Shaq talks about Dallas--among other things

[MavsFanFinley]

It's fun for everyone when Shaq hits Dallas
07/19/2001

By Marc Stein / The Dallas Morning News

The following revelation will either hearten Dallas basketball lovers ... or torture them.

Shaquille O'Neal, one month removed from his second straight championship with the Los Angeles Lakers, says that he'd be willing to play for only one other team in the NBA.

Yup, you guessed it.

"The Mavericks?" O'Neal said. "Actually, yeah."

Before you start calling him the Big Tease, it bears reminding that O'Neal is that fond of Mavericks owner Mark Cuban.

Not so big a fan that he plans to ask for a trade – O'Neal stresses that he wants to retire a Laker – but big enough to sincerely volunteer the compliment.

Fond enough to demand Cuban's presence at the Milk Bar on Lower Greenville for a party Shaq threw Monday night.

"As soon as Mark walked in the door, I grabbed somebody and said, 'I love that [expletive]," O'Neal shared. "Excuse my French, but I really do. I like unconventional people. Mark stays within the rules, but then he makes up his own."

O'Neal enjoys the city of Dallas almost as much, listing it as one of his NBA favorites along with Atlanta, Orlando and Washington. He spent much of the week in town promoting his out-in-September rap album, "Shaquille O'Neal Presents his Super Friends, Volume 1" and checking on other investments.

"I'm in the strip-mall business," said O'Neal, who owns commercial property and a new house in Frisco.

O'Neal's schedule Tuesday featured a visit to Slam Magazine's basketball camp at Texas A&M-Commerce, then a Q&A sitdown with The News .

Q: Since the sight of you in a Dallas uniform is obviously just a fantasy, lots of Mavericks fans are hoping that you'll get bored of winning someday. Do you worry about boredom?

A: Of course. It probably will get boring the older I get. But by that time, it'll be time to do something else anyway.

Q: How long do you want to play?

A: I always said my plan was to play 12 or 13 years and be out by the young age of 32. Right now, I couldn't see myself going past 32. Or 34 at the most.

Q: You turn 30 next March, but you've joked around about retiring the day after Phil Jackson retires. Phil might not want to coach more than two more seasons. So does that mean you could be gone even sooner?

A: I'm not joking. If Phil retires on Tuesday, I'm retired on Wednesday.

Q: Why do you like him so much?

A: I've never had a problem with any coach I've had. But Phil is the one who took me to the level I needed to be. I can't play for anyone else. Why go up and then go back down?

Q: What about Kobe Bryant? You said often during the playoffs that the media exaggerated the conflict during the season. Tell us then what that relationship is really like.

A: My father told me: 'When you're working together, you've got to respect each other. When you're not working together, it don't matter what happens or how you feel.' Do we talk every day? No. But I respect him and he respects me.

Q: Don't you want to see Kobe's huge new house, with the lagoon and pirate ship and waterslides?

A: I heard it was nice, but Orange County is a little far away. If he wants to invite the whole team out there, I'll ride out there. He just got married, and I don't want to bug him.

Q: What are your thoughts on Michael Jordan's comeback?

A: All I know is, I'm 29, and I can't do the same things I did when I was 19. So if he's 39, I'm sure he can't do the same things he did when he was 29. That last shot he took in Utah ... that was the perfect way to leave the game. Why would he want to come back and mess that up? I don't know. But he's the greatest player in the world, and I wish him well.

Q: Some people might say you're the greatest player in the world. How much do you value your place in history?

A: I never doubted myself [before the championships], but I doubted how people would look at me. Now I try not to think about that. I just let you guys think about all that stuff. People always ask me if I want more rings than Michael [six]. I've never tried to outdo any individual. I just want to get as many as possible.

Q: Wouldn't it be easier if you made more free throws?

A: I'm a 50-percenter. I miss one, then make one. It doesn't bother me, because I don't live my life on percentages. During pressure situations, I try to make more. When I get [ticked] off, I hit them all the time.

Q: But doesn't Phil keep saying that 50 percent isn't good enough?

A: That's his opinion.

Q: Is there any hope for your buddy Cuban and the rest of the league – or will you and Kobe be tougher to beat next season?

A: Depends. It depends on how the new [zone] rules are. If teams that don't have a dominant big man just pack it in, that's going to force us to shoot better.