Re: O'Neal assured he will retire with Heat MIAMI ? Shaquille O'Neal played along. Briefly.Before addressing a group of elementary school students Thursday at AmericanAirlines Arena, the Heat center turned to a small group of team staffers and reporters and quipped, "This is my last time here."LocalLinks Shortly after lauding the students, O'Neal said he has been assured by coach Pat Riley and owner Micky Arison that Miami will be his final NBA stop."I've been told that I'm going to retire here, so I'm not really worried about it," he said.A report earlier this week in the Chicago Tribune triggered conjecture about the remaining three seasons and $60 million on O'Neal's contract.That led Riley to issue a statement Wednesday and then O'Neal to hold his impromptu media session Thursday."You all should be spanked for this," the playful center said with a grin.O'Neal said the entire matter grew out of misinterpreting his perceived indifference to the regular season."The regular season, it's just like playing chess, you have to put yourself in a good position," he said. "I said it didn't matter, but I didn't mean it didn't matter."He said he will report to camp in October in required condition."I'll be ready at the beginning and the end," he said. "I'm always ready."The Heat was swept in the first round of the playoffs by Chicago after going 44-38 during the regular season, the first time since his rookie season of 1992-93 that O'Neal did not advance to the second round.With Arison standing by, Riley reiterated the franchise's commitment to the 35-year-old center."The last thing on our minds right now is to trade him," he said. "We want to try to put players around him."Thursday marked the first time since O'Neal's rookie season that he did not make an All-NBA team."The reason for that is I missed so many games," he said of making only 40 appearances because of knee surgery."If I didn't miss so many games, I would have been there."O'Neal had been the first-team All-NBA center the previous seven years, with Phoenix's Amare Stoudemire taking that honor when the teams were announced Thursday.O'Neal is scheduled to make his first appearance on TNT's studio show Monday, appearing alongside Charles Barkley, Kenny Smith and Ernie Johnson
Re: O'Neal assured he will retire with Heat http://www.sun-sentinel.com/sports/basketb...fla-sports-heat
Re: O'Neal assured he will retire with Heat He should have retired with the Lakers, or the Magic. He's had much better seasons with them.
Re: O'Neal assured he will retire with Heat The Magic LOL he hasn't played for them in a while maybe the Lakers but he has helped the Heat so I see him maybe playing this whole year or like Pat was talking about if you give 10mil back you can play off the season but I think after that he is done. I just don't see him down the road in a few years still playing in the NBA.
Re: O'Neal assured he will retire with Heat I actually think that would have been a good idea if the heat never won a title I think Shaq would have been happy to go over to Orlando and help Dwight Out. I think Dewight could learn alot from Shaq.
Re: O'Neal assured he will retire with Heat I'd really like to see Shaq go into a reserve kind of phase his carrer, and thats not to take awway from what hes done, but rather I'd like to see him get another trophy away from LA like John Sally or Mourning did, playing limited minutes (In two years time..), I think he will always at his size and knowledge level be abe to contribute something posistive to a team until hes unable to play the game anymore at all.
Re: O'Neal assured he will retire with Heat I don't think he'll be unhappy to play the game per say when he's ready to leave. He'll just be ready to finally move on with his life. I feel sorry for anybody he pulls over when he becomes a police officer though lol. Incase you didn't know Shaq wants to be a cop like his step father.
Re: O'Neal assured he will retire with Heat Thank god, just what the Heat need, $20 million keeping the team in salary cap hell, a guy that plays 45 games and plays hard in about 10 of them....
