Back in the mid-90s, the Los Angeles Lakers were struggling to contend for the title after Magic Johnson’s abrupt retirement.  Shaquille O’Neal uplifted the Lakers and made them a winning team. However, he wasn’t able to do so without the help of Kobe Bryant. But the two didn’t get along well. Though much is written about their feud, not many know that Shaq at the time was ready to be traded to the Dallas Mavericks due to issues with LA. While these rumors never had clear evidence, Shaq came up during an episode of the Big Podcast and revealed that he was working alongside the Mavericks’ owner Mark Cuban to materialize his wishes. Now, his former agent, Leonard Armato, revealed during his exclusive interview with EssentiallySports what happened back then.

Armato: “Shaq loves Dallas as a city. And I think he actually has a home there. Mark Cuban has a place right next to me in Manhattan Beach and has had this place for years. I’ve known Mark since he bought the Dallas Mavericks, and we would always chat because I was representing Shaq and Mark would say, ‘Well, gee, I wish I had somebody like Shaq on my team.’ We both talked about the fact he couldn’t pursue that conversation because it would be tampering and we would laugh about it and he didn’t… he never crossed the line.”

Armato then stated how Cuban earned the respect of his players ever since he came into basketball as an owner. “Shaq always respected him as an owner,” he added. The $5.4 billion worth entrepreneur can often be seen in the front row at Mavs games, always cheering the team on. He also takes part in shootarounds and interacts with the players, creating a more personalized bond with everyone on the roster.

Armato: “He’s a players’ owner and he’s always commanded the respect of his players and always taken care of them. I know Shaq likes him so I don’t know if there were any trade conversations but the only conversation I ever had with Mark was he would love to have Shaq, of course, and we can’t talk even though we’re neighbors.”

While the Lakers had won three consecutive titles at the turn of the century, by the end of the 2004 season, the rift between Bryant and Shaq had widened and was nearly irreconcilable. At that time, Shaq was considering being traded to the Dallas Mavericks. 

“Trust me, I tried to get to Dallas many times. Me and Mark was working behind the scenes. And He’s (Mark) like, ‘The Lakers won’t do it,’ and I was like “F*uck make them do it, Mark.’ And they wouldn’t do it,” Shaq recollected on The Big Podcast a few days ago.

Shaq had signed a seven-year contract with the Lakers in 1996 worth $120,000,000. By 2003, he signed a 3-year contract extension that amounted to $88,500,000. But as the story goes, Shaq wasn’t on good terms – neither with his teammate Bryant nor with the front office of the Lakers. Therefore, he was looking for a way out and demanded a trade to the Mavericks. However, Shaq’s wishes never came true.

He was subsequently traded to the Miami Heat where he paired up with the then-rising star Dwayne Wade and won his fourth Championship title in 2006. Despite not getting to play with the Mavericks, Shaq got what he wanted. However, not many would recollect that the Heat were up against Cuban’s Mavericks in the Finals. But that did not affect their relationship.

Mark Cuban’s friendly relationship with Shaquille O’Neal

When Shaquille O’Neal retired in 2011, Cuban was among the first few admirers who were sad by the news. Some have even said that Cuban was Shaq’s biggest fan. Cuban via email stated that he was not happy that Shaq was finally calling it a day and that the NBA wouldn’t remain the same in his absence. 

Instead, he reminisced about the sweet times when Shaq used to call Cuban. “Nothing more entertaining than answering the phone and hearing him say, ‘This is Shaq,’” Cuban resonated feelings of brotherhood as per Dallas SB Nation.

Perhaps Cuban’s relationship with Shaq is one of the few where the two understood their professional boundaries, respected each other for what they were, and chose to cherish each other’s presence and have a good time whenever they met.