Shaquille O’Neal‘s exit from the Orlando Magic was a rather nasty affair between him and the Magic front office. Shaq and the management fell out on contract negotiations, which led to Big Diesel choosing Jerry West’s seven-year $120,000,000 contract with the Lakers.
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The Orlando Magic executives accused Shaq of using his initial $54,000,000 contract offer from the team to choose the Lakers move. However, for Shaq, being offered a deal that does not match up to his potential was more than an insult he had expected. Jeff Pearlman in the book Three-Ring Circus details the drama that unfolded between the Diesel and the Magic’s management.
By the mid-90s, Shaq had realized that he didn’t feel belonged with the Orlando Magic fans and the organization. In 1996, a poll by the Orlando Sentinel questioned Shaq’s $115 million worth further dwindling any prospects of re-signing. Therefore, leaving Orlando was rather a matter of maintaining his prestige than earning a big-money deal for Shaq.
Shaquille O’Neal used his initial $54,000,000 offer from the Orlando Magic to force his way into the Los Angeles Lakers
After the 1995 NBA Finals, Shaquille O’Neal was entering the final year of his rookie contract with the Orlando Magic. To retain Shaq’s services for the upcoming seasons, Magic offered the big man a seven-year contract worth $54,000,000. It’s worth noting how by then, Shaq had emerged as one of the most dominant centers in the league, challenging the legacy of even Wilt Chamberlain. However, the Magic front office was far from realizing Shaq’s potential.
When Shaq sought an explanation, he and his agent came to a rather heartbreaking understanding. The Orlando franchise rather valued the services of a superstar like Penny Hardaway, than of Shaquille O’Neal. Note that both Shaq and Hardaway played an equivalent role in helping the Magic reach their first Finals in 1995.
Furthermore, Jeff Pearlman mentioned in his book how the Magic were hesitant to offer an enormous dollar deal to Shaq because Penny Hardaway would enter free agency the next season. The team had positive intentions for Hardaway and undervalued Shaq’s contribution. Here is an excerpt from the book that details Shaq’s frustration during that situation.
“When he said that, I was out,” O’Neal recalled. “Inside I was fuming. I said to myself, I’m not messing with these guys. They’re worried about Penny’s feelings being hurt?” [Years later, Gabriel said he always thought O’Neal had used the Hardaway talk as rationale to leave. “We had to cut up the business between two superstars who were both going to make $100 million,” Gabriel said. “Shaquille didn’t want to hear that. But it’s far more complicated than he led people to believe.”]
Closely observing the Shaquille O’Neal situation unfolding, perhaps Jerry West took the best advantage of the situation. The then-Lakers GM pushed the franchise to offer a $120,000,000 deal to secure the star center’s services. Accepting this 7-year deal, Shaq was now earning an extra $22,000,000 and $5,000,0000 more than he had requested from Orlando.
Shaq left the Magic after the results of a poll by a local news agency
The Shaquille O’Neal drama was not just limited to the basketball circles. The Floridians, especially the citizens of Orlando, were well interested in seeing this drama unfold further. The news agencies had the best chance to leverage this situation and figure out the public sentiments for the star center. A local news agency, the Orlando Sentinel, conducted a poll titled, “Is Shaq worth $115 million?”
The Magic fans rather seemed cold to the fact that Shaquille O’Neal had led their team to multiple playoff appearances and one NBA Final. The results of the poll were extremely harrowing, with 90% of the 5,000 participants feeling Shaq wasn’t worth the money. Feeling insulted and hurt in his ego, Shaq eventually chose a better deal, which earned him significant money and a three-peat.
