lakers stories like this in Legacy: The True Story of the LA Lakers on @Hulu
@JeanieBuss | @JumpShot8 | @DarthAmin https://t.co/fzvV7qTGeE
Without O'Neal and Jackson, the Lakers went 34-48, missing the playoffs for the first time in 11 years.
The Lakers re-hired Jackson in 2005. From 2008 to 2010, the team made three more NBA Finals appearances, going 2-1.
While the LA Lakers struggled to assemble a competitive team, Shaquille O’Neal became one of the most important players on the Miami Heat.
During his first year in Miami, the Heat lost in the conference finals. But they won it all in his second year. Led by Dwyane Wade, the Heat beat the Dallas Mavericks in six games, winning their first-ever championship.
Unfortunately, Shaquille O’Neal did not get along well with Pat Riley, the team's president. He was shipped to the Phoenix Suns less than three years after moving to South Beach.