Shaquille O’Neal opened up about a tense moment before his trade from the Los Angeles Lakers to the Miami Heat.
On The Straigh Game Podcast, O’Neal described learning that Lakers GM Mitch Kupchak was entertaining offers for him. “I was eating Frosted Flakes, watching ESPN… and then they said Mitch Kupchak said he will take offers on Shaq,” O’Neal said, via HoopsHype.
He revealed that he planned to confront Kupchak in person. “I got in my police car and I went there, but they wouldn’t let me in cuz I was going to f*** Mitch Kupchak up,” he recalled.
O’Neal, who had a brief stint as a reserve police officer, described how authorities prevented him from entering the Lakers’ office. “The cops were waiting for me like ‘Shaq, we can’t let you in.’ I was like, I’m just going to go get my stuff,” he said.
The Hall of Famer emphasized that his frustration came from a lack of personal respect. “I understand the business, but show me a little more respect. Call me and say, ‘Hey man, we had a good run,’” O’Neal added.
He described the surreal moment of realizing he was being traded while casually eating breakfast with his son. “I’m sitting there eating Frosted Flakes to Little Shareef… and I’m looking at him like, ‘Damn, we’re getting traded?’” O’Neal said.
The Lakers traded O’Neal to the Heat in 2004, a move that led to him winning the 2006 NBA championship in Miami.
