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A report surfaced last week that Shaquille O'Neal might want to end his career with the Los Angeles Lakers. They probably don't have any interest in him right now.
His latest reunion with Kobe Bryant and Phil Jackson already made this matchup of the Pacific Division's top teams intriguing, but O'Neal's recent comments -- besides the fines levied against him -- have heightened the interest as the Lakers visit the Phoenix Suns on Thursday.
Despite being signed with Phoenix (8-4) through next season, O'Neal told the Sacramento Bee he would be interested in going back to the Lakers after his current contract expires. He won three straight championships alongside Bryant in Los Angeles from 2000-02, though a feud between the two was blamed for why the dynasty ended and O'Neal was traded to Miami.
The report, however, also had O'Neal saying Jackson orchestrated much of the problems with Bryant and never helped get the superstars on the same page. It wasn't until two years ago when O'Neal and Bryant seemingly mended the relationship.
Los Angeles (8-1) is doing just fine along the frontline without O'Neal.
Before the Suns got O'Neal at last season's trade deadline, the Lakers acquired 7-footer Pau Gasol and he helped get them to the NBA finals. That run came without an injured Andrew Bynum, and the 21-year-old center has returned this season to help Los Angeles to the league's best record.
While Bynum has averaged 10.8 points and 8.9 rebounds as he continues to work his way back from knee surgery, Gasol is contributing 17.6 points and 10.1 boards per game. Bryant, meanwhile, is averaging 24.3 points and 19.3 field-goal attempts -- both his lowest since 2003-04 in O'Neal's final season with the Lakers.
On Tuesday, Gasol scored a season-high 34 points while Bynum had 18 points, nine rebounds and three blocks in a 116-109 victory over Chicago.
"Me and Andrew, it's hard to match up," Gasol said. "I think we should make a consistent effort to do that every game. You've got two guys who can produce. They're easy looks, 10-footers -- high-percentage shots."
O'Neal has had an uneven season, but lately it's featured some bad moments. He was fined $25,000 for his role in an altercation against Houston last week, then fined $35,000 for verbally abusing an official and failing to leave the court quickly after being ejected for a hard foul on Detroit's Rodney Stuckey on Sunday.
"Doesn't matter to me," O'Neal said. "I'm not the one that can be controlled with fines, so that doesn't matter to me."
The latest fine came down Monday, the same day he finished a game with only one rebound for the first time this decade in a 109-97 loss at Utah.
"We just have to suck this one up because we have another good team which we play on Thursday and we got to get ready for that," said O'Neal, who had nine points on 3-of-11 shooting.
The only game in which he faced the Lakers in a Phoenix uniform -- and the most recent between these teams -- came on Feb. 20, when he had 15 points and nine rebounds in a 130-124 loss. Bryant scored 41 points and Gasol added 29.
At 4-0, Los Angeles is the only team without a road loss this season. The Suns are 3-2 at home and they lost both meetings with the Lakers at US Airways Center last season.
His latest reunion with Kobe Bryant and Phil Jackson already made this matchup of the Pacific Division's top teams intriguing, but O'Neal's recent comments -- besides the fines levied against him -- have heightened the interest as the Lakers visit the Phoenix Suns on Thursday.
Despite being signed with Phoenix (8-4) through next season, O'Neal told the Sacramento Bee he would be interested in going back to the Lakers after his current contract expires. He won three straight championships alongside Bryant in Los Angeles from 2000-02, though a feud between the two was blamed for why the dynasty ended and O'Neal was traded to Miami.
The report, however, also had O'Neal saying Jackson orchestrated much of the problems with Bryant and never helped get the superstars on the same page. It wasn't until two years ago when O'Neal and Bryant seemingly mended the relationship.
Los Angeles (8-1) is doing just fine along the frontline without O'Neal.
Before the Suns got O'Neal at last season's trade deadline, the Lakers acquired 7-footer Pau Gasol and he helped get them to the NBA finals. That run came without an injured Andrew Bynum, and the 21-year-old center has returned this season to help Los Angeles to the league's best record.
While Bynum has averaged 10.8 points and 8.9 rebounds as he continues to work his way back from knee surgery, Gasol is contributing 17.6 points and 10.1 boards per game. Bryant, meanwhile, is averaging 24.3 points and 19.3 field-goal attempts -- both his lowest since 2003-04 in O'Neal's final season with the Lakers.
On Tuesday, Gasol scored a season-high 34 points while Bynum had 18 points, nine rebounds and three blocks in a 116-109 victory over Chicago.
"Me and Andrew, it's hard to match up," Gasol said. "I think we should make a consistent effort to do that every game. You've got two guys who can produce. They're easy looks, 10-footers -- high-percentage shots."
O'Neal has had an uneven season, but lately it's featured some bad moments. He was fined $25,000 for his role in an altercation against Houston last week, then fined $35,000 for verbally abusing an official and failing to leave the court quickly after being ejected for a hard foul on Detroit's Rodney Stuckey on Sunday.
"Doesn't matter to me," O'Neal said. "I'm not the one that can be controlled with fines, so that doesn't matter to me."
The latest fine came down Monday, the same day he finished a game with only one rebound for the first time this decade in a 109-97 loss at Utah.
"We just have to suck this one up because we have another good team which we play on Thursday and we got to get ready for that," said O'Neal, who had nine points on 3-of-11 shooting.
The only game in which he faced the Lakers in a Phoenix uniform -- and the most recent between these teams -- came on Feb. 20, when he had 15 points and nine rebounds in a 130-124 loss. Bryant scored 41 points and Gasol added 29.
At 4-0, Los Angeles is the only team without a road loss this season. The Suns are 3-2 at home and they lost both meetings with the Lakers at US Airways Center last season.
