Dirk Nowitzki and Shaquille O'Neal were one deal away from becoming teammates with the Dallas Mavericks in 2004, according to O'Neal. However, the potential deal maneuvered by then-Mavericks owner Mark Cuban hit a snag with the Los Angeles Lakers front office, then Shaq was later shipped to the Miami Heat, and the rest was history.
O'Neal's admission to rumors circulating at the time was made during Nowitzki's appearance on The Big Podcast with Shaq (skip to 31:56), where the German big man named his three dream teammates during his 20-year career in the NBA.
In a segment on the podcast, Nowitzki outlined his wishlist of teammates in his career, placing Michael Jordan as number one, but he missed the Bulls-era Jordan by a season when he entered the NBA in the lockout-shortened 1998-99 season. He subsequently played against Jordan who was then playing for the Washington Wizards from 2001 to 2003.
Surprisingly, Nowitzki had huge admiration for his Western Conference rivals in Shaquille O'Neal and Kobe Bryant, the latter of which he said was “closest” to a prime Michael Jordan.
“I always say, of course, Shaq[uille O'Neal] a dominant big guy. I think you would have helped me get a lot of looks from the outside. As you know, I'm a big Kobe [Bryant] fan as well…Kobe was closest thing to me [as Michael Jordan], how his skill, his instinct, his athleticism, his confidence level on the court,”
Shaquille O'Neal admits call to Mark Cuban over potential tie-up with Dirk Nowitzki
During the time of the proposed Shaquille O'Neal-to-Mavericks trade, the Lakers were fresh off a shock Finals loss against the Detroit Pistons, in what was the final year of Phil Jackson's first stint with the team that had aging stars Karl Malone and Gary Payton added to the fold. Shaquille O'Neal said he made a phone call to Mark Cuban to make a deal happen.
“Trust me, I tried to get to Dallas many times. Me and Mark [Cuban] was working behind the scenes…Mark was the first person I called, but [former Lakers general manager] Mitch [Kupchak] didn't want to trade me to Mark,” O'Neal said.
“Whatever you got to do to get me there. He's [Cuban] like: ‘The Lakers won't do it, man,' and I was like: ‘Make them do it, Mark.'…they wouldn't do it, but that would have been nice because I love Dallas.”
Dirk Nowitzki laments failed move to pry prime Shaq away from Lakers
Dirk Nowitzki lamented the failed move, saying it later burned them when the Shaq-led Heat defeated the Mavericks in the 2006 Finals. “I remember there were a few rumblings around at the time, and then you obviously went to Miami and then you guys beat us in '06. That was a tough move,” he said.
O'Neal's co-host, Adam Lefkoe, then posed the hypothetical scenario where the Dirk-Shaq combo happened, with Nowitzki replying: “That would have been a decent combo.”
Since the 2006 championship, O'Neal bounced around the NBA with the Phoenix Suns, Cleveland Cavaliers, and then wound up his career with the Boston Celtics where he retired following the 2010-11 season. Nowitzki would then win his lone NBA championship with the Mavericks at the conclusion of O'Neal's final NBA season.
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