When Shaquille O'Neal recalled incident that ended Lakers stint: "I couldn't trust Mitch anymore & it was clear Kobe was the one with all the power"

Shaquille O'Neal had a legendary NBA career, which included an eight-year stint with the LA Lakers (1996-2004). During this time, O'Neal dominated the league and led the franchise to three straight titles (2000-2002).

His time with the Lakers came to an abrupt end, however, when he left to join the Miami Heat in 2004. In his book, Shaq Uncut, which was originally published in 2011, O'Neal recalled an incident that occurred before he left the Lakers that led to him demanding a trade from the franchise.

O'Neal and then GM Mitch Kupchak were in talks over a new deal that would have kept the big man in LA for the rest of his career. Kupchak and O'Neal had agreed to keep the negotiations private, but the GM addressed the issue during a press conference, naming keeping Kobe Bryant as a priority for the squad.

He also said that the Lakers were considering all options when it came to O'Neal's future, including trading him.

O'Neal recalled that he saw this on the news and immediately called his agent, who then called Kupchak to tell him that the 15-time All-Star was done with the Lakers.

O'Neal also disclosed that he was waiting to hear from Kupchak himself, but when that didn't happen, he decided to demand a trade.

"That was it, that was the end of me in a Lakers uniform ... For months I kept waiting for Mitch to come to me and say 'Shaq you are getting older and we need some new players. Mr Buss doesn't want to pay you and Kobe doesn't want you here.' But that conversation never happened and that's when I demanded a trade. I couldn't trust Mitch anymore and it was clear Kobe was the one with all the power," Shaquille O'Neal wrote in his book.

Michael Jordan was surprised by Lakers' decision to part with Shaquille O'Neal

The Lakers split Shaquille O’Neal and Kobe Bryant up in 2004 after it looked like their relationship couldn't be fixed. The Lakers ended up trading O’Neal to the Miami Heat, leaving Bryant as the franchise's leader.

This decision came as a surprise to many, including Michael Jordan.

“I would have never gotten rid of Shaq [O'Neal]. It's as simple as that. You've got three championships with a big man, and big men are hard to find. Not only that, you have the most dominant big man in the game today. You don't just send him away because you got some problems," Jordan told Marvin Shanken of Cigar Aficionado in 2005.

O'Neal went on to win another title in 2006, while the late Kobe Bryant claimed back-to-back championships with the Lakers a few years later (2009, 2010).