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On July 14, 2004, Shaquille O'Neal was traded from the Los Angeles Lakers to the Miami Heat for Caron Butler, Lamar Odom, Brian Grant, and a first-round pick (Jordan Farmer) that was facilitated by the Lakers. It is considered one of the biggest blockbuster[1] and lopsided[2] trades in NBA history as none of the players acquired by the Lakers were All-Stars, coupled with the fact that O'Neal led the Lakers to three consecutive NBA championships (2000, 2001, 2002) and made an additional appearance in 2004 while being named NBA Finals MVP in each of their Finals wins.[3]
At the time of the trade, O'Neal, alongside teammate Kobe Bryant, led the Lakers to three straight finals wins, making an additional yet unsuccessful appearance in 2004, while also being named to five All-NBA First Teams (1998, 2000–2004), five All-Star appearances (1998, 2000–2004), one All-NBA Second team (1999), one All-NBA Third Team (1997), three All-Defensive Second Teams (2000, 2001, 2003),[4] and being awarded the NBA Most Valuable Player award (2000), establishing himself as the face of the franchise.[5] Public perception was that the Shaq–Kobe duo would be unstoppable together and could win multiple championships.[6][7] Journalists criticized Bryant, believing he had manipulated the Lakers to trade O'Neal.[8] The overall consensus was that the Heat won the trade. The Lakers traded O'Neal due to a variety of reasons, including an increasing tension between O'Neal and Bryant after he criticized O'Neal for being out of shape and putting his salary demands over the interests of the team.[9] Lakers assistant coach Tex Winter said O'Neal "left because he couldn't get what he wanted—a huge pay raise." The trade received revived scrutiny after the Heat won the 2006 NBA Finals against the Dallas Mavericks.[10]
Background
Shaquille O'Neal
At the age of 20, Shaquille O'Neal was drafted by the Orlando Magic as the first overall pick in the 1992 NBA draft. When he joined the NBA, O'Neal was seen as one of the most hyped prospects in his draft class due to his accomplishments at at LSU Tigers, averaging 21.6 points, 13.5 rebounds, and 4.6 blocks, his sheer size, and weight, standing at 7'1 and weighing at over 300 pounds.[11] After spending four seasons with the Magic, including an unsuccessful Finals appearance in the 1995 Finals against the Houston Rockets, O'Neal became a free agent after the 1995–96 NBA season.
After a back-and-forth scuffle with the Magic organization and media polling about renewing his contract,[12][13][14][15][16] O'Neal decided to leave Orlando and instead sign with the Los Angeles Lakers on a seven-year, $121 million contract.[17][18] After acquiring the draft rights for guard Kobe Bryant from the Charlotte Hornets by trading away center Vlade Divac, the Lakers were able to sign both O'Neal and Bryant, the Lakers were seen as heavy favorites to win the Finals. After losing to the Utah Jazz in the 1997 and 1998 playoffs and the San Antonio Spurs in the 1999 playoffs,[19][20][21] the Lakers brought in former Chicago Bulls coach Phil Jackson. Together with O'Neal winning the NBA Most Valuable Player award in the 1999–2000 season, the Lakers advanced to the 2000 Finals and won in six games against the Indiana Pacers, followed by back-to-back wins against the Philadelphia 76ers in five games in the 2001 Finals, and a sweep of the New Jersey Nets in the 2002 Finals, giving the Lakers three consecutive championships while O'Neal won NBA Finals MVP all three times.[22][23]
After losing to the Spurs in the second round of the 2003 playoffs, the Lakers acquired Jazz forward Karl Malone and Milwaukee Bucks guard Gary Payton while re-signing forward Horace Grant, creating a superteam of O'Neal, Bryant, Malone, Payton, and Grant.[24][25] Following this, the Lakers became the instant favorites to win the NBA title.[26][27] However, the underdog Detroit Pistons' strong defense and teamwork massively upset the the star-studded Lakers, who would lose in five games.[28][29]
Miami Heat
In the 2003 NBA draft, the Miami Heat owned the fifth pick, which they used to select guard Dwyane Wade from Marquette University.[30][31] At the same time, the Heat also picked up forward Lamar Odom from the Los Angeles Clippers.[32] Unlike the Lakers, the Heat were rough in their previous seasons, only making it past the first round twice out of their sixteen seasons as an NBA team, with head coach Pat Riley resigning right before the 2003–04 season began, making assistant coach Stan Van Gundy the new head coach.
Although the Heat lost their first seven games and going on to have a record of 25–36, the Heat bounced back and won 17 of their last 21 games to finish with a record of 42–40, entering the 2004 playoffs as the 4th seed in the Eastern Conference. After winning against the New Orleans Hornets in seven games in the first round, the Heat faced off against the Indiana Pacers in the second round, the first time since the 1999–2000 season, who they lost to in six games.