Everyone has been fawning the past few days over Pat Riley's ability to shed big, ugly contracts, particularly the 40 additional million that Shaquille O'Neal was owed over the next two years. But it turns out that Miami Heat owner Mickey Arison had a lot more to do with this trade than anyone knew about at the time; he also was determined to send Shaq to someplace where he would either be close to home or have a chance to contend, acting on the close personal relationship that the two had developed during Shaq's time in South Beach.
Initially, according to Dan Le Batard, it was a phone call from Mavericks owner Mark Cuban to Arison that brought the possibility of moving O'Neal to the forefront and moved the Heat owner into a more prominent role in trade discussions. Well, that and the fact that Shaq was clearly unhappy half-playing for arguably the worst team in the NBA. And now, Barry Jackson, also of the Miami Herald, reveals through a conversation with Arison that the owner not only contacted Suns owner Robert Sarver directly but that more than usual, he took this deal out of Riley's hands and ran with it.
