[情報] Shaq is open to Miami

[garship (一抹長紅照顏色)]

作者: hbryant (期待晴天) 看板: Lakers
標題: Shaq says he's open to Miami
時間: Sun Jul 11 13:45:36 2004

Center is excited about Wade, Riley

ESPN.com  Saturday, July 10, 2004
http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=1837581

Warm weather. Smaller centers. A star guard. Pat Riley.
Life in South Florida sounds mighty nice to Shaquille O'Neal.

The much talked-about blockbuster trade between the Lakers
and Heat involving the NBA's most dominant force has become
all but a reality.

"I can confirm that all the parties have agreed to the deal"
O'Neal's agent, Perry Rogers, told the Washington Post in a
telephone interview Saturday night. "It's all pending [league]
approval, but I can say everything has been agreed to."

As first reported by ESPN's David Aldridge on Saturday, O'Neal
had agreed to accept a proposed trade that would send him to
Miami in exchange for guard Caron Butler, forwards Lamar Odom
and Brian Grant and a future draft pick, reported by the Miami
Herald on Saturday night as a first-rounder in 2006 or later.

The deal cannot be completed until Wednesday when a two-week
leaguewide moratorium on trades and free agent signings expires.

"It's very serious. I think it's very close to getting done,"
said Grant's agent, Mark Bartelstein.

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.

Rogers said the Heat had not discussed a new contract with O'Neal.

"No extension was agreed upon. That was never a condition for
Shaquille," Rogers told the Associated Press. "He wanted to go
to an environment that was a team environment. We feel confident
that that's what Pat Riley and [Heat owner] Micky Arison have
created as a culture. This is the type of place that Shaquille
would love to finish his career.''

Miami is one of five cities that O'Neal has told the Lakers would
be acceptable to him.

Despite O'Neal's smiling denial to The Associated Press on Saturday
afternoon that he had met with Heat president Pat Riley, sources
told Aldridge that O'Neal apparently agreed to accept the trade
after spending part of Saturday morning in Orlando meeting with
Riley and Miami general manager Randy Pfund.

Apparently, 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."

"That was critical for us," Rogers told the Miami Herald about
discussions with Heat management about the team's culture. "This
was always about Shaquille getting to a city that had a team-based
culture and not of a specifc player. And, two, was determined to
win and three was a city that he loved. That leaves a short list
[of teams], so we're ecstatic."

According to Aldridge's 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.


--

  My heart beats her waves at
  the shore of the world
  and writes upon it her signature
  in tears with the words,
  " I love thee. "

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→ hbryant:對Shaq來說...他在東區也能延續生涯和績效
→ hbryant:特別是錢還照拿...
推 yester:東區真的有比較弱嗎？大風吹後不明顯了吧
推 garship:借轉熱火版，感謝
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