Shaquille O’Neal made a critical error in Miami Heat practice, Pat Riley traded him the next day

Pat Riley traded Shaquille O’Neal after a disrespectful moment during Miami Heat practice

Shaquille O’Neal was a guest on the Straight Game podcast recently. When discussing his exit from the Miami Heat, Shaq shared a story we haven’t heard before.

It turns out that O’Neal tried defending his teammate, Jason Williams, who came late to practice. Upon pushing back on Pat Riley’s demands, the big man was traded to the Phoenix Suns the following day.

“One day, Jason Williams came late. Reme mber, we used to have that clock? Jason Williams came half a second late, and he was like, ‘Hey man, you need to get out.’

“And I told him, ‘Nah, he’s not getting out.’ Then he said, ‘Well, you get out,’ and I said, ‘M————, put me out.’ So we got into a little scuffle, and the next day I was traded.”

Stories like these only go to reaffirm just how strict a general Pat Riley can be. While he is no longer the Miami Heat coach, as the president, he still runs the team with a similar level of discipline.

Shaquille O’Neal’s departure brought about true rebuild

After O’Neal joined the Phoenix Suns, the Miami Heat went from being one of the best teams in the Eastern Conference to one of the worst.

The Heat would end the 2007-08 season with a 15-67 record, the worst in franchise history. In fact, they even went on several losing streaks during the season.

But the campaign did help set the Heat up well for years to come. In 2010, LeBron James decided to join the Heat, along with Chris Bosh.

In the four years the trio of James, Wade, and Bosh played together, they went to four straight NBA Finals and won two NBA championships.