O'Neal Is Never at a Loss

<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">Shaquille O'Neal ? "Dr. Shaq," as he wants to be known in the near future ? will be back in town tonight, almost a year to the day after he became a former Laker.

He is back for business of a different type ? as host of an auto show in Hollywood ? but a return to the city he captivated for most of eight seasons rarely comes without his thoughts on all things basketball, past, present and future.

O'Neal, entering the last year of a three-year contract extension he initially signed with the Lakers, is getting closer to an extension with the Miami Heat, team President Pat Riley told the South Florida Sun-Sentinel on Monday.

There was other talk of the future from O'Neal, specifically about Andrew Bynum, the Lakers' first-round selection in last month's draft. Bynum, 17, invited a comparison to O'Neal on draft day, with one exception ? he makes his free throws, he said.

"Tell him Shaq doesn't respond to juvenile delinquents without a college degree," O'Neal said. "Tell him to get his degree and we can talk. In the meantime, he should call me Dr. Shaq because I'm working on my PhD."

Bynum is young for the NBA but does not carry a record of delinquency.

O'Neal, who recently received a master's degree from the University of Phoenix, said he planned to get a doctorate in psychology, criminology or sports psychology.

Until then, he said he was not concerned about a contract extension.

"We understand business, and we understand leverage," said O'Neal, scheduled to make $30.6 million next season. "We'd just like to do it in a professional manner."

Acquired from the Lakers last July 14 for Lamar Odom, Caron Butler, Brian Grant and Miami's 2006 first-round pick, O'Neal said he thought the trade worked out well despite the Heat's loss to the Detroit Pistons in the Eastern Conference finals.

"I feel we did better than everyone expected us to do," he said. "We're going to add a couple more pieces, and I know Riley is going to do that."

O'Neal is host of the second annual "GM All-Car Showdown" at Paramount Studios.</div>

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