- Shaquille O’Neal was on his way out from the Lakers in 2004
- Mark Cuban and the Mavericks wanted to make a trade for the big man
- The Lakers were only willing to send O’Neal to the Mavs if they got Dirk Nowitzki
Mark Cuban has never been one to shy away from making a big move, and he wanted to bring Shaquille O’Neal to the Dallas Mavericks in 2004. The problem, well, was that the Los Angeles Lakers wanted Dirk Nowitzki in return for O’Neal. The rumor started to spread about a potential trade and Cuban told Dirk that he would not be let go.
“I thought it was critically important,” Cuban said. “You know how you guys are. The rumor is more interesting and more fun than the fact. I wanted Dirk to know there wasn’t any question in my mind.”
Cuban also told O’Neal that he wasn’t going to part with Dirk for him.
“I even told Shaq that,” Cuban stated. “I said there was no way. If that is what it’s going to come down to, it’s not going to happen.”
If you look at the situation now, it would seem absurd to trade away Nowitzki for Shaq, who only had a couple of years left in him, but that wasn’t the case back then.
O’Neal had just helped the Lakers get to the NBA Finals for the fourth time in five seasons in 2004, while Dirk was a pretty good, but not great player.
Nowitzki was just entering his prime, though, while O’Neal was close to exiting his. Dirk would go on to make the All-Star team 11 times after 2004, while Shaq only made four more.
It would have been a very short-term move on Cuban’s part and fortunately for the Mavericks, he didn’t go ahead with it.
Dirk Nowitzki Took His Game To Another Level After 2004
The 2004-05 season would see Dirk take his game to another level. He averaged a then-career-high 26.1 points to go with 9.7 rebounds, 3.1 assists, 1.2 steals, and 1.5 blocks per game.
Dirk made the All-NBA First Team for the first time and would make it the following two seasons as well. He would also lead the Mavericks to the NBA Finals in 2006, where they ironically lost to O’Neal and the Miami Heat.
Shaq was very much the second star to Dwyane Wade by then, though, and it was the Heat guard who played the biggest role in them winning that series.
It would take a little while for Dirk to get the Mavericks back to the NBA Finals, but he did it in 2011. There, he got some revenge on Wade and the Heat, beating them in six games to win his first and only NBA championship.
O’Neal Wasn’t The Only Lakers Superstar That Cuban Tried To Trade For
Three years after he failed to land O’Neal, Cuban tried to acquire Kobe Bryant. Kobe had infamously handed in a trade request in 2007, and he looked set to leave the Lakers.
Cuban thought the Mavericks had got a deal done for Bryant, but it never materialized. Instead, Bryant was convinced to stay by GM Mitch Kupchak, and once the Lakers traded for Pau Gasol, he was happy.
Bryant and Gasol would go on to win back-to-back titles in 2009 and 2010. Their quest for a three-peat ended at the hands of Dirk and the Mavs, who swept them in the Conference Semifinals in 2011.
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