"It's time for me to move on," O'Neal said Sunday at Baron Davis (http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/players/profile?statsId=3326)' and Paul Pierce (http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/players/profile?statsId=3253)'s annual L.A. Stars charity basketball game at USC's Galen Center. "And the Lakers are the team I want Indiana to trade me to."
O'Neal said he doesn't want to be part of a rebuilding project with the Lakers. He said if a trade to the Lakers doesn't work out, he'd also welcome a deal to the Nets.
"I love Indiana and the fans and we have a lot of nice young talent but obviously they're in a situation now where they're rebuilding," O'Neal said. "I told them I can't be in a rebuilding mode right now. I'm at a point in my career where I can't wait another five years to contend. I'm not in a position physically to take in five years of losses and downtime."

ESPN - Pacers' O'Neal says he wants to be dealt to Lakers - NBA (http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=2963647)

I hope O'Neal goes to the Lakers actually. Would make things interesting. He and Kobe can play a two-man game. Well, if that's what Kobe decides, I mean.

If the Lakers trade away what talent they have aside from Kobe ie bynum odom walton they will be in rebuilding mode. O'neal makes more cash than Kobe and if your the lakers you are looking at trading 3 to 5 players for a player past his prime who has never played a full season due to injury. O'neal would be better off to opt out next year and play for the lakers that way.

It doesn't matter. JO is always hurt. You can put him down for about 55 games this year.

O'Neil has become a non-factor in this league. Going to LA will not change that. There are other destinations that are better suited for him.

He has fallen off the map ever since 04.

Despite the negative criticism and his penchant for getting injured the last couple of years, I am sure most of P-fans would not mind him wearing a Piston uniform and playing up front with Sheed and Tay as our starting center if that was possible....

At 6'11, he can play both the 4 and the 5, and I am sure with all of the negative conversation about Nazr and C-Webb, most of us would still find some other faults with this team despite having a front court that would rival and compare to what we had with Big Ben if not better...This will never happen of course with salaries, Bird, etc. but what if..?? :sssh:

Despite the negative criticism and his penchant for getting injured the last couple of years, I am sure most of P-fans would not mind him wearing a Piston uniform and playing up front with Sheed and Tay as our starting center if that was possible....

At 6'11, he can play both the 4 and the 5, and I am sure with all of the negative conversation about Nazr and C-Webb, most of us would still find some other faults with this team despite having a front court that would rival and compare to what we had with Big Ben if not better...This will never happen of course with salaries, Bird, etc. but what if..?? :sssh:
Healthy O'Neal playing side-by-side with Sheed sounds extremely enticing, if that could ever come to fruition. I think that would make Pistons instant favorites to win it all, though it would never happen.

How about this opinion?
FOX Sports on MSN - NBA - Pacers O'Neal could help Lakers (http://msn.foxsports.com/nba/story/7099402)

How about this opinion?
FOX Sports on MSN - NBA - Pacers O'Neal could help Lakers (http://msn.foxsports.com/nba/story/7099402)

Agree with it. Odom - Bryant is a failed experiment. And O'Neal over Bynum seems like a no-brainer to me. Put a couple of jumpshooters on the floor and an enforcer along with JO and KB, and they beat a lot of folks even in the west.

Pacers Insider | IndyStar.com (http://blogs.indystar.com/pacersinsider/archives/2007/08/whose_controver.html)


O’Neal was sufficiently angered by the reports that he has waged a one-man media campaign since then. He talked with Bob Kravitz and me on Monday. He wasn’t particularly happy with the stories that ran in Tuesday’s paper, and called me that afternoon to re-emphasize his stance. He later appeared on WNDE’s afternoon sports show, The Drive with JMV, to state his case. Most notably, he got the Pacers to release an audio file, complete with written transcript, of a large portion of his interview in L.A.
O’Neal’s basic point is that there were some major “ifs” attached to his comments that weren’t reported in L.A.
For example, he said he would like to play for the Lakers or Nets if the Pacers decide to trade him. And, he doesn’t want to be part of a rebuilding effort with the Pacers if they decide to embark upon one _ which he doesn’t believe they have.
The audio file, which was offered to the Pacers by another reporter on the scene, clearly shows some discrepancies between what was said and what was reported.
At the start of the audio file, O’Neal says “Indiana has given me the opportunity to establish myself as a really good player in this league, but if they’re into rebuilding and going really young I’m just not in position physically to go through another five or six years with taking a lot of losses and a lot of downtime, so if I was going to be traded from Indiana, L.A. and New Jersey would be my top two teams.”
Note the two "ifs."
Here’s how that quote appeared in the S.I account:
“I would welcome a trade to the Lakers. Indiana has given me the opportunity to establish myself as a really good player in this league, but they’re into rebuilding and going real young, I’m just not in a position to go through another five to six years with a lot of losses and a lot of down time.”
Note the absence of "ifs."
Here's how the quote appeared in the ESPN account:
"I love Indiana and the fans and we have a lot of nice young talent, but obviously (the Pacers are) in a situation now where they're rebuilding. I told them I can't be in a rebuilding mode right now. I'm at a point in my career where I can't wait another five years to contend. I'm not in a position physically to take in five years of losses and downtime."
That quote appears to be a patched-together amalgamation of O'Neal's comments throughout the interview. Still, note the absence of “ifs.”

Wow. Poor journalism. No wonder why he's pissed.

Wow. Poor journalism. No wonder why he's pissed.
You call it poor. Someone will call it great. Many media members are trying to stir up whatever they can to sell. That is how we get all these bits and pieces of information that are trying to deceive while reporting fairly accurate information.

You call it poor. Someone will call it great. Many media members are trying to stir up whatever they can to sell. That is how we get all these bits and pieces of information that are trying to deceive while reporting fairly accurate information.

Agreed. This is normal in the journalism world, sadly. I remember being interviewed for the local paper when I was in fifth grade for winning our area spelling bee. I told the reporter that I remembered not even being very good at spelling bees as recently as in the third grade. The quote came out as something to the effect that I could remember all the students that I beat in the last few years' worth of school spelling bees. I quickly learned that reporters will write anything to make a boring person sound interesting. I got interviewed for a story while living in Germany by the local paper there once. After I read my "quotes" in the article, I said, "Wow, I didn't know my German was that good." Deception in the form of embellishment will always be there in the media industry. We may think we are being informed of the facts, but the reality is - it's a business, and they will write what sells, even if it is quite far from the truth. How many people will read that second article and remember it compared to the number of people who won't and continue to believe that JO is a malcontent who wants to play in LA?

Media:1, Truth:0