Shaquille O'Neal doesn't regret trade demand from LA Lakers: "They owed me money that they didn't want to give me"

Shaquille O'Neal won three NBA championships with the LA Lakers in eight seasons. O'Neal was traded to the Miami Heat in 2004 after wanting out of the Lakers. This isn't something he regrets.

In an appearance on The Pick 'n Roll Show on COSMOTE TV, co-hosts Rigas Dardalis and Vassilis Skountis asked Shaq about his trade from the Lakers. The four-time champ explained that he wanted out because the Lakers didn't want to give him a new contract.

"I didn't leave, I was traded," O'Neal said. "So I don't regret anything, it's business. They owed me money that they didn't want to give me, so they traded me. It's all about business."

Shaquille O'Neal arrived in South Beach and immediately promised to deliver the Miami Heat's first championship. After just two seasons, O'Neal fulfilled his promise when the Heat defeated the Dallas Mavericks in the 2006 NBA Finals.

Despite the way he left the LA Lakers, O'Neal managed to mend fences with the franchise. The Lakers retired Shaq's iconic No. 34 jersey on April 2, 2013. He also became the fifth Laker to have a statue outside of Crypto.Com Arena.

"Here's a guy who played with a lot of force, a guy who wanted the crowd to go crazy," O'Neal said on his statue unveiling. "There's two things that made a crowd go crazy: a deep, contested three and a dunk. I always tried to dunk to intimidate my opponents and to make the crowd go crazy."

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Shaquille O'Neal had his best years with the LA Lakers

Shaquille O'Neal at the Memorial Service For LA Lakers Owner Dr. Jerry Buss

Shaquille O'Neal joined the LA Lakers in 1996 as a free agent after four years with the Orlando Magic. O'Neal signed a seven-year, $121 million contract with the Lakers. He continued to dominate as a player, but the team was not having success in the playoffs.

That all changed when Phil Jackson took over as head coach in 1999. Jackson transformed O'Neal and Kobe Bryant into the most dominant duo in the league. The Lakers won three NBA championships from 2000 to 2002. They also went to the NBA Finals in 2004, but lost to the Detroit Pistons.

O'Neal won his lone MVP award with the Lakers in 2000, averaging 29.7 points, 13.6 rebounds, 3.8 assists and 3.0 blocks per game. He had the most success with the Lakers and remains one of the greatest players in franchise history.

After leaving Hollywood, O'Neal went on to win his fourth championship with the Miami Heat. He also played for the Phoenix Suns, Cleveland Cavaliers and Boston Celtics before retiring in 2011. He was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2016.